Snorkeling and Freediving in Tambrauw Regency

A tropical beach in Tambrauw regency

I went to Tambrauw regency with a Dutch lady last month. We stayed in a small coastal town to enjoy swimming, snorkeling and freediving. Because I like taking picture underwater, I brought a small action camera - Brica Pro5 Alpha Edition. It was not a professional photographic device but it was good enough to show how beautiful the coral reef was. I wore a set of fins, and snorkeling mask to go to deeper water and descend to a depth of around 3 to 7 meters below the surface of the sea.
The sea was quite calm and the visibility was around 10 meters. With this small camera in hand, I shot a lot of pictures of the underwater world of Tambrauw. There were blue sea-star, sea cucumber, baby giant clam, anemone, and hundreds of species of fish. I saw a giant humphead wrasse too. I tried to chase him but he swam into deeper water. So, I missed the chance to shoot him.

Seaweed bed and fish in Tambrauw

Although this tiny camera could not produce professional pictures, I did my best to get very good underwater images of Tambrauw's coral reef. It gave me more freedom of movement in the water. The coastal region of Tambrauw has got huge area of seaweed beds. They become the natural habital of fish, urchin, sea cucumber. Dugong and sea turtles frequently visit them. Before pressing the shutter button, I did my best to keep calm and still underwater.
I did not wear a weight belt. To keep my body in the water, I often had to hold hard corals with one hand and took pictures of the marine life with the other hand. The coastal area of Tambrauw was very beautiful.
For years, marine scientists have been visiting Tambrauw coast to study turtles. Jen Womom beach that is located in remote area of the regency is a popular site for watching Leatherback turtles, green turtles, olive ridley and some hawksbill turtles that land on the beach to lay eggs.

Bluefish among hard corals

Tambrauw is a regency that is located in the middle of Sorong and Manokwari. I often visit it to guide tourists. Most of our activities are related to rainforest. We go hiking, camping and birdwatching in the mountains for approximately 4 days to find various tropical birds and other wild animals. We also go to the beach at the end of our tour to enjoy beach walk, swimming and snorkeling, freediving and sunset watching.
For visitors who want to go to Tambrauw for birding, wildlife watching and snorkeling, I suggest that they spend at least 4 to 5 days traveling in this regency. Four days could be spent in the forest and one day could be used to enjoy snorkeling at its beach.
Most photographers use D-SLR camera with telephoto lens. I recommend Sigma or Tamron 150-600 mm. A cheaper alternatives for birders that I recommend are compact bridge camera Nikon Coolpix P900 and P1000.
To take photographs of the marine life, I recommend a  Sealife DC 2000 or Canon G7X with waterproof housing.
If you are interested in visiting Tambrauw, and want me to be your guide in organizing your trip, please, contact me (Charles Roring) by email to: peace4wp@gmail.com or by whatsapp to: +6281332245180.

Watching Paradise Birds in Tambrauw

Lesser Birds of Paradise (Paradisaea minor) in Ayapokiar forest of Tambrauw mountains

I offer tours for visitors who want to watch paradise birds in their natural habitat. The destination that I recommend is Tambrauw regency. It is approximately 2 hours ride by a 4wd car from Sorong city. To share the cost of the tour and accommodation,  visitors need to go in a group of several people. Birding tour will be done along a path in the forest and along an open space such as rivers, coastal area, and at the beach. Good physical condition is needed for exploring the avifauna of Tambrauw, especially in the mountains. Every visitor needs to bring a good pair of binoculars. A spotting scope will also be good too but is not a must.

The duration of the bird and wildlife tour is around 3 to 7 days where camping near a river can also be organized to increase the chance for bird watchers to see more birds and other wild animals. There are hundreds of species of birds which birders can see when they go hiking in the tropical rainforest of Tambrauw mountains.  Some of them are listed below:

• Sulphur-crested Cockatoo
• Palm Cockatoo
• Moluccan King Parrot
• Eclectus Parrot
• Red-cheeked Parrot
• Large Fig Parrot
• Black-capped Lory
• Black Lory
• Yelllw-capped Pygmy Parrot
• Josephine Lorikeet
• Coconut Lorikeet
• Olive-crowned Flowerpecker
• Olive-backed Sunbird
• Black Sunbird
• Yellow-faced Myna
• Golden Myna
• Sacred Kingfisher
• Yellow-billed Kingfisher
• Common Paradise Kingfisher
• Rufous-bellied Kookaburra
• Hooked-bill Kingfisher
• Azure Kingfisher
• Papuan Dwarf Kingfisher
• Red-breasted Paradise Kingfisher
• Hooded Butcherbird
• Northern Variable Pitohui
• Hooded Pitohui
• Mountain Peltop
• Lowland Peltop
• Oriental Dollarbird
• Papuan Blyth's Hornbill
• White-eared Catbird
• Masked Bowerbird
• Vogelkop Bowerbird
• Little Egret
• Little-ringed Plover
• Grey-wagtail
• Spangled Drongo
• Magnificent Bird of Paradise
• Lesser Bird of Paradise
• Magnificent Riflebird
• King Bird of Paradise
• Twelve-wired Bird of Paradise
• Glossy Manucode
• Grey Crow
• Torresian Crow
• Black-sided Robin
• Torrent Flycatcher
• Pinon Imperial Pigeon
• Papua Mountain Pigeon
• Pink-spotted Fruit Dove
• Beautiful Fruit Dove
• Long-tailed Buzzard
• Grey-headed Goshawk
• Variable Goshawk
• Brahminy Kite
• New Guinea Harpy Eagle
• Large-tailed Nightjar
• Papuan Frogmouth
• Marbled Frogmouth
• Northern Fantail
• And etc.

Field Guide Books
There are two field guide books. The first one is Birds of New Guinea written by Thane K. Pratt, Bruce Beehler and their friends; and the second one is Birds of New Guinea: including Bismarck Archipelago and Bougainville written by Phil Gregory. There are also a lot of resources about tropical birds of New Guinea scattered throughout the internet which tourists can read from trip reports made by leaders of bird tour companies who used to visit West Papua.

Birding Sites
There are a lot of birdwatching sites in Tambrauw mountains. As a matter of fact, birding activities can be done in most places of the regency. However there are several vocal points which tourists could visit to enjoy birding. Ases Valley, Ayapokiar and Fef are some of the important birding sites which tourists can explore.

How to get there?

There are several ways to get to Tambrauw Mountains. You could either fly to Manokwari city which is the capital of West Papua province or fly to Sorong city. We can meet you at the airport and then organize your trip to Tambrauw Mountains. 

Booking
Please, contact Nico Nauw by whatsapp to: +6282198060084

Written by Charles Roring

Traveling by ship along the coast of Tambrauw regency

I have just completed a boat trip along the north coast of West Papua. I guided five visitors from the Netherlands. We left Manokwari city by PELNI ship KM Kasuari Pasifik 3 for Sausapor town (the temporary capital of Tambrauw regency). The ship stopped in the waters of such villages as Saukorem, Imbuan, Waibem, Wau, Warmandi, Saubeba, Kwor, Opmare, Werur and finally arrived in Sausapor. That's our destination. But the ship continued its voyage to Sorong. 

We stayed for 2 days in Sausapor and explored the natural beauty of the little town. We enjoyed snorkeling over its beautiful coral reef and spent one night at the beach in search of turtles. Unfortunately, no turtles landed that night. However, we saw green frog, a large beach crab and snake. At the end of our adventure in Sausapor, we continued our trip to Sorong city by KM Sunlia. KM stands for Kapal Motor meaning Motor Vessel. 

KM Kasuari Pasifik 3 carries cargo and passengers. Its price is 50,000 rupiahs (approximately 4 Euros) per person. Because the ticket price is so cheap, tourists can use their extra money to buy fruits, food, and souvenirs from local Papuan people. This is important for the economic livelihood of the villagers who live along the coastal area of Tambrauw regency.

It stops for 2 to 3 hours in the waters of every village that I mentioned above. During the stop period, visitors can go to the village to enjoy fishing, swimming, snorkeling or have walking tour around every village. Visitors will also meet Papuan people in their daily life, before returning to the ship for their next adventure.

KM Kasuari Pasifik 3 sails between Manokwari and Sorong four times a month. It usually carries 100 passengers. Every passenger gets his or her own bed. During school holiday seasons and Christmas time, it can carry up to 200 people or even more. Visitors, upon an advanced arrangement by a tourist guide, can rent rooms in the ship that are used by ship crews. The price is 700,000 rupiahs per room for the whole trip. It can accommodate between 2 to 4 people depending on the number of bags that they carry. 

The ship plays vital role in supporting the economy of the villagers. It carries agricultural produce such as banana, coconut, and cocoa beans. Villagers also carry deer, goat, pigs, dogs, and other animals which they want to sell in Sorong or Manokwari.
If you are interested in traveling along the coast of Tambrauw regency by the ship and need me to be your private guide, please, contact me by email to: peace4wp@gmail.com