Parrot Conservation Indonesia Part 2 – Ecotourism

Posted on November 23, 2014 by Tara

In yesterday’s post, I introduced you to Mehd Halouate and his work with the World Parrot Trust. Today, I will show you some of the eco-tours he and his wife, Lena are operating throughout Indonesia. First, have a look at his website and see the tours organized for 2014-2016.

Use your miles to get to Indonesia and save your money for the tour and to spend locally!

Tours for 2014
Tours for 2015
Tours for 2016

If you enjoyed my series on West Papua from March 2013 but were afraid to go on your own, the good news is that Mehd & Lena are offering all the same destinations with more time at each one on this tour.

Review Of Sriwijaya Airlines Business Class And Their Lounges in DJJ & UPG

Posted on April 30, 2013 by Tara

I am not the sort who would spend extra $$$ just to have a larger seat and better meal, but when a deal comes along that allows you to buy one business class seat and get one free making it equal to the cost of buying two economy seats at normal price I’d be a fool to pass it up! Sriwijaya is one of the airlines you might be flying if you visit West Papua.

JAYAPURA – MANOKWARI (DJJ_MKW)

Although we booked in business class, there was an aircraft change to a plane that had only economy seats. I suggested to the check in lady that she give us a row of 3 seats to ourselves in the front of the plane and she agreed. She also escorted us through the airport past the departure tax desk and paid our tax, then she brought us to the business class lounge and made sure we could still get in since we only had economy boarding passes. I have to give them top marks for customer service and making us as comfortable as possible since they changed the aircraft.

Jayapura Executive Lounge

MANOKWARI – SORONG (MKW-SOQ)

No lounges in Manokwari. This time it was a two class aircraft and we got our business class seats. They were very comfortable and we even got driven to the plane in a private car as opposed to a bus. The seats were very comfortable and we got a snack for the short flight.

Sriwijaya business class

Business class snack – Sriwijaya

SORONG – MAKASSAR – SURABAYA (SOQ-MKW-SUB)

This flight was pretty full with a dive tour group taking up most of the seats. It was pretty amusing to see the looks on their faces when they had to walk past the grungy backpackers to their seats in economy! Although this leg is sold as a through ticket, you actually have to change planes in Makassar aka Ujung Padang. There is no business class lounge in Sorong but there is one in Ujung Padang. We had the same seats as before on the plane for both legs and once again were offered a meal but I forgot to get pics. The business class lounge in Ujung Padang is pretty nice with a well-stocked buffet of Indonesian dishes, sweets and hot pancakes.

Ujung Padang Executive Lounge

Birding The Sorong Lowlands

Posted on April 29, 2013 by Tara

This was where I made a mistake – I didn’t book a guide in advance, thinking it would be easy to just call one when we got there as it was low season. Wrong! I already had some sources such as Benny from Biak who has guide contacts in Sorong and a website that was advertising day birding trips. The itinerary from Papua Expeditions looked great- several Birds of Paradise (BOPs) and Black Lories amongst other birds. First thing I did upon checking into the Royal Mamberamo was to load the website to get the phone number and call or text them. But wait – no phone number on the whole site! I sent an email but didn’t get a reply. Benny from Discover Papua texted me back that his guide wasn’t replying. My husband and I were on our own. I went back online to try to find phone numbers for other guides or at least trip reports showing where the best places were. I found a couple trip reports that said Black Lories were in the Hutan Lindung area at km 14, about 8km past the airport.

Hutan Lindung

And this report had a similar bird list.

We had the hotel book us a car and driver, explain to the driver where we wanted to go and tell us the price – 70,000 rupiah an hour. First we went out on the Makbon Road in search of lowland forest that looked “birdy”. We passed a few villages and finally found a likely spot. The villagers were curious about us but understood that we wanted “burung” which means birds. One of them even knew where to find a Twelve-wired BOP further away but we would have been too late. We walked down the road but didn’t hear or see anything interesting, just a few barn swallows.

Village on Makbon Road

Curious villagers

Barn Swallow

Mosque on Makbon Road

Interesting monument on Makbon Road

We went back to Hutan Lindung to try our luck. It was around 11am by now so too late for real birding but we tried! We did hear the screech of cockatoos flying in the distance but couldn’t see them. We gave up and had the driver bring us back to the hotel.

