Snorkeling Holiday in Mansinam Island of Manokwari

Coral Reef in Mansinam Island of Manokwari

Mansinam island is located near Manokwari city. It has been a favorite destination for visitors who are interested in snorkeling over the coral reef of the island. A lot of species of fish live in its waters including grouper, parrotfish, boxfish, pink anemonefish, damselfish and surgeonfish.
Mansinam is also an important island for Christian pilgrims. It was the site where European missionaries landed on 5 February 1855 to Gospel for the first time to the indigenous Papuan people.
British scientist Alfred Russel Wallace also landed on the island in 1858 when he conducted his research expedition in Dorey bay of Netherlands New Guinea.

Snorkeling in Mansinam

Where is it?
Please, see the following map of Indonesia. Manokwari is the capital of West Papua province.

Manokwari city is the capital of West Papua province

How to get there?
Fly from your country to Jakarta (the capital of Indonesia).
There are daily flights to Manokwari served by such airlines as: Garuda, Express Air, Sriwijaya, Nam Air.
Before flying to Manokwari, please email us, so that we could meet you at the airport and arrange your trip to Mansinam island.

Booking:
You could contact me by email to: peace4wp@gmail.com. However, because internet connection is often interrupted in Manokwari city, you could send whatsapp message to my cell phone number: +6281332245180. Just mention the date of your arrival in Manokwari and how long you plan to stay in this city.

What you need to bring:
Most visitors go to Mansinam island for snorkeling. So, I highly recommend that you bring your own snorkeling gear (mask, snorkle, and fins). A good underwater camera is also useful if you want to take pictures of various species of fish that thrive in the coral reef at the front of the guesthouse.
Anti-insect lotion is also needed.

Additional tours
If you want to stay longer, we can organize a snorkeling tour to more coral reef sites in Manokwari. We can also organize a customized hiking and camping tour in the jungle of Arfak mountains at separate cost.

Birdwatching Tour in the Forest of Sorong regency West Papua

Sorong regency is the gate for visitors who travel to Raja Ampat. It is also the most recommended destination for visitors who want to watch birds particularly for species that live in lowland forest.

Birdwatching in Lowland Forest

There is a birdwatching site located in the east of Sorong town. Its name is Klasow valley. As a tour guide, I have organized tours for visitors who want to go there to watch Pinon Imperial Pigeon (Ducula pinon), Pink Spotted Fruit Dove, Beautiful Fruit Dove, Sulphur Crested Cockatoo, Palm Cockatoo, Golden Myna, Yellow Faced Myna, Lowland Peltops, Eclectus Parrot, Large Fig Parrot, Moustached Trees-wift, Grey Goshawk, Papuan Hornbill, Yellow-billed Kingfisher, Dwarf Kingfisher, Helmetted Friarbird, Shining Flycatcher, Magnificent Riflebird, King Bird of Paradise, Lesser Birds of Paradise and a lot more. On the average, visitors spend 4 days to watch birds in the valley. 

Lesser Birds of Paradise (Paradisaea minor)

Other Animals

During the day, they walk around the jungle to find birds and when the day gets dark, they can do night walk to find wallaby which is still in the family of kangaroo but has got smaller bodies. Animals such as deer, wild pigs, soa-soa lizard, fruit bats and various species of colorful butterflies and other insects live in the valley. They are also interesting for visitors.

Itinerary

Day 1

Go by a chartered 4wd car from Sorong city to Klasow valley. It takes 1.5 hours to reach the valley and another 1.5 hours of walk to the jungle village. 

Visitors can begin watching birds in the afternoon or evening before sunset.

Rainforest Tour in Klasow Valley

Day 2

Wake up early in the morning at 4.00. Have tea or coffee. Walk from the jungle hut for around 1.5 hours to reach the display tree od Lesser Birds of Paradise (Paradisaea minor). We will watch the birds until 09.00. After that, we can walk back to the village. In the morning, birds are very active. We can watch them while walking along the bank of Klasow river or along the trails that lead us back into the village.

