Art Drawing of Fruit Dove

There are a lot of species of doves in tropical rainforest of West Papua. I always see some of them when I guide tourists on birding tours in Sorong, Raja Ampat, Tambrauw and Manokwari. 

They eat fruits and spread their seeds to all corners of the forest. Birds are seed dispersers, they are the ones who work tirelessly in planting trees and safeguard the rainforest. 

I made a drawing of Beautiful Fruit Dove (Ptilinopus pulchellus) using Derwent Water Colour Pencils. Using a drawing software, I erased its white background and upload it on to my tropical art shop in Redbubble. The artwork can now be ordered as prints on t-shirt, iPhone skin, hat, mug, and etc. 

Some products with prints of Beautiful Fruit Dove

Beautiful Fruit Dove (Ptilinopus pulchellus) lives in lowland and lower montane forest of New Guinea and its satellite islands. They eat berries and can easily be watched all year round. However, the best time to watch the bird is during fruiting season. 

Wompoo Fruit Dove (Ptilinopus magnificus)

I have also created a lot of other drawings including butterflies, flowers, baby turtle, Lesser Birds of Paradise, Red Bird of Paradise, and etc. They can be seen at my online Tropical Art Shop in Redbubble.

Please, see my other artworks as well:

• Red Bird of Paradise
• Lesser Birds of Paradise

Coloured Pencil Drawing of Whaleshark and Dolphins

Here are some pictures of fish that I created using coloured pencils and vector drawing software - Inkscape. The first one is whaleshark and a swimmer, the second drawing was manta and the third one is dophin. The sea has always been my source of art inspiration. The following drawings are now available as frame art prints in redbubble. Readers can see more artworks at this shop: Art Drawing Inspired by the Sea.

Swimming with Whaleshark

Coloured pencil drawing of manta and a swimmer 

Dolphins at sea

I used to guide tourists on snorkeling and sightseeing tour in Raja Ampat islands. We used speedboats to remote places where the coral reefs are in pristine condition. Some times at the middle of the sea, we saw dophins swimming on the surfice. They could also be seen when we stood on a jetty of bungalow while looking at the beautiful blue sea. 

An Australian visitor was taking pictures of the Kabui bay from a hill  in Waigeo island

In addition to the above drawings, I also drew various other fish both manually using watercolour pencils and digitally using Autodesk sketchbook application. They can be seen at the following slideshow:

There is a site near Arborek island where manta likes to gather. I and a number of visitors from Europe visited it early in the morning.  We swam on the surface while looking at the bottom of around  15 meters where mantas were swimming around. It was their cleaning station. 

I hope that these artworks can raise our awareness about the importance of preserving our beautiful environment. 

Please, have a look at my other artworks:

• Baby Turtle
• Clown Anemonefish (nemo)

Snorkeling at Abasi Beach of Manokwari

Abasi is beach in the suburb of Manokwari city. It is a great place for swimming and snorkeling. Its coral reef is the natural habitat of anemonefish, striped surgeonfish, damselfish, moorish idol, parrotfish, wrasse, and a lot more. Abasi beach can be reached by taking ojek (motorcycle taxi) from Manokwari city for around 25 to 30 minutes. There are houses along both sides of the street.

Marine life in coral reef of Abasi beach

Visitors need to bring their own snorkeling gear (mask, snorkel and swim fins) if they want to enjoy snorkeling at Abasi beach. Bringing an underwater camera will also enhance the snorkeling experience of visitors. 

Abasi Beach in the suburb of Manokwari city

Accommodation - Visitors can stay in one pf the many hotels in Manokwari city and go by ojek (motorcycle taxi) or stay in the villagers houses at Abasi beach. The latter option will significantly bring economic benefits to local people. 

Abasi is also a great beach for wave surfing especially from October to April when the waves are big. Visitors need to bring their own surfboards. Little boys and girls learn surfing using simple handmade wooden boards which they get from their village. 

Anemonefish in the coral reef of Manokwari

Internet connection - Most parts of Manokwari city is covered by mobile phone network with 4G internet service provided by Telkomsel of Indonesia. Visitors can buy voucher reload for their mobile phone at ATM machines or from shops in the city. 

Flights to Manokwari

Manokwari as tourist destination can easily be reached by planes from big cities in Indonesia. Sriwijaya, Batik Air and Lion Air have regular daily flights to Manokwari from such cities as Denpasar, Jakarta, Surabaya, Makassar, Manado, Sorong and Jayapura.