The next morning, we got up early and once again hired a car and driver, bringing our bags with us so we could be dropped at the airport afterwards. Last chance birding for West Papua! We would only have time for a couple hours in Hutan Lindung. This time we did much better. Cockatoos were heard but not seen again. We saw a pair of Black Lories doing a fly-by off in the distance. And I could swear I heard Yellow-capped Pygmy Parrots in a tree near the road but within the foliage. They sounded like the ones we saw in Nimbokrang and I could see movement but not a clear shot of a bird. As usual, I got great photos of leaves! Then again, I managed to get some butterfly shots so it wasn’t a total photographic loss!

Taxi we hired by the hour for trip to Hutan Lindung

Entrance to Hutan Lindung Taman Wisata

Lowland forest of Hutan Lindung

Trees where we heard the Yellow-capped Pygmy Parrots

Tiny bird on branch near the bottom

Silhouetted bird in tree, anyone know what it is?

Butterfly

Just missed the Black Lories who did a quick fly by

Sorong – Gateway To Raja Ampat

Posted on April 28, 2013 by Tara

Sorong is actually more than just a gateway city, there are good birding spots in the lowland forests outside the city. They will be covered in a separate blog post. It’s worth spending a couple extra days here to check them out. I’ve already covered how to get here in the Raja Ampat post, so let’s have a look at where to stay and what to do here. Google seems to have upgraded the zoom level of Sorong since the last time I looked. The A in the green bubble is the Royal Mamberamo Hotel, the red X I made is the JE Meridien Hotel and the red arrow shows the road out of town that leads to the lowland forest birding areas of Hutan Lindung and beyond to Makbon.

WHERE TO STAY

At the time I was looking and booking, I couldn’t find a good map of Sorong that shows where the hotels are and where the road to Makbon is so I just had to go off Trip Advisor reviews to choose a hotel. I chose Royal Mamberamo Hotel because it got mostly good reviews and I didn’t know exactly where any of the hotels were located except that I knew JE Meridien was across the street from the airport.

Royal Mamberamo Hotel, Sorong

Nice canoe carving in breakfast room at Royal Mamberamo Hotel

We took the cheapest room for 425,000 rupiah ($42) which had a very strong AC but no window. That was OK as we didn’t plan to spend much time in the room. It was very basic but had English programs on tv which was good as there is nothing to do in the evening. The breakfast buffet was pretty good and offered Western and Indonesian items. The location is out of the city centre with a few shops withing walking distance, even a hair salon which I visited when my husband wanted to nap. They can organize a car and driver at 70,000 ($7) rupiahs per hour who will take you where you want to go and stop wherever you want. I’d call this a decent hotel but bad location for birders.

I did get a look at some other hotels. The Cendrawasih Hotel is cheaper and across the street down a block from Royal Mamberamo. They had a taxidermied Greater BOP and some nice artwork on the walls.

Cendrawasih Hotel and Restaurant

Taxidermied Greater BOPS at Cendrawasih Hotel and Restaurant

Artwork Cendrawasih Hotel and Restaurant

While we were driving to the birding spot, we passed the Hotel Mariat Sorong which was more centrally located near a shopping centre and looked OK. As I mentioned, the JE Meridien (yeah I know – Mariat, Meridien but sorry, you won’t get MR or SPG points here) is across the street from the airport. We ended up going in here to ask dierections at the small tourist office when our driver got lost. It looked good enough and was on the road going out of town so a more convenient location for birders. If we were to go back to Sorong, we would stay here. The Luxio Hotel was further down the road towards Hutan Lindung but there was nothing else in the area so it wouldn’t be my first choice because I usually choose by location but it did get some good reviews.

