Rainforest Trekking and Camping Tour in Tambrauw Regency of West Papua

Tambrauw is a regency in West Papua located between Manokwari and Sorong. Most of its territory is still covered by dense tropical rainforest. The tropical rainforest in Tambrauw regency is the natural habitat of cuscus possum, wallaby, wild pigs, and a lot of colorful birds, beetles and butterflies.

I will conduct a 4-day/ 3-night trekking and camping tour in August from 15 to 18. During the tour, visitors will be able to go trekking in the jungle along the banks of Syuan river. Dome tents will be built for visitors so that they will fully experience how it is like to stay in the jungle for a few days. 

This trip is suitable for birdwatchers, butterflywatchers or anybody who is a nature lover.

Itinerary

Schedule: 15 to 18 August 2016
Activities: multi sport
Reservation is STILL OPEN

Group Size Limit: 4 people (2 spaces available) 

Price: 7 million rupiahs/ person (approximately 481 Euros)

The price includes transportation by 4WD car between Sorong and Tambrauw, camping gear such as tents, food, local guides, cooks, and contribution to local villagers.

The price does not include airfare, travel insurance, alcoholic and soft drinks, and any personal expenses.

Exploring the rainforest along the banks of Syuan river

Itinerary
15 August 2016
We will meet you in Sorong city and transfer you to Tambrauw regency located in the vogelkop region of West Papua. Overnight stay in the jungle tents.

16 August 2016
Trekking/ jungle walk, riverwalk, night walk, wildlife and birdwatching, swimming, camping.
Birds such as sulphur crested cockatoo, blyth's hornbill, and egret can often be seen flying in the sky when we begin walking into the jungle.


17 August 2016
Trekking/ jungle walk, riverwalk, wildlife and birdwatching, swimming, camping. As we walk deeper into the jungle, we may see the beautiful scenery of rainforest. Swallowtail blue mountain butterfly often fly through the forest.


18 August 2016
We still have time to enjoy the scenery of the river and rainforest. After breakfast, we will dismantle our tents and leave the forest.
A short tour around Sausapor town and its surrounding area
Transfer to Sorong city

How to get there?

Fly from your country to Jakarta (the capital city of Indonesia)

After that, take a domestic flight operated by Garuda, or Sriwijaya Air or Express Air or Nam Air to Sorong city.

I will meet you at the airport of Sorong city to organize your trip into the jungle

Booking
To book the tour, please, contact me by email to: peace4wp@gmail.com

Camping Tour in tropical jungle of Tambrauw Mountains

Trekking in tropical jungle of Tambrauw regency

Bandicoot is one of the marsupial animals that live in New Guinea forest

Snorkeling in Yenbuba Strait of Raja Ampat

Yenbuba Strait (between Kri island and Mansuar island)
 of Raja Ampat archipelago

There are a lot of snorkeling sites in Raja Ampat. One of them is Yenbuba strait. It is located between Kri and Mansuar island and has been one of the most favorite sites among snorkelers and scuba divers. Visitors who go snorkeling in this strait will be able to see thousands of reef fish including Diagonal-banded Sweetlips, Damselfishes, Groupers, Black Tip Reef Shark, Boxfishes, Spadefish, Butterflyfishes, Parrotfishes, Humphead Wrasse, Fusiliers, Anthias, Jacks and a lot more. I also saw hawksbill sea turtle and a lot of colorful corals. From my experience of snorkeling in Yenbuba, I faced strong current when I jumped into the water. I had to return to the boat and asked the driver to drop us in the north of the strait so that we would be able to enjoy snorkeling just by following the current. Marine life is abundant in Yenbuba strait. It is one of the healthiest coral reef environment in the world.

Yenbuba Strait in Raja Ampat islands of West Papua

As a tourist guide, I offer a snorkeling and sightseeing tour for visitors who are interested in visiting Raja Ampat. I can arrange a tour for individual tourist who wants me to be a private guide and snorkeling buddy or a group tour for 4 visitors who want to explore the islands and coral reefs of Raja Ampat.

