Snorkeling in Tropical Island of Manem in Indonesia

Coral reefs in the tropical island of Numfor and Manem in the Republic of Indonesia are good destination for snorkeling. As a tourist guide, I accompanied two Finish tourists to Numfor island from 30 June to 4 July 2011 on a birdwatching and snorkeling trip to Numfor island and its adjacent satellite islet called Manem. The underwater world of the marine environment in Manem was really wonderful. Numfor is a twenty minute flight from Manokwari city - the capital of West Papua province. I have snorkeled in tropical island of Manem several times. Yet I have never been feeling bored with it. Various types of corals including table coral, brain coral, and staghorn thrive at depths of 1 to 10 meters below sea level. In these corals, snorkelers can see large and small marine fish such as the eel, surgeon fish, clown fish and barracuda.

When we wanted to go by an outrigger wooden boat to Manem islet, the weather actually was not friendly at all. In addition, the low tide in the lagoon of Warido village made it difficult for us to leave the Numfor island for Manem islet. Usually people only need one hour boat ride but it took us more than two hours to reach Manem.
Marko and Rita did not bring waterproof case for their camera. So I lent them my Dicapac flexible waterhousing that is suitable for most pocket cameras. With this simple but robust waterproof case, they were able to shoot various species of tropical fish and coral reef that thrive off the shore of Manem islet.
Compared to my usual snorkeling trips in Manokwari bay, this snorkeling experience in Manem islet was more challenging. But it was worth it. We saw more fish and more marine life. The corals there are also more various.
Manem is not well promoted in the marine tourism industry across the globe but it is a potential place for snorkeling and even scuba diving. Unfortunately, there are no diving centers in Numfor that provide snorkeling or diving packages to tourists. Anybody who wants to go to Numfor and Manem must bring their own gears.

Travelers who snorkeled over the coral reef of Manem islet knew that it was one of the best tropical islands in Geelvink bay of New Guinea. However, it is not suitable for beginning snorkelers due to sea current and waves. For taking underwater picture, snorkelers must move slowly over the coral reef to keep the fish calm. With slow movement, tropical reef fish can be photographed more easily. To give you an idea of how beautiful the coral reef of Manem islet is, just see the underwater pictures that I have added in this post. They are beautiful, aren't they? Dives to deeper water can be done at the walls that are also covered with coral reef. If you are interested in taking an adventure trip to Numfor island and snorkeling in Manem islet, and need me as your guide or travel companion, please contact me at charlesroring@gmail.com

Snorkeling Trip in Manokwari bay of Indonesia

Snorkeling trip around Manokwari bay is one of the programs that I usually offer to foreign tourists who visit West Papua. The itinerary that I usually propose to travelers has some snorkeling locations in Manokwari bay. Some of them are the Arfai waters and the coral reef areas along the southern shore of Mansinam island. Other places where the coral reefs are still in pristine condition are the Kaki island and the Anggresi beach. However, due to strong water current in those areas, I provide the snorkeling trips to such destinations only for experienced snorkelers.

Coral Reef in Manokwari waters

The above underwater picture was made by a Russian tourist named Alex Sokolov using  Canon Powershot D10 - a waterproof digital camera. The quality of the photograph is very good even when he shot the corals at around 5 p.m. The weather at that time was cloudy. I recommend that all snorkelers buy this camera if they want to get underwater pictures whose colors are bright and strong such as the one that is shown above. 

Beside the waterproof camera, snorkelers and marine lovers need a book entitled Reef Fish Identification - Tropical Pacific that was written by Gerald Allen for identifying tropical fish that they shoot while snorkeling over coral reef areas in Indonesia and other Pacific countries.

The underwater world of the coral reef in Manokwari bay is really beautiful. Various species of tropical fish live in the coral reef of Arfai. However, most of the city dwellers in Manokwari are unaware of this beautiful marine environment. I consistently bring tourists to the areas to raise awareness among citizens of Manokwari so that their Dore bay will be kept clean from plastic and other domestic wastes that continue to flow to the bay particularly during the rainy days. 

Dore bay of Manokwari

Coral reef plays vital role in absorbing CO2 gases that we emit everyday through our various industrial and domestic activities. Coral reef is the tropical rainforest of the ocean. It is home to thousands of species of fish, marine plants and other sea animals. Coral reef even has bio-diversity that is higher than rainforest. Snorkeling trip to tourists can provide more educational values to those who see the beauty of this underwater world directly by their own eyes. Unfortunately, global warming has caused massive damages in coral reef with some parts of the corals have been bleached by that.

If you are interested in taking a snorkeling trip to several coral reef areas in Manokwari bay, and need me as your guide, please, contact me via email: charlesroring@gmail.com or by whatsapp to: +6281332245180. I will be happy to bring you there. Don't forget to bring your own snorkeling gear if you want to snorkel in Manokwari.