EATING AND SHOPPING

Most people eat in their hotels for the convenience but we did have the driver stop at the KFC on the way back to the hotel for some take-away. If you are going to Batanta by charter boat, there are a couple supermarkets, one near the KFC and one near the Mariat Hotel where you can stock up if your tour leader doesn’t do it for you. There are a couple of good craft shops. One is uphill from Royal Mamberamo (ask the receptionist to point it out) behind the BUMA building. The other is in the airport before you go past security which has similar items to the BUMA shop and also T-shirts and beautiful sarongs with BOPs on them. They have some nice New Guinea masks, statues, handbags and other crafts. Please DO NOT buy anything like the hats (photos below) with the dead Birds of Paradise on them. They killed these poor birds just to make these hats to sell to tourists and we don’t want to encourgage this. But don’t boycott the shop altogether as the other things are sourced from different craftsmen who shouldn’t suffer along with the guilty. It’s best to let the shop see that tourists will buy crafts that do not harm wildlife but won’t touch anything where birds are killed so hopefully they will stop stocking these items.

Gift shop behind BUMA uphill from Royal Mamberamo Hotel

***DO NOT BUY THESE*** Whole bird – Lesser BOP on hat

SIGHTSEEING AROUND SORONG

Not really much to see, several attractive mosques and some monuments. There’s a pretty good view from on top of the hill near BUMA.

Outside BUMA uphill from Royal Mamberamo Hotel

Shanties on hill above Royal Mamberamo Hotel

Not sure what they are selling but I liked the bird pics

Sorong Mosque

Entrance to Sorong Airport

Red Bird Of Paradise – Dancing In The Trees

Posted on April 25, 2013 by Tara

Red Bird of Paradise (Paradisaea rubra), Waigeo

An Indonesian endemic, the Red Bird-of-paradise (Paradisaea rubra, also Cendrawasih Merah) is distributed to lowland rainforests of Waigeo and Batanta islands of Raja Ampat, West Papua. This species shares its home with another bird-of-paradise, the Wilson’s Bird-of-paradise. They are easier to see because they dance in the trees in the same place and don’t seem to mind spectators sitting in the hide below.

Red Bird of Paradise (Paradisaea rubra), Waigeo- dancing in the trees

Yeah, you better be watching me!

OK where did the lady BOPs go?

Large, up to 33 cm long, brown and yellow with a dark brown iris, grey legs and yellow bill. The male has an emerald green face, a pair of elongated black corkscrew-shaped tail wires, dark green feather pompoms above each eye and a train of glossy crimson red plumes with whitish tips at either side of the breast. The male measures up to 72 cm long, including the ornamental red plumes that require at least six years to fully attain. The female is similar but smaller in size, with a dark brown face and has no ornamental red plumes. The diet consists mainly of fruits, berries and arthropods.

Red Bird of Paradise (Paradisaea rubra), Waigeo – dancing in the trees

Red Bird of Paradise (Paradisaea rubra), Waigeo – fancy moves

Red Bird of Paradise (Paradisaea rubra), Waigeo – trying to impress the ladies

For a stunning professional shot by a Nat Geo photographer, read the fascinating story of the lengths they go through to get these shots! There’s also a video showing a Nat Geo crew filming other Birds of Paradise which shows more of their technique. Climbing trees is probably out of scope for the typical eco-tourist!

This is my “real life” pitiful attempt to get them dancing on video.

And this one appears to have been filmed on Batanta (Waigeo doesn’t have that sign overhead) by someone staying at a dive resort on Kri Island. The resorts are quite nice, but not cheap! Bonus footage of a Paradise Kingfisher!

Raja Ampat – A Treasure For Birders As Well As Divers

Posted on April 22, 2013 by Tara

Out of all the places in West Papua I have been blogging about, Raja Ampat is the one most likely to be familiar to most tourists. It is one of the world’s greatest scuba diving destinations and there are many blogs and websites to help you organize a dive trip on either a live-aboard boat or based in a resort. Some of the resorts also offer bird watching so I will mention that where appropriate.

Location of Sorong and Raja Ampat

GETTING THERE

As of this writing, you can fly into the airport of Sorong (SOQ) with Sriwijaya (Jakarta-Soekarno-Hatta, Manokwari, Surabaya, Makassar); Express Air (Jakarta-Soekarno-Hatta, Jayapura, Manokwari, Surabaya, Makassar, Yogyakarta); Merpati (Jayapura, Manokwari); and Wings Abadi/Lion Air (Ambon). None of these airlines currently offer online booking and payment with a non-Indonesian credit card except possibly Merpati. In my article about Sriwijaya, I describe how to use an Indonesian travel agent to book the tickets. The good news is that Garuda will be starting service to Manokwari and Sorong in July 2013 so in the future you will be able to book these flights online. Garuda is due to join SkyTeam later this year so you will be able to use miles to redeem tickets all the way from your home airport to Sorong!

