Birding and Photography Tour in Indonesia from Sonder, Tomohon, Mount Mahawu, Manado, Tangkoko Nature Reserve in North Sulawesi to Malagufuk in Sorong regency, Klabili and Sausapor in Tambrauw, Waigeo and Salawati in Raja Ampat of West Papua. I support community based tourism. Please, contact me (Charles Roring) by whatsapp to +6281332245180 or by e-mail to: peace4wp@gmail.com.
The local government of Arfak Mountains regency are going to conduct Festival of Arfak from 8 - 12 October 2018. The tribes who live in the mountains will show their dance performance, songs, traditional costumes, food, kaki seribu houses, and other interesting cultural activities.
Visitors who are interested in seeing the festival can fly to Manokwari city and continue their trip by 4WD cars to the mountains. There are cars that go back and forth between Manokwari city and Anggi lakes every day.
Traditional Costumes of Arfak tribes
Visitors can stay in the kaki seribu houses of the villagers who live along the Anggi lakes area. Kaki means legs and seribu means one thousand. So, kaki seribu house means a house that has got one thousand pillars that support it. In reality the pillars are fewer.
Arfak mountains have been famous around the world as a must see destination for birdwatchers. There are a lot of species of tropical birds including such endemic paradise birds as Western Parotia, Magnificent Bird of Paradise, Black Sicklebill and Cinnamon Ground Dove. There is also Vogelkop Bowerbird that can build a bower and decorat it with beautiful flowers and other colorful articles to attract his female counterpart.
Tourists at one of the tops of Arfak range
admiring the beauty of Anggi lakes
Tourists who go to Arfak mountains during this festival can go hiking to the tops of the mountains and see the wonderful view of the lakes and its surrounding area. There are a lot of species of flowers on the slopes of the mountains that surround the lake such as Rhododendron konori, rhododendron laetum and terrestrial orchid. There are also myrmecodia and other unique plants in the mountains.
Your trip to Arfak mountains during this cultural festival will be an unforgetable memory for you who wants to see the natural beauty of West Papua's nature and unique cultre of the indigenous people of Manokwari. Written by Chales Roring
I offer snorkeling trips for visitors who are interested in spending their vacation in Manokwari. There are several coral reef areas which we can visit to see a lot of species of fish such as Surgeonfish, Spadefish, Angelfish, Butterflyfish, Anemonefish, Rabbitfish, Parrotfish, Coris, Wrasse and Grouper. There are also sea urchin, sea star, sea cucumber, sea grass and sometimes sea turtle which we could see during the snorkeling trips.
Visitors need to bring their own snorkeling mask, snorkel and flippers in order to see the underwater marine life that thrive in the coral reef. Those who want to take pictures of the fish and other marine creatures can bring underwater camera. I provide lifejackets especially for tourists who want to wear them. This will prevent visitors from standing on reef. We all know that coral reef is a beautiful, very rich but fragile marine environment. During the snorkeling trips, participants need practice positive buoyancy. The duration of the snorkeling trips can be as short as one day to as long as three days. The snorkeling trip can be done in other areas such as Tambrauw or Raja Ampat.
Coral Reef Environment in Manokwari
Rainforest Tour
In addition to marine tour, I also offer rainforest tour that usually lasts for 3 days. During the tour, visitors will go hiking in he forest to watch paradise birds, see cuscus possum and butterflies and various tropical plants. I and local villagers have built huts in the forest which tourists use for several days. There are mattrasses and cooking equipment. To watch cuscus possum, we usually do night walk in the jungle usually after dinner. Accommodation
There are a lot of hotels which visitors can choose to stay for several days during the snorkeling tour. When visitors decide to take rainforest trip, they will stay in the huts for several days to maximize their chance to see more wildlife. I suggest that visitors also bring their camera with telephoto lens and binoculars.
Booking
If you are interested in taking a vacation in Manokwari, or other areas in West Papua and want me to be your guide, please, contact me (Charles Roring) by e-mail to: peace4wp@gmail.com or by whatsapp to: peace4wp@gmail.com or by whatsapp to: +6281332245180
I offer snorkeling trips for visitors who are interested in watching tropical fish in the coral reef areas that are located along the coastal region of Manokwari. When taking this marine tour, visitors can see a lot of species of fish such as anemonefish, butterflyfish, striped surgeon fish, grouper, moorish idol, boxfish, as well as coral reef. The duration of the snorkeling vacation is one to two days.
To take this tour, I highly recommend that visitors bring their own mask, snorkel and fins. An underwater camera is also good for taking pictures of fish, and other marine creatures.
This can be combined with hiking and camping in the forest where visitors can go hiking to watch birds, cuscus possum, butterflies as well as unique plants of rainforest. Camping in the forest
King Bird of Paradise
I have got binoculars and spotting scope that can be used by visitors to watch birds. I and local villagers have also built huts which visitors can stay for several days to enjoy their vacation in Manokwari.
Please, contact me (Charles Roring) by whatsapp to: +6281332245180 or by e-mail to: peace4wp@gmail.com to get info about itinerary, transportation, accommodation and cost.
Here are some underwater pictures that I made when I went snorkeling in the suburb of Manokwari. I used a small action camera - Brica B-Pro 5 Alpha edition that I bought from an online store. I bought the new camera last month because my old one had already been broken for several years. The quality of the pictures it creates is not very sharp compared to my previous camera Nikon AW120.
I need to take pictures of marine environment so that I could use them for writing articles in my blog. I often share my photographs of coral reef and fish in facebook to raise awareness about the importance of reducing plastic use in our modern life.
Snorkeling trip in West Papua
Every body knows that plastic is harmful for the environment especially the marine one. For instance, the plastic bags that we get from supermarket cause a lot of deaths among sea turtles. Plastic bags look transparent when floating. Turtles consider them as jellyfish. They eat a lot of those plastic bags and then die.
Coral reef is a very rich marine environment. It is the habitat of butterflyfish, moorish idol, clown fish, sea star, grouper, sea cucumber, and a lot more. Because I work as tourist guide, I frequently offer snorkeling tours who plan to visit West Papua. Coral reef can be seen when we enjoy snorkeling or freediving.
If you are interested in visiting West Papua and want me to accompany you as a guide, please, contact me by e-mail to: peace4wp@gmail.com or by whatsapp to: +6281332245180.
Also read: Snorkeling and Sightseeing tour in Raja Ampat Snorkeling in Manokwari
