Raja Ampat Reef

Raja Ampat islands have been famous internationally because their marine biodiversity is the highest in the world. From my personal observations when I run snorkeling tours in the archipelago with foreign tourists, I could say that high density of fish and other marine animals can be seen in coral reef area whose sea current is strong. Such reefs are located in Yenbuba strait, Cape Kri, and in a small island near the entrance site of Kabui bay.

Beautiful Raja Ampat

When I organize the snorkeling tour, I also bring visitors to beaches that are calm but also have got high marine life such as South-West Mansuar, Cape Kri, Five Rocks, and Isanak beach in Waigeo island. Uninhabited islands often have got more coral reef in pristine condition.
Here, we could see tropical fish and other marine creatures including lobster, burrowing clam, sea star, sea urchin, christmas tree worm, and etc. Bigger fish such as trevally, parrotfish, black tip reef shark can be seen in drop off areas.
Swimming, snorkeling and freediving at this steep reef slope or wall may look  scarry but for experienced snorkelers and freedivers, this area is the place where more fish and better reef can be seen easily.
Coral reef is similar to tropical rainforest. It is the natural habitat of a lot of species of marine creatures from tiny pygmy seahorse to giant trevally. It is the source of food for a lot of people and it is an important natural resource for researches in marine science. Because of this important status, we need to preserve it forever.
Visitors who enjoy snorkeling and freediving over the coral reef must not stand on the corals.
I usually combine this coral reef snorkeling trip with hiking, birding and rainforest tour. My email is: peace4wp@gmail.com. You could also contact me by whatsapp message to my number: +6281332245180.

Wonderful Raja Ampat

Raja Ampat is a wonderful archipelago in West Papua province of the Republic of Indonesia. It has been famous for its marine life. Its forest is the natural habitat of hundreds of bird species such as parrots, kingfishers, fruit doves and pigeons, and birds of paradise. I organize tours to this regency for visitors who want to see tropical islands that are surrounded by white sandy beaches and coral reef, tropical fish as well as explore rainforest to watch its beautiful paradise birds.

Wonderful Raja Ampat

The usual duration of the tour is 3 days to 1 week covering big and small islands in the archipelago.

For those who like sightseeing, they could go by a speedboat or motorized wooden boat to see the karst in Wayag, Wawiyai of Kabui bay, as well as Fish Lagoon in eastern region of Waigeo.

Every time I guide tourists around Raja Ampat, I always do snorkeling and some freediving to see the wealth of its marine life. There are a lot of species of fish, corals and other marine animals. Fish such as pink anemonefish, sweetlips, wrasse, butterflyfish, moorish idol, and dolphins can easily be seen at depths of around 2 to 5 meters or more below sea level. To identify their species names, I use a field guide book Reef Fish Identification - Tropical Pacific written by Gerald Allen, Roger Steene, Paul Humann, and Ned Deloach.

My camera Fujifilm XQ2 greatly helps me in taking underwater pictures of the coral reef environment. I sometimes use Nikon W300. To take pictures of the fish, most often, I have to freedive and position my body to be on the same level or a little lower than the fish. I also do my best not to make any movements in the water. When I am still, fish will not feel intimidated with my presence. They will swim closer to me. As a result, I make closer photographs of fish and other marine animals.

Birdwatching

Birding is also my favorite activity when I walk in the forest. I bring a pair of Visionking 10×42 mm binoculars and a camera with telephoto lens. Waigeo island is the island that I highly recommend for birdwatchers.

Birdwatching could be done in almost all islands of Raja Ampat. In the coastal area, Radjah Shelduck, Beach Stone Curlew, Willie Wagtail, Beach Kingfisher and Spice Imperial Pigeon are the ones that visitors can watch. When they walk deeper into the forest, they will be able to watch Wilson's Bird of Paradise, Red Bird of Paradise, Eclectus Parrot and Western-crowned Pigeon.

Please, contact me by whatsapp to: +6281332245180 or email: peace4wp@gmail.com for booking your tour.

Birdwatching Trip to Raja Ampat

I organize birdwatching tour to Raja Ampat for tourists who are interested in seeing Red Bird of Paradise, Wilson's Bird of Paradise, Eclectus Parrot, Spice Imperial Pigeon, and a lot of birds that live in coastal and rainforest areas of the regency.
There are several sites in Waigeo and Gam which tourists can visit to watch Red Bird of Paradise (Paradisaea rubra). The bird is usually active in the mornings and in late afternoons around 15.00 to 17.00. They usually dance in the branches of tall trees. When conducting courtship dance, most often the male one poses his body in upside-down position and flaps his wings to attract female birds.