Arriving in Sorong

RAJA AMPAT DIVING TAGS AND CONSERVATION FEES

If you visit any of the scuba diving sites, you will see this mentioned. I didn’t know about it before we left as I had been visiting mostly birding sites and only heard about it from another tourist on the ferry to Waigeo. They were planning on diving and also hiring a boat to go to some more remote islands. We weren’t planning on even snorkeling so didn’t look into this before we left. No one asked for “tags” on the ferry so I tend to think that if you will only be on the main island of Waigeo and not diving you don’t need the tags. There is a bit of a grey area if you are hiring a charter boat to go to Batanta and Salawati. Some of the diving websites that I looked at just now mention that the tags are inspected on the boats. If you think you need to buy the tags, when you arrive in Sorong, walk across the street to the JE Meridien Hotel and buy them there.

Raja Ampat Lodges Site

Stay Raja Ampat Site

FERRY TO WAIGEO

The main reason I chose Waigeo as our birding destination is because you can get there on a public ferry rather than having to charter a boat. Most birding tour groups charter a boat and go to Batanta and Salawati. The birdlife is pretty much the same on Waigeo and Batanta, Salawati does have some different species.

It will cost around 50,000 rupiah to get to the ferry terminal but you will have to bargain for this price and probably go outside the airport to the main street and head to the left. Taxi drivers don’t speak English so have someone write “ferry to Waisai” on a piece of paper. Once there, you buy your tickets and any supplies you want to bring to the island-water, cold drinks, snacks. You don’t have to buy too much as Waigeo is the main population centre of Raja Ampat and there are shops and small restaurants on the island. There will also be people coming around on the ferry to sell snacks.

A ferry leaves Sorong daily to Waisai around 2pm but it’s best to be on board around 1pm. Seats are assigned and cost 120,000 rupiah ($12). The ferry back to Sorong from Waisai also leaves at 2pm and costs the same. It’s a pleasant 2.5-3 hour trip.

Ticket booth for ferry to Waigeo

Food stalls, buy snacks and drinks

Walk down the pier, ferry is on the left.

Vendors selling snacks to passengers

Arrival at Waisai

View of ferry at Waisai dock

Food stalls with “Ojek” taxis waiting in front

GETTING TO OTHER ISLANDS SUCH AS BATANTA AND SALAWATI

There are no public ferries to these islands so you will need to charter a boat complete with captain, first mate and bring enough food supplies to feed them, yourselves and a couple of guides once you get there. You will need to get to Dom Island and ask around for a charter boat. Papua Bird Club may be able to help with this. Expect to pay around $100-150 per day. You will need to hire the boat for the duration of your stay but it will be available to use for side trips to Salawati or snorkeling excursions.

Coming next: Waigeo, top birds and the world’s cheapest overwater bungalows!

Extreme Birding 2 – The Awesome Arfak Mountains

Posted on April 19, 2013 by Tara

This is the second installment (first installment was Nimbokrang) of my series on “Extreme Birding”, meaning places that are very challenging in one way or another. With the Arfaks, there are many challenges. It’s not the easiest place in the world to get to, you will need to hire a 4WD truck to the village of Mokwam and an area of town called Syoubri where Zeth lives, which I discussed in my post on Manokwari. There are public vehicles but they are unpredictable so you may want to try your luck at Terminal Wosi first but be prepared to spend the 1,500,000 rupiah each way.

COMMUNICATION (LACK THEREOF)

Communication is another challenge. There are no phones either land or mobile based and no wifi. If you want to travel in high season (May-August) and be assured of getting the fabulous Zeth Wonggar or his partner Eliakim as a guide, you will have to join a group or get Papua Bird Club to make the arrangements for you. If you go in off season, you can probably just show up and get a good guide and room in the guesthouse.