Rainforest Tour
You could also lengthen the duration of your trip in West Papua by adding a rainforest tour in the mainland of New Guinea. I usually guide visitors to see tropical rainforest in Klasow valley in Sorong regency or Sausapor town in Tambrauw mountains. Tropical rainforest of West Papua is the natural habitat of such birds as Blyth's hornbill, pinon imperial pigeon, sulphur crested cockatoo, large fig parrot and a lot more.

The rainforest is also the natural habitat of colorful butterflies including Blue Mountain Swallowtail, Meadow Argus, Cruiser butterfly and Taenaris Catops butterfly. Birding and wildlife watching is a famous activity which tourists like to do when taking rainforest tour.

How to get there

• Fly from your country to Jakarta (the capital of Indonesia)
• After that, fly from Jakarta to Sorong city. I will meet you at the airport and arrange your trip both to Raja Ampat and the rainforest of mainland West Papua.

For prices and customized itinerary, please, contact me (Charles Roring) by email to: peace4wp@gmail.com or send text to my whatsapp number: +6281332245180 use the contact form at the top right of this blog.

Snorkeling in Mansuar island of Raja Ampat

Raja Ampat is the best destination in the world for tourists who are interested in seeing coral reef and tropical fish. Every year thousands of marine lovers travel to Raja Ampat to enjoy scuba diving, free diving and snorkeling. The easiest way to see underwater marine environment is by snorkeling and free diving.

Raja Ampat Adventure Tour

As a tourist guide, I offer a snorkeling and sightseeing tour as well as rainforest tour for anybody who plans to visit the region. One of the islands that we will visit is Mansuar. Mansuar is located side by side with Kri island. They are separated by very shallow Yenbuba strait. Mansuar and Kri are mostly covered by rugged mountains leaving very little flat land on some parts of the island. So, the coral reef thrives along the under water steep slopes drop off and walls The adventure tour in Raja Ampat can be carried out the the east region of Waigeo island.

Mansuar island at the back of the speedboad

Snorkeling Sites

Mansuar island has got several coral reef areas that are suitable for snorkelers. As a matter of fact that island is surrounded by coral reef. But the snorkeling sites that I like are Yenbuba jetty (across from Kri island), North West Mansuar, South West Mansuar and Sawondarek. From my previous snorkeling trips in most of the fringing reef of the island, I saw abundant number of fish including sweetlips, scads, grouper, trevally, butterflyfish, moorish idol, damselfish, grouper, black-tip reef fish, manta, pipefish and several species of anemone fish.

Red Slender Anthias and Diagonal-banded Sweetlips

Duration

The duration of snorkeling tour in Raja Ampat is 5 days/ 4 nights with itinerary as described below:

ITINERARY

Here is a typical itinerary that I offer to my customers:

Day 1 

Leaving Sorong for Raja Ampat

We will stay at one of the homestays in the region

Snorkeling in Yenbuba strait

Day 2

Traveling to Kabui karst islets (snorkeling) and a visit to its passage.

Snorkeling in Batu Lima or Friwen

A visit to sand bank near Kri island

Day 3

Traveling to Pianemo to see its beautiful scenery on top of one of its karst islets

Snorkeling in Arborek

Day 4

Snorkeling in West Mansuar

Snorkeling in Sawondarek

Day 5

Leaving Raja Ampat for Sorong

Please, consider the above itinerary as a reference only. It can be changed or modified during the trip depending on weather condition (rainy or sunny days, wave and sea current).

Snorkeling Gear

Because the face form and size of every person is different, I suggest that participant of this snorkeling tour bring his or her own snorkeling gear (mask, snorkel, and fins).

