Watching Leatherback Turtle in Tambrauw regency of West Papua

Leatherback turtle

Leatherback turtle (Dermochelys coriacea)  is one of the largest turtles in the world. This endangered animal is facing extinction due to continuous hunting for its eggs, suffocation from drifting plastic bag that it considers as jelly fish and other natural predators in its early age.
To raise awareness about the importance of protecting turtles, I offer turtle watching trips to the beach where turtles usually land to lay eggs. This will be a very long trip to a remote region in the coastal area between Manokwari and Sorong city. The name of the beach is Jen Womom. There are also other turtles such as Hawksbill, Green Turtle and Olive Ridley.

How to get there?

• First fly from your country to Jakarta city.
• After getting Visa On Arrival, continue your trip to Sorong city by flying with Garuda, or Sriwijaya Air, or Express Air
• Make sure that you arrive in Sorong city. I will meet you at the airport or at the hotel where you stay and organize your trip to Jen Womom beach.

Other Activities
In addition to watching turtles, we could enjoy snorkeling, swimming, and island hopping in the regency to see coral reef, tropical fish, colorful birds, butterflies, and unique plants of rainforest.
I suggest that visitors bring their own snorkeling gear such as mask, snorkel and flippers.
For birdwatching, a good pair of binoculars and a spotting scope will be useful.
Other important devices that visitors need are camera for land tours and underwater camera for water sport activities.
Torch or flash light will be needed at night. 

Tambrauw regency has got a lot of tourist attraction. Some of them are wave surfing, trekking, and birdwatching.

If you are interested in visiting Tambrauw regency, please, contact me (Charles Roring) by email to: peace4wp@gmail.com or cell phone: 006281332245180

Related post:
Tourist attractions in Tambrauw

Trekking and Watching Tree Kangaroo in Arfak Mountains

I went trekking to Arfak mountains last week. I visited a a hamlet located deep in the jungle with a population of only three families. It took around 9 hours walking up and down steep slopes of the mountain range to reach the hamlet whose surrounding environment was still in pristine condition.

Tree Kangaroo in the jungle of Arfak mountains

At an elevation of 1,000 meters above sea level inside pristine rainforest, the mountain range of Arfak mountains is an ideal place for nature lovers who are interested in watching tree kangaroo. So far there are two species that have been photographed by the tourists but the villagers said there are three species in the jungle. To take picture of the kangaroo, visitors need to bring D-SLR camera with telephoto lenses or a bridge camera with super telephoto capabilities such as Nikon P600, Nikon P900 or Canon SX60hs.

Wild Life
Tree kangaroo is not the only animal that we can see in this pristine forest of Arfak range. There are also other animals such as cuscus possum, and various species of birds of paradise and wild pigs.
If you are interested in trekking Arfak mountains of Manokwari regency of West Papua, please, contact me (Charles Roring) by email to: peace4wp@gmail.com or send text message to my cell phone: 006281332245180.

Trip report:
Trekking and watching Tree Kangaroo in Manokwari

Koroway Tribe in South Papua

I have just completed my trip to southern region of Papua. I visited the indigenous people of Koroway tribe who lived in the wetland.

Here I was sitting in the tree house of Koroway tribe

The people of Korowai or Koroway build their traditional houses on high poles or in tall trees. Those who live in the jungle still wear traditional costume (very minimum clothing or almost naked). They hunt wild animals such as boars, kangaroo, casowary bird, cuscus and soa-soa using bows and arrows, and spears as their traditional weapons. They also like to catch fish in the river using sharp pointed arrow or fish traps.

a Koroway man and his children

Most of their dwellings are located near a river and sago trees. They processed the pith from the trunk of sago tree to make flour. It is their main staple food.

The traditional tree house of Koroway that was constructed in high trees

The indigenous people of Koroway tribe is considered to be the only human being who still live in trees. The trip to Koroway is suitable for nature lovers, naturists or anyone who want to know how to survive in the jungle.

some girls of Koroway with their grandmother

If you visit the Koroway tribe, you can learn how to survive in the jungle with the Koroway way such as how to make fire using very simple tools, how to find sago worms and cook them, how to use bow and arrow to shoot a target, how to catch fish and how to expel mosquito while sleeping naked in the jungle. Because, I was a guest I had to adapt with their lifestyle. I also hope that visitors or solo traveler who goes to Koroway land does the same thing.
When swimming in the river, ask the local people for the safe spot. This is important so that you will not become the target of crocodiles.