ACCOMMODATION IN MOKWAM/SYOUBRI

If you are a backpacker or used to camping the accommodation will not be so challenging. If you are used to elite treatment at the Hyatt Regency, Intercontinental or Four Seasons, you will be in for a shock! Let’s take a look at the guesthouse first. If you are with a group tour, they will probably provide you with a sleeping bag and blankets. If you are traveling ultra-light like we were, Zeth does have a couple of spare blankets and a thin pad. The guesthouse was full when we arrived by a group of Korean TV producers/filmers. The 4 of them took all the space in a guesthouse that can usually sleep 8 on wooden platforms. In the photos below, the swag belonged to one of them, the one with the wooden plank is our room on the last day. Zeth persuaded them to clear their stuff out of a room so we could sleep inside rather than a tent.

Front of Zeth’s Guesthouse, Mokwam

Dining table in Zeth’s Guesthouse, Mokwam

Zeth’s Guesthouse, Mokwam – sleeping platform

Another room with a swag belonging to the Korean TV crew

Toilet and Indonesian style bath, also called a “mandi”.

Fresh spring water, it’s drinkable and good for brushing teeth and light washing up.

Room with a view, you can see birds flying around these trees

Kitchen where a cook assigned to you by Zeth will cook your food.

Kitchen table

The first night, we had to sleep in a tent they set up in the kitchen since the guesthouse was full.

Official price list for guiding, accommodation and fees payable to the village.

CAMPING UP THE MOUNTAIN

There are several camps as you go up the mountain, each with it’s own specialty birds. The most famous birds are the Western Parotia and Vogelkop Bowerbird. Their respective display grounds are just below the “Garden Hut” so that was where our entourage pitched our tent so we could easily get to the hides in the early morning. They did a great job of setting up camp, large tarp over the area, pitched the tent under it, dug a pit toilet a short distance away so we wouldn’t get lost and building a campfire. I actually taught them how to do an old-fashioned weenie roast! It brought me back to my girl scout days as a child and was fun! I couldn’t believe they had never had a weenie roast before, I just wish I had brought some marshmallows!

Mountain camp

The giudes preparing the campfire and cooking area.

The guides and porters preparing the campfire and cooking area.

Ina and I collapsing with exhaustion after the long walk uphill.

They were originally going to make a bench but turned it into a table

Everyone gathered around the campfire, it got pretty chilly at night.

The first ever Arfak Mountain Weenie Roast!

The roasted hot dogs tasted really good and I bet this is not the last time the locals do this!

KEY BIRD SPECIES

Magnificent Bird-or-Paradise; Black Sicklebill; Western Parotia, Long-tailed Paradigalla; Arfak Astrapia; Arfak Bowerbird; Lesser Bird-of-Paradise; Superb Bird-of-Paradise; New Guinea Eagle; Feline Owlet-Nightjar; Mountain Owlet-Nightjar; Spotted Jewel-Babbler; Chestnut-backed Jewel-Babbler Spotted Catbird; Flame Bowerbird; Magnificent Riflebird; Buff-tailed Sicklebill. There are also some parrot species up here. The white Triton Cockatoos (subspecies of Cacatua galerita) were pretty common and we saw them in trees across the river as we climbed up the mountain. Lorikeets were seen flying overhead several times – Plum-faced Lorikeet (Oreopsittacus arfaki), Yellow-billed Lorikeet Neopsittacus musschenbroekii and Fairy Lorikeet Charmosyna pulchella. We were hoping to see the long-tailed Papuan Lorikeet (Charmosyna papou) but no luck. Other parrots we were hoping for but didn’t see were Brehm’s Tiger-Parrot Psittacella brehmii and Pesquet’s Parrot (Psittrichas fulgidus). We saw a nest belonging to Red-breasted Pygmy Parrots (Micropsitta bruijnii) but unfortunately they weren’t home.

Sulphur-crested Cockatoos (Triton subspecies)

See the links on this page to other trip reports to the Arfak Mountains to get an idea of which birds other people saw.