Map Location of Raja Ampat

If you are interested in taking the tour with me, please contact me (Charles Roring) by email to: peace4wp@gmail.com or send whatsapp message to: +6281332245180

Also read:
Snorkeling Video from Raja Ampat

Snorkeling in Arborek of Raja Ampat

by Charles Roring

Giant Clam in Raja Ampat islands of West Papua

Coral Reef in Arborek waters of Raja Ampat

Snorkeling Tour in Raja Ampat
Arborek is a small island in Raja Ampat,  in the west of Mansuar island. I enjoyed snorkeling at the jetty of the island last month. It was a nice experience because the waters of Arborek were the natural habitat of various species of fish. When I was freediving under the jetty I was surrounded by thousands of scads with tens of trevally and jackfish manuevering below them. Behind me was a large group of parrotfish biting the corals and spitting them in the water like spraying lime powder. In my previous trip to this island several years ago, I saw epaulette shark, and some giant clams (tridacna gigas).
Earlier that morning I did freediving to see manta in the Manta Point located not far from Arborek. 

After the snorkeling trip, I and some visitors from Czech republic had a little walk around the village where we met the villagers and had young coconut water at the beach. Arborek is a good transit point for visitors who have just returned from their sightseeing trip in Pianemo islets.
It was a wonderful experience because I had fulfilled my wish of returning to Arborek.

Arborek beach in Raja Ampat islands

As a tourist guide, I offer snorkeling and sightseeing tour to Raja Ampat islands for visitors who are interested in seeing the wealth of marine bio-diversity of the archipelago. Because the tour price of traveling in Raja Ampat is expensive, I suggest that visitors go in a group of at least 4 to 6 people to share the cost.
Don't forget to bring your own snorkeling gear (mask, snorkel, and fins). You could also bring a good underwater camera if you want to take pictures of coral reef and fish as well as other marine animals that you see in the water.

Jungle walk in Klasow valley of Sorong regency

Rainforest Tour
You can also extend your holiday in Raja Ampat by taking a rainforest tour in Tambrauw Mountains or Klasow valley. I have guided a lot of tourists who want to experience staying in the jungle for several nights. I and other local guides will build tents for our visitors at the side of a river. During the day we go trekking to see unique plants and animals of West Papua. The jungle trip usually is placed in the first part of the tour. It means that you will go trekking in the jungle before continuing your trip to Raja Ampat for snorkeling and sightseeing. Both the rainforest and coral reef environments are attractive to be explored.
For detailed info and prices, please, contact me (Charles Roring) by email to: peace4wp@gmail.com
Also read:
Snorkeling Video from Raja Ampat

Sightseeing and Snorkeling Tour in Raja Ampat

I have just completed a 5-day snorkeling and sightseeing tour in Raja Ampat with four Czech tourists. During the tour, we enjoyed sightseeing in a lot of islands and snorkeling in some coral reef areas of the archipelago. We visited Yenbuba strait, West Mansuar, Sawondarek, Five Rocks (Batu Lima), Kabui bay, Pianemo (Fam islands), Cape Kri, Arborek and Manta Point.

It was a wonderful trip and we were able to see various species of reef fish and other marine animals, including giant trevally, grouper, parrotfish, wrasse, sweetlips, butterfly fish, damsel, scads, humphead wrasse, black tip reef shark, manta and a lot more.

Marine Life in Yenbuba
Strait of Raja Ampat

Raja Ampat is the most recommended destination for anybody who is interested in seeing the biodiversity of marine life. Bring your own snorkeling mask and fins if you want to enjoy snorkeling in Raja Ampat with me. Because, traveling in Raja Ampat is expensive, I suggest that you come in a group of at least 4 tourists.

ITINERARY
Here is a typical itinerary that I offer to my customers:
Day 1 
Leaving Sorong for Raja Ampat
We will stay at one of the homestays in the region
Snorkeling in Yenbuba strait
Day 2
Traveling to Kabui karst islets (snorkeling) and a visit to its passage.
Snorkeling in Batu Lima or Friwen
A visit to sand bank
Day 3
Traveling to Pianemo to see its beautiful scenery on top of one of its karst islets
Snorkeling in Arborek
Day 4
Snorkeling in West Mansuar
Snorkeling in Sawondarek
Day 5
Leaving Raja Ampat for Sorong

Please, consider the above itinerary as a reference only. It can be changed or customized during the trip depending on weather condition.