Flight route to Manokwari city

Other tourist attractions in Manokwari

In addition to snorkeling at Abasi beach, visitors who travel to Manokwari can go hiking and wildlife watching in Arfak mountains to see Vogelkop Bowerbird, Western Parotia and Magnificent Birds of Paradise.

Magnificent Bird of Paradise in the forest of Manokwari

If you are interested in visiting Manokwari and want me to arrange your trip, you could contact me (Charles Roring) by whatsapp to: +6281332245180.

Also read:

• Snorkeling in Manokwari
• Snorkeling Season in Manokwari

Tourist Attractions Around Wasior Town of Cendrawasih Bay National Park

Wasior is a small town in Cendrawasih Bay. It is the economic hub of Wondama regency. There are a lot of attactions around Wasior which visitors can see if they want to take their holiday there. Some of them are described below.

Tourist attractions around Wasior town

Rowi Stream - This is a fast moving stream that flows from Wondiboy Nature Reserve to the sea. It is located near the local government office of Wondama regency. Visiting this place, visitors can enjoy hiking along the sides of the stream and see the green trees of the rainforest. Picnics can be done in this stream too. The water here is cool.

Rowi stream in Rasiei area of Wondama 

There is an unused road that crosses this stream. It is a good site for birdwatching and insect watching. Birds such as Sulphur-crested Cockatoo, Blyth's Hornbill, Black Sunbird, Olive-backed Sunbird, Grey Crow, Coconut Lorikeet are common in this forest.

Butterflies in Wasior town

Flowers and Butterflies - The frontyards of local government buildings in Rasiei area (locally called: kompleks perkantoran pemda Wondama) are decorated with various kinds of flowers plants. They attract butterflies such as the Silky Owl Butterfy, Cruiser Butterfly, and New Guinea birdwing butterfly. More butterflies can also be seen in Perumahan Pemda (housing area of local government employees). There, visitors can see different colours of hibiscus and other tropical  flowers grown by home owners in their frontyards. Because the flower gardens of these housing and building areas are located at the foot of Wondiboy mountains, they are often visited by insects especially butterflies.

Orchid garden in Wondama

Still on the discussion about flowers, visitors can go to Karumatiri homestay located next to Ketapang Lima Beach. Visitors could see orchid garden at the backyard. The owner of the garden can provide a short tour for visitors  to see the orchids and explain how to grow them. 

Beach and Coral Reef

The coastal region of Wondama Bay has got a number of coral reef areas that are beautiful. Visitors can enjoy swimming and snorkeling there. 

Tropical Beach and Coral Reef in Wasior

Snorkeling can be done at Ketapang Lima Beach, Sobey Beach and its sand bank, Wandamui beach, the northern area of Rowor beach, and Cape Duairi of Aisandami village.  As a matter of fact there are hundreds of coral reef sites in Wondama regency that are within the national park of Cendrawasih Bay. 

Mangrove Forest and Sago Trees in Ramiki Village

Anyone who is interested in seeing the ecosystem of Mangrove forest can go to Ramiki village. It is a fifteen-minute ride from Wasior town. The best time to visit the forest is during the low tide. This can be checked using an Android based application such as Nautide. 

Mangrove forest in Ramiki village of Wondama bay during low tide

Visitors can meet local guide Eky Sawaki at Ramiki village to ask for guiding service to the mangrove forest and to a lot of other interesting places around Wondama.

Mangrove forest

Visitors can stay in homestays that belong to the villagers and enjoy balobe (night time spearfishing) with local villagers. They can also see how local people extract sago starch from sago tree using simple tools. The starch can be baked or cooked in various kinds of menu. A freshly baked sago is often consumed in the mornings and in the evenings with tea or coffee milk.

Baked Sago from Wasior town of Wondama regency

Kowi Viewpoint

The Wondiboy mountains behind Wasior town are great destination for hikers and mountain climbers. There are several view points which offer beautiful views of Wondama bay with its blue sea. This viewpoint is located above Kabuou village. Visitors can go to the village by ojek (motorcycle taxi) to meet the villagers who can guide them to Kowi viewpoint. Before starting the rainforest tour, visitors can buy water, biscuits and other food materials at small kiosks in the village or in Wasior town.

Kowi Viewpoint in Wasior

The forest in this viewpoint is the natural habitat of a lot of species of plants and animals. Tropical birds that can be seen in the mornings include Blyth's Hornbill, Sulphur-crested Cockatoo, Black-capped Lory, Hooded Butcherbird, Slender-billed Cuckoo Dove, Beautiful Fruit Dove and a lot more. Possum, bandicoot, cicada, butterflies, beetles, and soa-soa monitor lizard can also be found in this tropical forest. 