Visitors from all corners of the world go to Koroway land to see their tree houses or experience their traditional lifestyle. If you are interested in visiting Koroway tribe and need me to be your private guide, please contact me by email to: peace4wp@gmail.com. You need at least 2 weeks to do the trip.

Snorkeling in Mansinam Island

Do you plan to go to Manokwari? Don't forget to visit the nearby Mansinam island. It takes only around ten minutes by "water taxi"  from Ketapang Boat Station to Mansinam.

White sandy beach near Doreri Guesthouse of Mansinam Island

Coral Reef Environment and Shipwrecks

Bring your snorkeling gear if you want to see the rich marine environment of the coral reef that thrive along the coast of the island. Surgeon fish, damsel fish, butterfly fish, parrotfish, anemone fish, are some of the tropical fish that you could see when you enjoy snorkeling or scuba diving in the island.
Table coral, mushroom coral and leather coral can be seen thriving in the waters around mansinam.There are  several shipwrecks on the bottom of the sea which can be seen by scuba divers.

Make sure that you do not stand on the coral and tease the marine animals.

Accommodation in Mansinam Island

If you want to spend several days exploring Mansinam island, you could stay at Doreri Guesthouse that is located on the southeastern side of the island just a minute walk to the beach.

Doreri Guesthouse in Mansinam Island

The standard rates
Overnight stay Rp. 550,000 approximately 37 Euros
Pick up service from the airport Rp. 150,000 or approx. 12 US dollars
Boat rent Rp. 500,000 per day
Bicycle rent Rp. 75,000 per day or approx. 6 US dollars
Snorkeling mask Rp. 50,000 or approx. 4 US dollars
If you want to travel in Manokwari city and its surrounding areas, you could also rent motorcycle or car from Doreri Guesthouse with the following rates:
Motorcycle Rp. 100,000 per day

Car Rp. 500,000 per day

Jogging and Nature Walk

Early in the morning, you could begin your day by jogging or walking along the concrete road that circles the island. Most part of Mansinam is still covered with tropical rainforest.

Birdwatching

If you are an avid birders, bring your telephoto camera to take pictures of kingfishers, frigate birds and other water birds that live in the island.

Butterfly and Insect Watching

Butterflies, Beetles,grasshoppers and other tropical Insects can easily be spotted in the branches and twigs of flower plants and shrubs throughout the island.

If you are interested in visiting and staying in Mansinam island, please, contact me by email to: peace4wp@gmail.com.
This article is written by Charles Roring

Hiking and Birdwatching in Sorong of West Papua

Visitors who travel to Raja Ampat will first have to fly to Sorong city. The city is located in mainland West Papua province of the Republic of Indonesia. I often receive questions from tourists whether there are other natural attractions around Sorong regency which they can see before or after visiting Raja Ampat islands.

Female Eclectus Parrot

The lowland forest in the suburb of Sorong regency is a new destination for tourists who want to explore the biodiversity of tropical rainforest. The forest is the natural habitat of birds, reptiles, insects, mammals and marsupials. I introduced it for the first time on the internet in November 2014.

a male Lesser Birds of Paradise (Paradisaea minor)

Birdwatching
Tropical birds of New Guinea that thrive in lowland rainforest can be seen in the valley. Shining flycatcher (Myagra alecto), Sulphur crested cockatoo (Cacatua galerita), Pinon Imperial Pigion (Ducula pinon), Palm Cockatoo (Probosciger aterrimus), Western crowned pigeon (Goura cristata), Blyth's hornbill (Rhyticeros plicatus), Rufous-bellied Kookaburra, Pink-spotted Fruit Dove, Moustached Tree Swift, and Lesser birds of paradise (Paradisaea minor) are some of the many birds of New Guinea that visitors can watch while walking through the forest.

Western-crowned Pigeon

Hiking through the rainforest of Klasow valley is easy because the land is flat. However, the footpath to the display tree of Lesser Birds of Paradise is steep and slippery. It is approximately one hour on foot from the village. Visitors have to walk for at least 1 hour to reach the lek of the birds that is located near Klasow river.
Visitors can watch the birds in the mornings and in the evenings. Male lesser birds of paradise compete against one another to win the heart of female birds.