HIKING UP THE MOUNTAIN

This was the most difficult hike I have ever done in my life and I really wish I had done it when I was younger and somewhat fitter. The locals can get from the village to the Japanese camp at the top in about half an hour which they frequently do if they have to prepare the meals in the village and bring them up the mountain. No, they do not get tired. Typical tourists will get to the Bowerbird/Parotia area where we camped in about an hour. Ina and I took about 3 hours to get up the mountain with very frequent rest stops (at least we saw lorikeets flying overhead)! It was extremely steep and involved crossing a small river, clambering up rocks and walking through mud. There are 3 camps up the mountain -the Garden House, Camp Attenborough and Japanese Camp (Black Sicklebill and Arfak Astrapia). Theoretically, the camps are about 90 minutes apart, at least that’s what the locals say! We gave up at the Garden Hut but if you have more energy, you should try to make it all the way up to the Japanese Camp.

Eliakim leads the way up the mountain

Hacking through the bush

BIRD HIDES

It’s very clever how they made these hides at the display grounds of the Western Parotia and Vogelkop Bowerbird. The benches are pretty comfortable but only 3 people can fit in a hide at a time and there are only 2 peepholes to watch the birds though. Be prepared to get up at dawn and be positioned in the hide so the birds don’t know you are there. Avoid talking or whisper if you have to. The guides will probably gather up some spare branches to maintain the hides.

Western Parotia hide

Peek through this hole at the Western Parotia

Western Parotia hide

Western Parotia hide-from the bird’s side

Bowerbird hide

WHAT TO BRING

The Arfaks is unique in its remoteness and also altitude which can make the nights very chilly. I suggest you bring the following if you have the room in your bags:

Sleeping bag
Air mattress
Blanket
Clothes to ear for the duration and discarded such as old jacket, long pants, long sleeved shirts, gumboots, warm socks
Mosquito repellant
Food for you and your expected guides and porters. Bring extra as you will probably end up with more porters than you expect. Rice, tinned meat (no fridges up there), eggs, frozen hot dogs to roast the first night, bottled water, noodles, cookies, coffee, tea, sugar. Some people will bring live chickens from the market in Manokwari, the guides will prepare them but I couldn’t do it. I am not a vegetarian but I don’t want to “meet” my dinner either!
Torch (flashlight)
Batteries for anything you have that use them. Pre-charge your batteries the day before you fly to Manokwari
Malaria pills (more about that later)

UNFORGETTABLE EXPERIENCE

It may be challenging, but a visit to the Arfaks for birding will give you a lot of new birds you can’t see anywhere else and you will meet some amazing people! All the guides and porters were very friendly and went out of their way to make us as comfortable as possible and give us a hand up slippery rocks and muddy trails.

I suggested to Zeth that he arrange for a few of the village women to learn massage as we came down the mountain exhausted and aching all over! It would also be nice to have handicrafts for sale. If you have any questions, please ask in the comments.

Tara and Zeth

Home Decor With The Vogelkop Bowerbird

Posted on April 18, 2013 by Tara

The Vogelkop Bowerbird (Amblyornis inornata), also known as the Vogelkop Gardener Bowerbird, is a medium-sized, bowerbird of the mountains of the Vogelkop Peninsula at West Papua, Indonesia.

By far, the easiest place to see them is in the Arfaks where Zeth Wonggar has built hides at their display grounds. Like other Birds of Paradise, they stay at the same display grounds year round so that makes them predictable. Good for eco-tourists but not good if they are being stalked by trappers.


Vogelkop Bowerbird Range

The bower is a cone-shaped hut-like structure some 100 cm high and 160 cm in diameter, with an entrance usually propped up by two column-like sticks. A front “lawn” of some square meters area is cleaned of debris and laid out with moss. On this, and in the entrance of the bower, decorations such as colourful flowers or fruit, shining beetle elytra, dead leaves and other conspicuous objects are collected and artistically arranged.

Males go to great lengths to ensure that their displays are in prime condition, replacing old items as needed, as well as trying to outdo their neighbours by finding more spectacular decorations, and arranging them appropriately.

Vogelkop Bowerbird’s Bower at Arfak

Vogelkop Bowerbird arrives and is not happy his decor has been messed up.

Eeek! Who made this mess?

Everything must be in it’s proper place!

Gathering up his decor!

One final check-everything looks good. Bring on the paparazzi!