To reach this viewpoint visitors need to endure a 2 hour hiking up steep slopes. Camping can be carried out in coordination with local guides. The most recommended camping site is near water stream at one of the ravines of this mountain range. 

Culinary

Wondama is a maritime regency. This is clearly reflected by the kinds of food that people eat. While most of the people in Indonesia eat rice, chicken, tempe and tahu, the main ingredients of food which people of Wondama eat consist of taro, sago, fish, shrimp, seashell, squid. Papeda is congee made from sagoo starch. It is the staple food of people in coastal region of West Papua. Fish soup is added to papeda. For vegetables, green leaves such as kangkung (water spinach), ganemo, paku (fern), and flower of papaya are the common ingredients that visitors will find when buying food at eating houses, and food stalls in town. 

Typical ingredients of local food

Food materials from the surrounding rainforest are often included in the daily menu of local people, they include wild boar and deer meat for protein and bamboo shoots as vegetables.

Where to stay and Where to eat

As a small town, Wasior does not have big hotels like what people will see in cities around the world. There are small hotels, lodges, and inns which visitors can choose while spending their holiday in Wasior. 

There are a lot of eating houses and food stalls in Wasior town. A list of accommodation, restaurants, eating houses and shops in Wasior town can be seen at this link: wondamatourism.com

How to get to Wasior town

It is easy to reach the town. International visitors need to fly from their country to Jakarta, Surabaya, Denpasar or Manado. From these cities of Indonesia, they can fly to Manokwari (the capital of Papua Barat province). Regular daily flights between Manokwari and those cities are served by Sriwijaya Air, Batik Air and Lion Air. 

There are hotels in Manokwari city for visitors who want to take a break for one or two days before their next trip to Wasior. The capital of Wondama regency is Rasiei. It is an integral part of Wasior town. 

Arriving in Manokwari, visitors can continue their trip to Wasior by a small passenger aircraft - Cessna Caravan 208 - operated by Susi Air. Tickets can be bought at the airport of Manokwari. The capacity of the aircraft is 10 people.

Flight route to Wasior (Rasiei) in Wondama Bay regency

There are also passenger ships that go to Wasior town. KM. Express Bahari 9E and KM. Margareth, KMP Napan Wainami sail between Manokwari and Wasior several times a week. 

Motor vessel KM. Margareth sails between Anggrem harbor of Manokwari and Port of Wasior based on the following schedule:

• Thursday: Manokwari - Wasior
• Friday: Wasior - Manokwari
• Sunday: Manokwari - Wasior
• Monday: Wasior - Manokwari

The passenger vessel leaves at 17:00 local time and arrives early in the morning at around 06:00. The ticket price is 160,000 rupiahs per person. Beds are available on decks. For those who want to get more privacy, they can pay for a room with 2 beds at additional cost 500,000 rupiahs/ room. Payment of the tickets and the rooms can be done directly in the boat. 

This is written by Charles Roring

Snorkeling Tour in Cendrawasih Bay

There are a lot of tropical islands inside Cendrawasih Bay. Most of them are surrounded by beautiful coral reefs that are teeming with abundant marine flora and fauna. They become important attraction for visitors who like swimming, snorkeling and scuba diving.  

Around 500 hard corals can be seen in Cendrawasih Bay. They are the natural habitat of a lot of reef fish including Burgess's butterflyfish, Cendrawasih Bay Walking Shark (Hemiscyllium  galei),  Walton's flasher wrasse (Paracheilinus walton), Papuan Convict Goby (Priolepsis sp.), and etc.

Coral Reef in Cendrawasih Bay

Rowor beach in the suburb of Wasior town of Wondama regency

Most foreign visitors travel around the islands of the bay by liveaboard diving boats. It is a comfortable but quite an expensive trip. Now the visits to Cendrawasih bay can be organized in a group of 4 to 6 participants in more affordable cost. 

Local guides use speedboat to carry tour participants around the Cendrawasih bay in an island hopping tour style. Visitors can enjoy swimming and snorkeling in remote islands. At night they will go to a village and stay in homestays. It is also interesting for visitors to see local people in their daily life. 

Various kinds of corals in Cendrawasih Bay

To enjoy snorkeling in Cendrawasih Bay, visitors need to go to Manokwari city. It is the capital of West Papua province of Indonesia.  

Foreign visitors can take international flights from their country to Jakarta, Surabaya, or Denpasar city of Indonesia. They can also fly to Singapore and then continue their trip to Manado city by Scoot Tigerair. 

