Snorkeling, Sightseeing, Birdwatching and Wildlife Watching Trip in Raja Ampat

Last week, I guided 2 British visitors for 1 week rainforest and marine tours in Raja Ampat regency. I met them at a guesthouse in Sorong city and organized their transfer to Waigeo island by fast ferry boat. It took around 2 hours to reach the harbor of Waisai. We continued our trip by car to a beach resort in the south of Waigeo.

Tour in Raja Ampat with 2 British Visitors

Along the way, we stopped several times to enjoy birdwatching. Birds such as Pacific Swallow, White-breasted Woodswallow, Brahminy Kite, Gurneys Eagle, Eclectus Parrot, Moustached Treeswift, and Pied Imperial Pigeon were what we saw. 

We stayed in Raja Ampat Dive Resort (RADR) in Saporkren. In the first day of the tour, we spent most of our time inside the resort. There were a lot of green trees that surrounded the cottages. A lot of birds like to land on the trees for eating their fruits or for taking a rest before continuing their flight into the forest behind the hill. I brought a pair of 10×50 binoculars that I installed on top of my tripod. This is a good alternative for the more expensive spotting scope & tripod device. During the afternoon birdwatching session from the jetty, we were able to watch Beach Kingfisher, Helmetted Friarbird, Common Sandpiper, Pacific Reef Heron and a lot more. 

The next few days, we visited Piaynemo karst and explored the coral reef of Friwen Wall, Arborek, Yenbuba, Mioskon, Five Rocks, and Sand Bank. Raja Ampat was the paradise of marine life. There were a lot of species of fishes and marine creatures that we saw. 

Anemonefish at Friwen Wall

When snorkeling in Mioskon island, we saw Blue-spotted Stingray. There were cats at the beach. We gave them the leftovers of our lunch. Heavy rain fell on us while we were on the island. Trevally, parrotfish, wrasses are some of the many fishes which we saw in Mioskon. After that we continued our snorkeling tour to Five Rocks. This site does not have beautiful coral reef as what we saw in Mioskon but we saw Banded Sea Krait, Boxfish, blenny and Wobeggong there. 

Yenbuba strait is the site for Blacktip Reef Shark, turtles and a lot of big fishes. Swimmers and snorkelers need to be careful at this site because there are boats that cross this shallow strait. 

Coral reef in Friwen Wall

Various species of fishes in Arborek's jetty

with Gary and Esther in Sandbank of Raja Ampat

In Piaynemo, we did not go snorkeling. We only enjoyed the beautiful scenery of the karst. However, we watched birds in its top. There were White-bellied Cuckooshrike, Metallic Starling, Spice Imperial Pigeon, Beach Kingfisher and Brahminy Kite. 

If you are interested in taking a holiday in Raja Ampat and want me to guide you, and organize your trip, please contact me (Charles Roring) by whatsapp to: 6281332245180.

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