If you are a single traveler
If you are alone, you can still visit the archipelago. You decide your own itinerary. You may choose one of the many homestays there and explore the coral reef at its beach front by snorkeling. After that you can move to another homestay in different island. If you still need me as your snorkeling buddy, I will be happy to accompany you during your trip in Raja Ampat. We can do snorkeling or birdwatching in Raja Ampat and try to identify the species names of the animals that we see using the field guide books that I have.

The marine tour in Raja Ampat can be combined with jungle tour in Sorong regency or Tambrauw Mountains. For the land tour, visitors will have the chance to explore the tropical rainforest of New Guinea that is the natural habitat of various species of butterflies, birds, and a lot of tropical plants.

RAINFOREST TOUR IN SORONG

In addition to offering snorkeling tour in Raja Ampat, I also provide a separate Rainforest Tour in Klasow valley of Sorong regency. Tropical rainforest that cover the lowland area of  Klasow valley is the natural habitat of various species of animals such as

Birds: Rufous-bellied Kookabura, Blyth's hornbills, Sulphur Crested Cockatoo, Moustached Tree-Swift, Lesser Birds of Paradise (Paradisaea minor), Yellow Faced Myna, Spangled Drongo, Pinon Imperial Pigeon (Ducula pinon), Eclectus Parrot (Eclectus rotatus), Golden Myna (Mino anais), Black-capped Lory (Lorius lory), Cassowary bird, and a lot more.
Butterflies: New Guinea Clipper Butterfly (Parthenos tigrina), Birdwing butterfly (Ornitopthera priamus), Meadow Argus butterfly (Junonia villida), Blue Mountain Swallowtail Butterfly (Papilio ulysses), The Great Eggfly Butterfly (Hypolimnas butterfly), Blue Tiger Butterfly (Tirumala limniace), and etc.
Marsupials: Wallaby (a kind of ground kangaroo), Bandicoot, and Cuscus possum
Mammals: Deer and Wild-pigs
Reptiles: Snakes, soa-soa lizards.
The above are some of the animals that I could identify from my previous tours. Actually there are more animals which I still cannot identify because I am lack of reference books about flora and fauna of West Papua.

Duration of the Rainforest Tour: On the average visitors spend between 3 to 5 days in the jungle of Klasow valley
Activities: Usually tourists go trekking in the jungle along the footpaths which are used by the indigenous people. They watch birds, insects, see tropical trees and shrubs and crawling plants as well as wild flowers and mushrooms. Because I have got a spotting scope, and a pair of binoculars, I can bring the device to enhance the birdwatching experience of visitors while walking in the jungle of Klasow valley.

Accommodation:
For 3 day tour, visitors will stay at a simple house made of wood, and thatched roof in the jungle village of Klasow forest. For longer tour, we will walk deeper into the jungle of Klaglass and stay in tents.

Cost: The cost depends on the duration of the tour and the number of participants. On the average a single traveler may spend 7 million rupiahs (approximately 465 Euros) for 3 days. But 2 visitors can spend approximately 9 million rupiahs (approx. 597 Euros) for 3 days in the jungle. The cost includes transportation by 4WD car to the valley, guides, food, accommodation and contribution to the jungle village of Klasow valley.
Contact: Please, contact me by email to: peace4wp@gmail.com for more customized tour, prices and other information



Alternative Destination
Manokwari
If you are thinking of going to another region in West Papua then my suggestion for you is going to Manokwari.
You can enjoy trekking in the rainforest and watching wild animals as well as snorkeling over many of its coral reef.
Group Size Limit: 6 people
Price per person: (please, contact us by email)

Here is the itinerary
Day 1
Arrive at Rendani airport of Manokwari
Day 2
Trekking and wildlife watching in Arfak mountains or the lowland forest of the northern coast area.
Day 3
Trekking and wildlife watching
Day 4
Trekking and wildlife watching
At the end of the day, we will return to Manokwari city
Day 5
Snorkeling
Day 6
Snorkeling
Day 7
Transfer to Rendani Airport
End of Tour

If you plan to visit West Papua and need me to arrange your tour and be your guide, please, contact me by email to: peace4wp@gmail.com or send whatsapp message to my number +6281332245180