Flights from Jakarta, Surabaya, Denpasar, and Manado as well as other major cities in Indonesia to Manokwari city are available every day and are served by Batik Air, Sriwijaya Air, and Lion Air. 

Rendani Airport of Manokwari with Arfak mountains at the background

Arriving in Manokwari city, visitors can stay for 1 night in one of the hotels in the city. The next day, they can go to Wasior town by a small passenger plane Cessna Caravan 208B in Rendani airport or by passenger vessels: KM. Margareth or KM. Express Bahari 9E at Anggrem harbor of Manokwari. 

Flight route to Wasior town in Wondama regency

A traditional market in Wasior town

Wasior is a small town. It is an economic, and transportational hub for visitors who want to explore islands in Cendrawasih Bay. Visitors can buy food, mineral water and other logistical material in Wasior town. There are small hotels, gueshouses, shops, and restaurants in Wasior town. 

Visitor attractions that can be seen around Wasior town include Aitumieri hill, Siewandamuni harbor, Sobey Sandbank (locally called Pasir Timbul), Wandamui hill, Wandamui beach and waterfall, Dusner waterfall, and Rowi river. 

Wasior town in Teluk Wondama regency

However, visitors need to bring snorkeling equipment from their own country. Buy snorkeling gear in Indonesia may not fit on the face of a snorkeler. 

In addition to swimming and snorkeling, visitors can also do other activities such as fishing, birdwatching or visiting the villages in the bay. 

If you are interested in taking a snorkeling tour in Cendrawasih Bay and want local guides to organize your trip and guide you, please, contact me by whatsapp to: +6281332245180.

Adventure Trip to The National Park of Cendrawasih Bay

The National Park of Cendrawasih Bay

Most of the National Park of Cendrawasih Bay is located inside Wondama regency. It is a great destination for visitors who are interested in swimming, snorkeling, and sightseeing. There are a lot of places and islands in the bay which visitors can see. Some of them are described below:

a traditional market in Wasior town

Wasior - This little town should be your first destination if you plan to travel around the islands in the national park. The capital of Wondama regency is Rasiei. It is an integral part of Wasior. The first place which tourists can visit in Wasior town is Batu Inspirasi (The Rock of Inspiration). It is located in Aitumieri Hill and can be reached by hiking up the steep slopes of the hill for around one hour. Sitting on this rock, visitors can see the beautiful Wondama bay with its blue sea and green forest.  Butterflies, and birds can be seen in this forest. It was the place where Izaac Samuel Kijne liked to visit when he was writing hymnal songs. They have now been compiled in a book called Mazmur & Nyanyian Rohani. The hymnal book is still used by GKI church of Papua Land and other churches in Indonesia.

Batu Inspirasi (the Rock of Inspiration)

At the foothill, there are some buildings which were built by Dutch missionaries in early 1900s as the first teachers' training school for the indigenous Papuan people. 

There are a number of beaches and coral reef areas in Wasior. The nearest one is Ketapang Lima Beach. This is the place where visitors can enjoy snorkeling and swimming. A lot of tropical fish can be seen here. They include various kinds of butterflyfish, surgeonfish, rabbitfish, anemonefish, snapper, trevally, grouper, parrotfish, wrasse, cardinalfish, goby and lionfish. Snorkeling can also be done in coral reef areas of Rowor beach. 

Visitors who like fishing can go to Sewandaimuni harbor near Rasiei area. They can also go to Wandamui beach which is located in the suburb of Wasior town. Wandamui hill is the place where town dwellers like to visit to see the beautiful scenery of Wondama bay and make selfie pictures. There is a waterfall with a big pool at the corner of the beach where visitors can enjoy swimming. 

Waterfall in the forest of Dusner village

On the other side of Wondama Bay, there is a waterfall located in the territory of Dusner village. It is the place where visitors go to soak their bodies in the cool water of the waterfall and breath the fresh air from the forest while enjoying the sounds of birds in the surrounding trees. 

A Hut in the Jungle of Naikere - Teluk Wondama regency

For visitors who like to see wildlife, Naikere is the recommended place to go. Huge tropical rainforest covers this area. There are a lot of species of birds such as Twelve-wired Bird of Paradise, King Bird of Paradise, Magnificent Riflebird, Red Myzomela, Lowland Peltop, Common Paradise Kingfisher, Blyth's Hornbill, Western-crowned Pigeon, Palm Cockatoo, Eclectus Parrot, Lowland Peltop, Golden Myna, Yellow-faced Myna, Black-capped Lory, and a lot more. Cuscus possum, deer, wild pigs, wallaby can be found there too.