OK lady Bowerbirds, come and check out my awesome bower!

Surely this is worthy of Better Homes and Gardens!

Manokwari, The Gateway To Your Adventure In The Arfak Mountains

Posted on April 14, 2013 by Tara

This is part of a series covering my birding trip to West Papua in March 2013. You will need to fly into the airport of Manokwari to access the Arfaks and the village of Mokwam. In this post, I will discuss the logistics of visiting Mokwam and the gateway of Manokwari. The birding report will be on a separate post.

Location of Manokwari

GETTING THERE

As of this writing, you can fly into the Rendani airport of Manokwari (MKW) with Sriwijaya (Jakarta-Soekarno-Hatta, Surabaya, Makassar, Sorong); Express Air (Jakarta-Soekarno-Hatta, Jayapura, Sorong, Surabaya, Makassar, Yogyakarta); Merpati (Jayapura, Sorong); Wings Abadi/Lion Air (Ambon) and Susi Air (Biak). None of these airlines currently offer online booking and payment with a non-Indonesian credit card except possibly Merpati. In my article about Sriwijaya, I describe how to use an Indonesian travel agent to book the tickets. The good news is that Garuda will be starting service to Manokwari and Sorong in July 2013 so in the future you will be able to book these flights online. Garuda is due to join SkyTeam later this year so you will be able to use miles to redeem tickets all the way from your home airport to Manokwari!

Manokwari Airport

Manokwari Airport Waiting Room

Most flights will arrive in Manokwari before noon so you will have plenty of time to organize a Surat Jalan (scroll down for details), buy groceries to bring to Mokwam and organize your transport to and from Mokwam. The Papua Bird Club can do this for you and also book your stay with Zeth Wonggar since he doesn’t have mobile phone access. You can contact them by email and if you are going during high season (May-Aug) you definitely need to book ahead to ensure you don’t clash with another birding tour group. Shita, the owner of Papua Bird Club can be difficult to contact so keep trying if she doesn’t reply promptly. If you go in the off-season, you would probably be OK just hiring a 4WD and going there. If Zeth is otherwise occupied, he does have other guides such as Eliakim who can guide you and know all the birds.

GETTING TO MOKWAM

This is an adventure in itself and you can only do it in a 4WD truck. If you are an independant traveler, you can find these for hire at the main bus and bemo station called Terminal Wosi. You will have to get a taxi or “ojek” motorcycle taxi out there and they will probably drop you at the gate with a security guard. To find the 4WD vehicles, don’t go through this gate but turn left and walk past the market and you will see some trucks parked by the shops. The drivers probably won’t speak English. I struggled quite a bit here but luckily for me, my friend Mehd Halaouate who works with conservation projects in Indonesia is fluent in Bahasa Indonesia and helped me negotiate by text message. The going rate is 1,500,000 rupiah (around $150) each way for a 4WD truck that has seating for 4-5 in the cab and more in the back. It takes around 2 hours to get there, more if you stop for birding along the way which we didn’t as we left Manokwari around 3pm. If you don’t use the back, various locals will probably hitch a ride. Be sure to organize your return trip with the driver because you won’t be able to contact him once you are in Mokwam. When you arrive in Mokwam, Zeth will be happy to do this for you if you have trouble communicating.

The road to Mokwam – river crossing

The road to Mokwam – almost there

The road to Mokwam – entering the village

If you see this truck and driver at Terminal Wosi, hire him!

Heading back to Manokwari

Cleaning the truck in the river

Cleaning the truck in the river, also take note that this is also a reliable driver

Back in Manokwari

Manokwari

WHERE TO STAY IN MANOKWARI

Since there are so many photos, I will only discuss the gateway of Manokwari here and discuss where to stay in Mokwam in the next post. You will only need an overnight on your flight out of Manokwari since you will arrive early enough to get to Mokwam on the same day. However flights out are also mostly in the morning and as you can see by the journey to and from Mokwam, there is no way to leave Mokwam the same day and make a flight. After looking at all the options and knowing that the birding would be extremely challenging in the Arfaks, I knew we would need major R&R when we got back to town. The Aston Niu Manokwari was perfect for this, they have a beautiful infinity pool and great setting on a hill overlooking the town and sea, plus I could book and pay online and avoid having to carry more cash around. They do take credit cards for settling your bill. We were so exhausted after birding the Arfaks, we spent the whole day at the pool. It was a Sunday so nothing would have been open anyways.

