Sorong city the gate to Raja Ampat and the Jungle New Guinea

Pelabuhan Rakyat of Sorong City

I have been running snorkeling and rainforest tours from Sorong city since last year. Sorong has been famous around the world because it is the main gate for entering Raja Ampat islands. Flights to DEO airport can be taken from major cities in Indonesia such as Jakarta, Surabaya, Makassar, Ambon and Manado. Tens of thousands of visitors go Sorong every year to continue their trip in Raja Ampat where they will be able to enjoy scuba diving, snorkeling or climbing steep karst islets to see its beautiful scenery.
As a tour guide, I offer tour packages for snorkeling in Raja Ampat or trekking and birding in Tambrauw Mountains.
This week I will be guiding some French tourists on a jungle tour in Klasow valley. We will see tropical plants, butterflies and colorful beetles and birds. We also want to see wallaby and deer that live in the jungle.

This evening, I still have some relax moment of sitting at a street food stall eating a traditional Indonesian fried chicken cuisine called 'Ayam Lalapan'.

Watching Little Frigatebirds at Bakaro Beach

I am sitting at Bakaro beach now. It is approximately 30 minutes ride from the city. Near evening time, I saw some Lesser Frigatebirds flying over the sea in search of food. Female frigatebirds have got more white flanks on their chest and armpits. They are mostly black with fish as their main food. I can identify the birds because I bring my binoculars and have got Birds of New Guinea e-book in my tablet. Unfortunately, I don't bring my telephoto camera, so, I couldn't shoot the birds.

Marinelife

I used to see dolphins, and a lot of reef fish in the waters of Bakaro. Coral reef in Bakaro is relatively in good condition. Unfortunately, its white sandy beach is littered with a lot of plastic wastes and soft drink cans. Every Sunday, when the weather is good city dwellers of Manokwari like to come here for picnics and swim. Very few of them are brave enough to enjoy snorkeling in deeper water. 

Between November and March, the northern coast of Manokwari is exposed to bigger waves. So, it is the period that is suitable for wave surfers. For me, it is a rigt time to enjoy the beautiful scenery of the beach.

Wounded Moustached Tree Swift

When I went birding in the jungle of Klasow valley early this year with two birdwatchers from birdventures.com, I had an opportunity to see a Moustached Tree Swift closely. A boy from the jungle village, picked it up on the ground after watching it falling from the air. He told us that this bird was fighting against another tree swift and got hit on his eye.

Moustached Tree Swift

Simon Thomson, one of the birdwatchers, held the bird and put it on his Swarovski Optiks HD-ATS-80 HD Spotting Scope with 20x60 Eyepiece (Angled, 80mm) for closer examination. Because of the fighting, the bird suffered severe injury on his eyes. Free fall to the ground also worsened his condition.
I asked the boy what food he had given to the bird to help him survive. He answered, "sweet tea." We were so surprised to hear that. Later, Simon explained that the bird should be given insects such as grasshopper. There were around fifteen children who were around us.
After that they boy returned to his house which was not far from our basecamp. The next two days when I returned again to the valley with a Dutch tourist, they children told me that the bird did not survive. I was sad to hear that but highly appreciated the boy's effort in helping the bird.
Klasow valley is a birding site in Sorong regency of West Papua. The jungle village near Klabolo stream where I stayed was a new human settlement in the jungle. The villagers were cutting trees, clearing the lands to open vegetable gardens and build their houses. The valley is also the natural habitat of abundant butterflies, wallaby, and tropical plants.
I introduce ecotourism in the valley to curb illegal logging and to stop the destruction of rainforest. Visitors need to walk for around one and a half hour to reach the jungle village. To travel to the valley, every visitor needs a good backpack that can carry some clothes, and photographic equipment.
Birdwatchers and nature lovers who want to see tropical rainforest or watch birds in West Papua can contact me (Charles Roring) by email to peace4wp@gmail.com.

Snorkeling and trekking in Raja Ampat and mainland West Papua

Raja Ampat has got hundreds of islands with thousands of coral reef areas. They are scattered from Ayau islands in the north to Pele islands in the south. The marine bio-diversity was recorded by scientiests as the richest in the world. If we travel throughout Raja Ampat, we will see that the scenery above the water is as beautiful as the one under the water. That's why this archipelago attracts thousands of visitors every year.

Raja Ampat in the morning

As a tour guide, I can organize a holiday trip for you to Raja Ampat where you can enjoy snorkeling over many of its coral reef and then trekking and wildlife watching in the jungle of mainland West Papua. It will be a 9-day trip for anybody who is interested in exploring the unique environment of marine life and tropical rainforest. The minum number of participants is 4 and the maximum is 8 people.
You need a good snorkeling set to see the tropical fish and marine animal that live in coral reef. There are thousands of fish species that you can see underwater from a small damsel fish and butterflyfish to a giant whaleshark. Please, consider buying the following book: Reeffish Identification - Tropical Pacific.

In the first part of the trip, we will visit several islands of Raja Ampat from the Waigeo, to Gam, Kri, Mansuar, and Piaynemo and then to Kabui bay by boat. After that we will return to Sorong city to continue our trip into the jungle of Klasow valley. Walking in the jungle, we will be able to watch sulphur crested cockatoo, blyth's hornbill, and lesser birds of paradise. Tropical rainforest is a unique environment that is worth seeing by visitors are nature lovers.
Please, contact me by email: peace4wp@gmail.com if you want to book for the tour.
Also read my article: Raja Ampat Tour for further information

Jungle Tour in Sorong of West Papua

I have been organizing tours for tourists to tropical rainforest of  Sorong regency since last year. The destination is Klasow valley located approximately two hours by 4WD car and 2 hours walk through tropical jungle to reach a village in the valley.

a Swiss tourist with the background of
tropical jungle of Klasow valley

Tourists
So far most of the guests who visited the valley were from western countries such as the United States, The Netherlands, France, Switzerland and Germany and etc. Some came as a single travelers while others came as couples or as groups of three up to six people. More visitors are coming as more information is uploaded into the internet about the Klasow valley and Tambrauw mountains.
The Rainforest
The plants that grow in Klasow valley are typical vegetation that is usually found in the lowland and coastal area of New Guinea. Big trees such as ficus, large conifer Agathis, and iron wood, and various species of palms live side by side with rattan and other vines or climbing plants.
There are also sago trees which the indigenous people process to make flour. Sago is the staple food of Moi tribe who live in the region.
Wildlife Watching
Tourists go to Malagufuk village of Klasow valley to see the rich bio-diversity of tropical rainforest that is the natural habitat of wallaby (a kind of small ground kangaroo, bandicoot, cassowary, wild pigs, sulphur crested cockatoo, goliath cockatoo, blyh's hornbill, goshawk, kingfisher, golden myna, dollar bird, pinon imperial pigeon and a lot of other birds. Colorful butterflies can also be seen in the area too. Birdwatching can usually be done from mornings until evening. Nocturnal bird such as Papuan Frogmouth can sometimes be heard calling from distant trees. At night, jungle walk can be carried out to see wallaby.

Where to stay
Most of the tourists who visited Klasow valley stayed in a small guesthouse built by the villagers of Malagufuk. It is made of wood and covered with palm roof. There is clean water installation and a simple toilet.

Cost: On the average the cost is 5 million rupiahs per person for 3 days/ 2 nights traveling. It includes transportation by 4WD car, local guide, food, and basic accommodation in the jungle village.

Booking:
Please, contact my email: peace4wp@gmail.com for detailed info about the tour.