The Marine Tour

There are a lot of islands in Cendrawasih Bay that are worth visiting. Auri, Purup, Mioswar, Rumberpon, Yoop, and Roon are groups of islands that can be visited by tourists. The starting point should be Wasior town. Local guides will prepare speedboat to bring visitors to interesting sites where coral reefs are in pristine condition with abundant marine life. Food materials, fuel and other logistical needs can be bought in Wasior town.  Tourists should bring their own snorkeling devices (masks, snorkels and swim fins). 

Coral reef in National Park of Cendrawasih Bay

Local guides will go to Yende, Menarbu or Niap to inform local villagers about the tour in Roon island before continuing the snorkeling trips to Rariyau island or Matas island. 

For traveling around Purup, visitors will be brought to Yomakan village to inform local people there about the trip. Homestay can also be prepared for visitors if they want to stay in the village. 

Hot stream in Roswar island of Cendrawasih Bay

There is hot stream that flows to the sea in Roswar island of Cendrawasih Bay. Visitors can visit the place too. Since the stream is very hot, it will be dangerous for visitors to swim directly in the stream. 

How to get there?

Traveling to the National Park of Cendrawasih Bay is easy. Visitors can take international flights from their country to Jakarta or Denpasar Bali. After that, they need to take a domestic flight to Manokwari city which is the capital of Papua Barat province. Sriwijaya Air, Lion Air, Batik Air have got regular flights between Manokwari and major cities in Indonesia. So, daily flight to Manokwari is available. There are hotels, restaurants and shops in Manokwari city for visitors who want to take a rest for at least one day in the city. 

Wasior town

The trip to Wasior town can be carried out by passenger boat from Anggrem harbor of Manokwari or by a small passenger aircraft - Cessna Caravan 208 at Rendani airport of Manokwari. Tickets can be bought at the harbor and at the airport in affordable prices. Here is the flight route to Wondama regency.

Flight route to Wasior town in Wondama regency

If you need more info about traveling to Wondama regency, please, contact me by whatsapp to: +6281332245180 or by email to peace4wp@gmail.com.

This is written by Charles Roring

Threat to Coral Reef

Indonesia has got one of the largest coral reefs in the world. This tropical forest of the ocean is the source of food, study of science, tourist attractions and a very important element of marine environment.

The rapid growth of population in this country has raised the demand for seafood. Fishermen catch fish, shrimp, crabs  to meet this demand. Unfortunately, there are those who still use destructive methods to harvest these marine resources. They use bottom trawling net, explosives, and chemicals that are harmful to marine ecosystem. 

Coral Reef in Manokwari

On land, rapid growth of coastal cities and towns in this country has given more pressures to marine environment. 

I have seen the increasing number of wastes that flows to the sea during rainy days. The transparent plastic wastes are eaten by turtles. They consider them as jellyfish. Many of them end up in coral reef areas. They block sunlight from reaching the surface of the corals. Sunlight is needed by coral reef to carry out photosynthesis. Coral reef needs crystal clear water to function properly. When soil sediment, and plastic wastes cover coral reef areas, they will kill them. This, as a whole, threaten the existence of other marine animals that depend of coral reef as their source of food and as their homes. 

Filter marine creatures such as bivalves, sea cucumber, and various kinds of small fish have been excessively exploited from coral reef. This weakens the ability of coral reef to clean and restore itself from all the above wastes.

Marine Life in Raja Ampat

Damages in food chains and food web will bring catastrophic effect not only on the marine environment but also on human life. Fishermen cannot catch fish in the nearby waters. They need to go further in order to find fish. This means that they need to spend more fuel and build bigger boat without any assurance that they will be able to harvest more fish in distant seas. 

There are a lot of things that we need to do to preserve coral reef. 

• Strict rules on the protection of coral reefs have to be enforced in order to prevent all kinds of destructive fishing activities from operating in coral reef areas. 
• Ships and boats that pass over coral reef areas must not dispose wastes and other harmful substances to this precious environment. 
• All operators of recreational boats must avoid throwing their anchors on the reefs.
• Certain coral reef sites have to be fully protected under the schemes of No Take Zone or Marine Protected Areas. They will function as fish factory, natural laboratory for scientific study and as important supports for coastal and sea environment.

Marine Life in Waigeo island of Raja Ampat

Because all the marine organisms are inter-connected, they way we manage our marine resources determine our future. If we can sustainably manage and protect our marine enviroment, we can harvest fish for ever. If we ignore the importance of preserving our marine environment, we may lose it forever.  by Charles Roring

Also read:

• Snorkeling in Raja Ampat (video)
• Snorkeling in Raja Ampat (pictures)