Before you head to Mokwam, if you need to buy groceries, there is a fairly large supermarket in the same mall that has the KFC outlet. Be aware that you will probably see people selling wild-caught parrots in front of this mall. I saw a lady selling 3 Eclectus that were tied to small perches with a string around their feet for about 300,000 rupiah each ($30). Unfortunately, their wings were clipped so buying them to set them free was not an option.

The Aston Niu Manokwari includes the breakfast buffet in the rate and other meals are available and reasonably priced. There is a massage stall in the lobby but when I went there after the swim, they were closed, not sure if this was because it was Sunday or the masseuse was booked. There is an aviary with some Eclectus Parrots and Black-capped Lories, probably wild-caught. Their diet leaves a lot to be desired (only pellets) and they really appreciated me giving them some fruit I stole from the breakfast buffet. They gobbled it up so quickly, I went back for more which was also quickly eaten. I encouraged the staff to give them fruit every day. If you stay here, please check on the birds!

Aston Niu Manokwari

Swimming Pool Aston Niu Manokwari

Aston Niu Manokwari breakfast buffet

Eclectus and Black-capped Lories in the aviary

SURAT JALAN

This is a travel permit issued by the regional police and you will need one to go off the beaten track in West Papua to such places as Mokwam/Arfak. The police station in Manokwari will give you one if you haven’t gotten one in Jayapura, in which case they will merely stamp the back of it. It takes about an hour to issue and you will need 2 passport photos and photocopies of your passport and Indonesian visa page. Try to avoid arriving on a Sunday as the officer who issues them will probably be off duty. It will cost about 50,000 rupiah or $5. It’s a good idea to bring extra passport photocopies and passport photos in case other village chiefs or police ask for them. We weren’t asked for it when we were there in Mokwam but we traveled in low season so don’t count on this. It’s only a minor inconvenience to get it and I would hate to spend $150 on a 4WD only to be turned away at the village for not having a permit.

A Photographic Guide To The Birds Of Indonesia

Posted on April 14, 2013 by Tara

This is the book I wish I had known about BEFORE my trip! It was only just published in Dec 2012 and we left on 28 Feb so had stopped looking around by then. It’s well laid out with photos of all the birds you can expect to see in Indonesia with the bird’s habitat highlighted on a map. Great planning tool, can also help with communicating with guides who don’t speak English. I found it in a book shop in the Surabaya airport on my way back to Bali for around $35 but you can order it on Amazon (affiliate link) for $23 and have it to study in advance.

Miles To The Wild

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Tag Archives: west papua

Parrot Conservation Indonesia Part 2 – Ecotourism

Review Of Sriwijaya Airlines Business Class And Their Lounges in DJJ & UPG

JAYAPURA – MANOKWARI (DJJ_MKW)

MANOKWARI – SORONG (MKW-SOQ)

SORONG – MAKASSAR – SURABAYA (SOQ-MKW-SUB)

Birding The Sorong Lowlands

Sorong – Gateway To Raja Ampat

WHERE TO STAY

SIGHTSEEING AROUND SORONG

Red Bird Of Paradise – Dancing In The Trees

Raja Ampat – A Treasure For Birders As Well As Divers

GETTING THERE

GETTING TO OTHER ISLANDS SUCH AS BATANTA AND SALAWATI

Extreme Birding 2 – The Awesome Arfak Mountains

COMMUNICATION (LACK THEREOF)

ACCOMMODATION IN MOKWAM/SYOUBRI

CAMPING UP THE MOUNTAIN

HIKING UP THE MOUNTAIN

BIRD HIDES

WHAT TO BRING

UNFORGETTABLE EXPERIENCE

Home Decor With The Vogelkop Bowerbird

Manokwari, The Gateway To Your Adventure In The Arfak Mountains

GETTING THERE

GETTING TO MOKWAM

WHERE TO STAY IN MANOKWARI

A Photographic Guide To The Birds Of Indonesia