Lesser Birds of Paradise

When the weather is good, the courtship dance performance usually lasts for 3 hours from 6 to 9 a.m.
After watching the paradise birds, visitors could walk back to the village and do birdwatching along the way. Binoculars, spotting scopes and laser pointer will be very useful during the morning walk.
Leg-cramps and muscle pain are not very common among tourists, but there were some cases where  tourists experienced them. Dehydration, salt depletion and fatigue of long day walking on the trails caused these severe leg cramps. When these signs happened, I immediately stopped the hiking tour and returned to our guesthouse. In the jungle guesthouse, I served instant noodle and gave it to my client who suffered it.  The soup of the noodle contains salt that would reduce the cramps. The noodle soup resupplies her body with new electrolytes. To ease the soreness or pain in the muscles and joints, I gave gentle massage using coconut oil. I applied the oil on my palms, warmed them up and then gave relaxing massage to the tensed musles.
Massage also increased the flow of blood that brings nutrients and oxygen to underlying tissues. It relieved muscle tension, and stiffness. Birding could be continued around the clearing area of the forest.

Birding in the Forest Edge

The clearing area around the jungle village is a good place for birding in the afternoon particularly between 16.00 to 18.00 local time. Birds such as friarbird, moustached tree swift, large fig parrot, red cheek parrot, and black lorry often fly and perch in the nearby trees. Children in the village with their sharper eyes can spot birds in distant trees faster than most of the visitors.

Rufous-bellied Kookaburra

What you need to bring:

• Water shoes or trekking shoes and long sleeve clothing that will protect you from insect bites when you sleep. You also need t-shirt that is suitable for tropical climate that is usually hot during the day
• Torch
• Rain poncho
• Insect repellent lotion. Apply it on your skin, and the clothes that cover your body, including areas over your neck, armpits, chest, crotch and ankle. This is very important to protect you from tiny insects that can go through your clothes and bite your skin. 
• Bring binoculars or digital camera with super telephoto lens if you want to take pictures of the animals that live in the jungle.
• Extra batteries for your camera.

Itinerary of Rainforest Tour:
Day 1
Transfer from Sorong city to lowland forest of Sorong by 4WD pick-up car. You will stay in a guesthouse (basic accommodation) in the jungle. Birding can be done directly along the forest edge. After dinner, I or local villager will accompany you to have a night walk in the jungle to find wallaby. Sometimes Papuan frogmouth or fruit bat can be seen too. We will use flash or torch. If you are too tired to do the night walk, we could do it in the second night.
Day 2
Early in the morning, after breakfast, you will leave your camp to walk deeper into the jungle to explore its biodiversity. Deer, wild pigs and wallaby live in the jungle of the valley. Our targets for this morning are Lesser Birds of Paradise and Twelve-wired Bird of Paradise. If we are lucky, we could see them. At night, after dinner, local guide can accompany you to find cuscus possum that usually comes out at night to find food or to mate.
Day 3
We will go trekking and birding in the hill forest. Usually, Hooded Butcherbird, Western-crowned Pigeon, Black-capped Lory, Yellow-billed Kingfisher, Sulphur-crested Cockatoo, Red-breasted Paradise Kingfisher, Frilled Monarch and King Bird of Paradise.
Day 4
This is your last birding day, the easiest way to explore the forest is to walk around the forest through old logging tracks that are located near the village. Birds such as Pink-spotted Fruit Dove, Large Fig Parrot, Magnificent Riflebird, usually come to villagers' garden to find grains such as corn, peanuts and green beans. In the afternoon, 4WD pick up truck will transfer you back to Sorong city.

Unpaved road leading to Klasow valley

Costs:
This depends on the number of participants and duration of the tour. Traveling in a group of 3 or 4 people will make the price cheaper.

The Lowland forest is located in the west of Sorong city. Visitors need to rent a 4WD Pick-up truck to reach the valley. You could contact me if you want a more customized trips and different itinerary.

Booking

Please, send me (Charles Roring) an email to: peace4wp@gmail.com or text message to my cell phone 006281332245180. I will be happy to arrange your trip to Sorong forest or other parts of West Papua.

Sulphur-crested Cockatoo

Also read:
Birdwatching Tour in Sorong Lowland Forest
Birding in Sorong regency
Birding tour in Sorong regency of West Papua