Also read: Snorkeling and Birdwatching in the Dorey bay of Manokwari

Striped Surgionfish from the Coral Reef of Manem islet in Indonesia

As a tourist guide, I often go snorkeling with tourists over the coral reef areas in the bay of Manokwari or off the shore of Manem - a satellite islet of Numfor island. Numfor is a nice tropical island located in the Cendrawasih bay of New Guinea. During the Dutch time, it was called Geelvink bay. Numfor has been my favorite destination for snorkeling and birdwatching. The surrounding water of Numfor, particularly coral reef in Manem islet, is still in pristine condition and provides plenty of tropical fish for the islanders. Today, the coral reef of the island is not only the source of food but also the destination for snorkelers from around the world. Tourists like to take pictures of the reef fish using their camera that has been protected with waterproof case. After taking the underwater pictures, they often ask me the names of fish species. To help them identify the species of the fish, I use a book entitled Reef Fish Identification Tropical Pacific which was written by Gerald Allen and his friends. The book was given to me as a gift by an American biologist Bert Harris.

Last week, I guided two tourists from Finland for a snorkeling and birdwatching trip in Numfor island of Indonesia. We went snorkeling in the morning off the shore of Manem islet. I lent them my Dicapac watercase which they used for taking underwater pictures with their Canon pocket camera. They were able to shoot a beautiful coral reef fish whose name is Striped Surgeonfish (Acanthurus Leneatus). According to the book, the tail spine of the tropical fish is venomous. So, if you see the fish while snorkeling or scuba diving, don't try to touch its tail. Without the book that I mentioned above, it would be difficult for me to identify the fish. Marine lovers who like snorkeling or scuba diving in Indonesian archipelago and the Pacific region need the book to identify the fish which they have shot using their underwater cameras.

If you are interested in traveling to Manokwari regency or Numfor island of Indonesia for a snorkeling or bird watching trip, and need me as a guide to help you arrange your trip and accommodation, please, contact me via my email: charlesroring@gmail.com.

Snorkeling in a tropical island of Manem

I was traveling to Numfor island last week. It was really a nice experience. I guided two tourists from Finland. They were Marko and Rita Laakonen. We went there for some snorkeling and birdwatching tours. Numfor island has a number of places whose underwater environment is covered with pristine tropical coral reef. One of them is Manem islet. Tropical fish are abundant in the waters of this island. We went there by an outriggered wooden boat that was powered by a 15 horsepower outboard manufactured by YAMAHA. The sea surface was quite rough due to strong wind that was blowing from the south.

It took more than one hour to reach the islet. Immediately after landing on the white sandy beach, we started snorkeling over the coral reef that was rich of coral reef fish. Thousands of species of reef fish could be seen and photographed at the depths between 1 to 5 meters. The Finish tourists used a Canon pocket camera that had been protected with a flexible water housing manufactured by Dicapac.

The underwater picture below shows how two reef fish, probably, the Eastern Triangular Butterflyfish, were swimming away from the snorkelers. Besides snorkeling, Numfor is also a great place for birdwatching. There are parrots, hornbills, dove, and kingfisher that live in the island. The Finish tourists really liked birdwatching and butterfly watching in Numfor island.
As a tourist guide, I have been promoting Numfor island and Manem islet as tourist destinations since last year. I hope that through this project, the indigenous Papuan people who live in Numfor can get economic benefits from this eco-tourism program so that they will not be tempted to use destructive fishing methods that really harmful to the pristine marine environment that still exists around the tropical island. 

Manem islet is a small tropical islet in Indonesia. If you want to visit this islet, you need to fly to Denpasar or Jakarta. After that you can take a domestic flight to Manokwari - the capital of West Papua province of Indonesia. From this city, I can guide you to the islet. If you are interested in snorkeling in the tropical island of New Guinea, please, contact me via my email: charlesroring@gmail.com, I will be happy to arrange your trip and guide you around.
Also read: coral reef in Manem islet

Cruise ship pollution

When a cruise ship or passenger ship is in the middle of the sea, it creates a number of wastes that are harmful to the marine environment. From the operation of the ship alone, large amount of smoke is released into the air. The smoke pollutes the atmosphere with CO2, CO and other toxic gases.
A cruise ship with a capacity of more than 5000 passengers can be considered as a small floating village or town. The cruise ship produces huge quantity of solid and liquid wastes that have to be properly treated to minimize negative impacts which they bring to the marine and land environment. For example, the gray water. Even though gray water consists mostly of organic material, it should not be released into the shallow waters where there are coral reef because this fragile ecosystem will die if the water is saturated with nutrients. So, the graywater has to be filtered to separate solid wastes from it before it can be released into the sea.
Special waste processing devices inside a cruise ship are used to reduce the volume of plastic and metal wastes so that they will not consume a lot of spaces inside the ship's compartment. When the cruise ship arrives at one of her ports of call, the wastes can be transferred to land for further processing. 

The above Youtube Video shows how MSC Fantasia cruise ship promotes herself as a marine vessel that respects marine habitat. To minimize air pollution, the ship uses low-sulphur fuel. To conserve energy, the cruise ship uses energy efficient light bulbs in all of her passenger cabins and public lounges. Energy efficient air conditioning system significantly reduces fuel consumption of this vessel. Improvements in ship design towards a more environmentally friendly ship is a positive step in maintaining the growth of marine tourism industry without harming the precious marine environment.