During the day, a lot of butterfly hover on the flowers plants in the village to collect nectar. We can watch them. Some of them include The Silky Owl Butterfly (Taenaris catops), Birdwing butterfly Ornithoptera priamus, The Blue Mountain Swallow Tail butterfly (Papilio ulysses), and The Cruiser Butterfly (Vindula arsinoe)

At night, we can do night walk to find wallaby or fruit bats
Day 3
We will explore the forest in the west area of the valley to find Yellow-billed Kingfisher, Sulphur Crested Cockatoo, Western crowned Pigeon, Rufous-bellied Kookaburra.

Golden Myna (Mino anais)

Day 4

We still have time to watch birds along the banks of rivers in the valley.

After lunch, we can walk back to main road where we will be transferred to Sorong city again.

What you need to bring?

• Binoculars
• Spotting scope (optional)
• Sleeping bag
• Mosquito net
• Flash light or torch

Participants:

To share the cost of the trip, I suggest that the number of visitors should be at least 3 to 4 people. One or two people can also go to the jungle of Klasow valley but the price will be higher.

Booking

Please, contact me (Charles Roring) by email to: peace4wp@gmail.com or by whatsapp +6281332245180 for more information.

Watching Paradise Birds and Cuscus Possum in Arfak Mountains

Lesser Birds of Paradise in Arfak mountains

Arfak mountains are very popular among birdwatchers who want to see birds of paradise. There are several places in the region where visitors can go to see birds and other wild animals. One of them is called Mount Mabowi. It is located approximately one hour ride by motorized vehicle and another one hour walk up steep slopes to the base camp that has been used by tourists for watching wild animals. 

Watching Lesser Birds of Paradise

The basecamp is large enough to accommodate 4 to 8 visitors. They usually stay for 2 days/ 1nights to 3 days/ 2 nights. To watch paradise birds, they have to wake up early in the morning around 05.00 to drink tea or coffee and then leave their tents for the lek of Lesser Birds of Paradise that usually gather on a hill in the south of the base camp.

The Glowing Mushroom

The sounds of other birds such as magnificent riflebird, king bird of paradise, helmetted friarbird, fruit dove can also be heard in the forest of Mount Mabowi. To watch them visitors need a good pair of binoculars and spotting scope. 

In the months of November, December, January, February and March, the forest floor is wet. It is the best time to see glowing mushroom that emits greenish light.

Watching Cuscus Possum

Cuscus Possum in Mount Mabowi

The tropical rainforest of Mount Mabowi is also the natural habitat of some norturnal animals such as the marsupial cuscus possum, and Papuan frogmouth owl.  To see cuscus possum, visitors can do night walk with local guide to several sites which he knows the animal occurs.

Butterflies
There are also butterflies in the jungle of Mount Mabowi. They often fly in the open area around the tourist basecamp. Some that I can identify include Blue Mountain Swallowtail Butterfly (Papilio ulysses), The Silky Owl butterfly (Taenaris catops) and the Cruiser Butterfly (Taenaris catops).

Interested in taking the tour with me in to the jungle of Arfak mountains?
Please, contact me (Charles Roring) by email to peace4wp@gmail.com or send message by whatsapp to my number: +6281332245180.

Hiking and Watching Birds in Arfak Mountains

Vogelkop Bowerbird (Amblyornis inornata)

Watching Endemic Birds of New Guinea
Arfak range in the south of Manokwari city has been considered as a must see destination for birdwatchers. Every year visitors from Europe, Australia, North America go to Mount Soyti, Mount Indon, Mount Imubri and Mount Mabowi to watch such birds as Western Parotia (Parotia sefilata), Vogelkop bowerbird (Amblyornis inornata), Magnificent Bird of Paradise (Cicinnurus magnificus), Arfak Astrapia that are endemic to Vogelkop region.

