Visiting Sansapor in New Guinea

Sansapor was one of the landing points of US forces in Netherlands New Guinea in their fight against Japanese forces during World War II. From June to August 1944, US troops landed and constructed airfields in the area including in Middleburg island, in Amsterdam island, and in Mar village of the mainland New Guinea. The picture below shows the two islands which are now called Pulau Dua. In Malay or Indonesian language, Pulau means Island and Dua means Two.

Dua islands (formerly called Amsterdam and Middleburg islands near Sausapor town of Tambrauw regency - West Papua

From 18 to 21 May 2015, I made an exploratory trip to Sausapor (as it is called now) and its surrounding areas. My goal was to assess whether the town and its nearby villages could be promoted as destination of foreign tourists. Sausapor has developed from a small village in 1940s into a small coastal town of Tambrauw regency.
My trip to Sausapor was also part of an initial visitation for the annual traditional event of Turtle Calling Ritual that will be conducted on 25 June 2015 at Jamoersba beach of the region. So, if you read this post and are interested in attending the event to watch leatherback turtles land on the beach to lay eggs, do fly to Sorong city before 23 June 2015. I will try to arrange transfer for you to Sausapor town.

US tank wrecks in the jungle of Werbes near Sansapor of New Guinea

During my land tour in the region, I was able to visit the former airfield of Mar that has been reconstructed by the local government of Tambrauw regency for civilian purposes.
I also had a chance to explore the tropical rainforest near Werbes village where local people said that there are still some tank wrecks left by US troops in two adjacent locations of the jungle. In total there were around ten of them. They became a silent evidence of US presence in the region 71 years ago.
Sausapor and its surrounding environment is a suitable destination for tourists who are interested in hiking, camping, snorkeling, birdwatching and wildlife watching.

How to get to Sansapor?

• First contact me by email to: peace4wp@gmail.com or by sending text message to my cell phone: 006281332245180
• Second, fly to Jakarta (the capital of Indonesia) and then take a domestic flight to Sorong city. From Sorong city, you can continue your trip by passenger ship MV. Sunlia or by  MV. Ave Maria from Pelabuhan Rakyat (meaning People's harbor) to Sausapor. The ship usually leaves at night at 22.00 and arrives in Sansapor or Sausapor at 04.00.
• From the town, you can explore its forest, rivers, beach, and the nearby islands?

Sausapor and other villages in Tambrauw regency are not a touristic region. You might find yourself as the only tourist in town or village. So, next time when you plan to have a summer holiday, consider Sansapor as your destination :-) this article was written by Charles Roring, email: peace4wp@gmail.com

Birds of Paradise in Tropical Island of New Guinea

Birds of paradise are the icon of New Guinea - the largest tropical island in the world. They live in the rainforests but now their natural habitats are being destroyed by massive deforestation. The rise of fuel prices has triggered the search for alternative fuel oil other than petroleum. When processed palm oil is believed to be the alternative fuel for diesel engine that drive cars and trucks, massive monoculture sawit palm plantations are now being opened in West Papua and Papua New Guinea. With the approval of local governments, hundreds of thousands of hectares rainforest are now being cut for the development of the sawit plantations. Tropical rainforests that are rich in bio-diversity are now shrinking every minute.

Birds of paradise have also been hunted since hundreds of years ago. They are traded life and dead to collectors who are happy to hang them on the walls of their houses or to put them in glass boxes.
Birdwatching is an alternative income generation scheme that I try to introduce to local people in Manokwari regency at the moment. Birdwathers from Europe, the United States have come to see the birds of paradise in their natural habitat. There are three locations in this regency where tourists can go to watch birds of paradise.

They are Camp Mawowi, Camp Dopi and Aiwatar hill. The nearest on to the town is Camp Dopi. Birdwatchers who want to see the birds of paradise in Camp Dopi need to hiking through the jungle for three hours to reach the birding site. I deliberately do not put the GPS coordinates of the site in website to prevent hunters from visiting the jungle and shooting the birds.