Male Red Bird of Paradise (click this link to see artwork)

The duration of the tour is as short as 3 days/ 2 nights to as along as 1 week. Waigeo is the main island that we will explore. I highly recommend that visitors bring their own binoculars to enhance their birding experience. Swarovski, Leica, Nikon, Vortex are some of the best birding optics that are available on the market. A spotting scope with tripod is also recommended.

Birdwatching Trip to Raja Ampat

The trip to Raja Ampat can be combined with a trip to mainland West Papua where visitors can watch such birds as Lesser Bird of Paradise, King Bird of Paradise and Magnificent Riflebird as well as Western Parotia, Black Sicklebill and Magnificent Bird of Paradise.

We will use field guide book Birds of New Guinea (written by Thane K. Pratt and Bruce Beehler) as our main reference when identifying birds.

In addition to watching birds, during the trip in Raja Ampat, we could combine it with snorkeling activity in coral reef area to see such fish as Striped Surgeonfish, Moorish Idol, and Anemonefish. 

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

Finding Nemo in Manokwari Waters

I know several coral reef sites in Manokwari which tourists can visit to see nemo and a lot of other species of tropical fish. From my snorkeling trips, I usually see Pink Anemonefish, Red and Black Anemonefish, as well as Spinecheek Anemonefish. They live in coral reef at depths from 1.5 meters to 10 meters below sea level. 

Finding Nemo

For visitors who want to enjoy snorkeling tour with me, I suggest that they bring their own snorkeling device that fit on their faces and feet. To take pictures underwater, a pocket camera such as Nikon W300 or Olympus Tough TG-5, or Canon G7X with waterproof case. I personally use Fujifilm XQ2 with its waterproof case. Most of the pictures in this collage plate were made by Fujifilm XQ2 and Canon G1X. 

When I take pictures of the fish, I try my best to be closer or in an eye level position with the fish. However, it cannot always be done because of the waves and current. 

If you are interested in visiting Manokwari city and want me to organize your snorkeling tours to various coral reef places, please, contact me (Charles Roring) by sending whatsapp message to my number +6281332245180 or email to: peace4wp@gmail.com

Snorkeling Season for Manokwari

Manokwari city is a nice destination for snorkeling. I have guided a lot of tourists from various European, North American and Asian countries to enjoy swimming, snorkeling and sightseeing in West Papua. There are several coral reef sites in around Manokwari which are the natural habitat of hundreds of species of reef fish.
My favorite sites are Mansinam, North Coast of Manokwari, and South Coast of Manokwari. While swimming over the reef, I and the visitors could see parrotfish, butterflyfish, lionfish, moorish idol, anemonefish, boxfish, wrasse, surgeonfish, grouper and a lot more.
Because Manokwari city is located inside Dore bay, the snorkeling activity can be done almost all year round.

Snorkeling Pictures from Manokwari

In my recent trip, I guided some British, German and Italian tourists to Mansinam and the north coast of Manokwari. We enjoyed swimming over the reef flat and drop off area. The visibility was very good especially in the mornings. I brought my point and shoot camera Fujifilm XQ2 that I had put inside its waterproof case. With that photographic device, I was able to take pictures of marine creatures that I saw during the snorkeling trips.
Manokwari is the capital of West Papua province in the Republic of Indonesia. It can easily be reached by plane from major cities in Indonesia. If you want to come here, you need to take an international flight from your country to Jakarta (the capital of the Republic of Indonesia). After that you one choose one of the airlines in this country that provide regular flights to Manokwari such as Garuda, Sriwijaya, Batik Air and Nam Air.
For avid snorkelers, I highly suggest that they bring their own device such as mask, snorkel, and fins. Bringing a good underwater camera is highly recommended. A small one like Olympus Tough TG-5, or Nikon W300 will give significantly enhance your snorkeling experience.
In addition to snorkeling, I also offer a trip to the forest where visitors can enjoy hiking, bird and wildlife watching.
If you are interested in visiting Manokwari and want me (Charles Roring) to be your guide, please, contact me by email to: peace4wp@gmail.com or you could also send text message to my number: +6281332245180.