Watching Tree Kangaroo

Tree Kangaroo

As a matter of fact, it is not only birds that birdwatchers will be able to see in the jungle of Arfak mountains but also other animals such as cuscus possum, and tree kangaroo.
Mount Imubri that is located around 9 hours of walk from the main road is the best site for watching grizzled and ursine tree kangaroo. Cuscus possum can be watched in the jungle of Mount Mabowi and Mount Imubri. Visitors who want to go there have to be fit physically. I regularly organize trekking trips to Mount Imubri to watch birds and marsupial animals in the jungle.

How to get there?
Fly from your country to Jakarta (the capital of Indonesia)
Fly to Manokwari city (the capital of West Papua province)
I could meet you at the airport and organize your trip to Arfak mountains for watching birds and other wild animals.

Duration of the trip
Visitors usually spend 3 days/ 2 nights in the lower montane forest and another 3 days/ 2 nights in the upper montane forest. My recommended birding sites will be going to Mount Mabowi for watching Lesser Birds of Paradise (Paradisaea minor) and the nocturnal Cuscus Possum; and then going to the jungle of Mount Soyti to watch Vogelkop Bowerbird, Western Parotia and Magnificent Birds of Paradise.

What you need to bring:

• Bring binoculars
• Bring camera with telephoto lens + extra batteries
• Bring torch/ flashlight
• Bring sleeping bag
• If possible, please, buy Birds of New Guinea as your main reference for birdwatching in this region. Reading that book, you will have a very good knowledge of avifauna world of New Guinea when where every species will most likely to occur.

As a tourist guide, I have organized numerous trips to Arfak mountains for visitors who want to watch birds and other wild animals as well as see beautiful
For further info of traveling and wildlife watching in Arfak mountains, please, contact me by email to: peace4wp@gmail.com

Tropical Flowers on Tops of Arfak Mountains

I have been to several summits of Arfak mountains such as the tops of Mount Soyti, Mount Sensenemes and Mount Kobrey. The vegetations in these areas are mostly myrmecophyte, rhododendron shrub and terrestrial orchids. The flowers of myrmecophyte are small whereas the flowers of Rhododendron konori are big and fragrants.

Rhododendron laetum

Rhododendron laetum like to grow on cliffs and steep slopes of the mountains. Because it has got bright yellow color, it is often found on the frontyard of the villagers along the coast of Lake Anggi Giji and Lake Anggi Gida. Flowers such as gladiol, and passion flowers grow along the edges of the lakes. Local people like to harvest passion fruits whose taste are very sweet.
Visitors who are very fond of tropical flowers can join my tours to Anggi Lakes and tops of Arfak mountains to see wild flowers and the magnificent view of the surrounding environment. Since the cost of transportation is very expensive, I highly suggest that the number of tour participants should be at least 3 people to share the cost.
In addition to observing flowers, visitors can meet and stay with the indigenous people in their traditional kaki seribu house. The duration of the tour is usually 6 days based on the following itinerary:

Lake Anggi Giji

Day 1 
Arrive in Manokwari
Getting Surat Jalan (travel permit) from police station
A short tour to Mansinam island

Day 2
Transfer to Mount Soyti of Arfak range
Watching vogelkop bowerbird and western parotia

Day 3

Passion Flower in Lake Anggi Gida

Trip will be continued to Lake Anggi Giji and Mount Maut (meaning deadly mountain)
Overnight stay in Cirnov village

Day 4
Hiking tour to the summit of Mount Sensenemes
Car trip to the summit of Mount Kobrey
Visiting Lake Anggi Gida
Visiting Neney waterfall
Overnight stay in Ransiki

Steep slopes and deep ravines between Mount Rinya
and Mount Sensenemes

Day 5
Transfer to Mount Mabowi
Climbing the mountain
Night walk to see cuscuss possum and glowing mushroom
Overnight stay in the jungle tents

Day 6
Watching Lesser Birds of Paradise
Jungle tour to higher elevation area
Overnight stay in the jungle tents

Day 7
Back to Manokwari city
End of Tour

For cost, an more info about traveling in Arfak mountains, please, contact me (Charles Roring) by email to: peace4wp@gmail.com