Trekking and Watching Paradise Birds in Arfak Mountains

Jungle Tour
I woke up at 4 a.m. It was still dark when I asked Yunus Sayori, our field guide from Warmarway village, to boil some water. I and Kathrin would go trekking this morning to watch Lesser Birds of Paradise. We were in the jungle of Arfak mountains that has been popular among birdwatchers who want to watch various species of birds of paradise. For hundreds of years Lesser Birds of Paradise (Paradisaea minor) have been hunted by Papuan people who sell the skins to collectors. Some are used in head decoration for traditional dances and rituals.

When the hot water is ready, I woke Kathrin up and asked her to drink coffee. At around 5.15 a.m. we left our camp that was located in the middle of the tropical jungle for the birding ground. Since it was still dark, we brought flashlight. We had to walk up steep slopes and crossed a stream. While we were about to cross the stream, we were surprised by a fast moving white snake that were running away from us. It was also surprised to see us. White snake is very venomous reptile.

The sun was about to rise on the East when we reached the birding ground. Male Lesser Birds of Paradise had been calling female birds. Slowly the morning light got brighter. A lot of mosquitoes were flying around us. I forgot to bring my repellent lotion. We had to be patient with this situation.
Itwas hard to spot the birds as they constantly jumping from one branch to another in high trees. Finally, one of them landed on a branch above my head. He was there for less than one minute but I was able to shoot him using my compact camera - Nikon coolpix P500 (see the above picture).
After watching paradise birds for 3 hours, we returned to our camp. The Papuan children from Warmarway village (Yosias, Magdalena, Yunita, and ...) had finished cooking breakfast for that morning. We really enjoyed the food that they prepared.

We could take some pictures of this beautiful bird. Lesser Birds of Paradise (Paradisaea minor) usually live in the lower montane forest.

Visitors who want to watch the paradise birds need to stay in the camp that is provided for tourists by the villagers.
Trekking in the tropical rainforest of Arfak mountains is only suitable for visitors who like adventure.

Sea Tour
In addition to jungle tour, as a tourist guide, I can organize a snorkeling tour for visitors who are interested in seeing reef fish and coral reef of Manokwari. Bring your own snorkeling gear such as mask, snorkel, and fins before taking this tour. We will explore the waters of Dore bay to see striped surgeonfish, convict surgeon fish, lion fish, anemonefish, urchin, damselfish and sea star.

The usual duration of jungle tour and snorkeling tour is between 5 to 7days.
Please, contact me by email to peace4wp@gmail.com if you are interested take this tour. This article is written by Charles Roring
Also read:
Rainforest Tour in Sorong regency