Camping and Watching Wild Animals in Arfak mountains

Our Camping tent for visitors

Arfak range is a popular place for visitors who want to watch wild animals in their natural habitat. There is a forest in the mountains which is a nice site for camping, hiking and birding. Its name is Susnguakti forest. I have organized tours to this forest for several years for nature lovers who want to watch Lesser Birds of Paradise, King Bird of Paradise, Common Paradise Kingfisher, and Magnificent Riflebird.
Birds are usually active in the mornings and in the evening. They can be watched near the campsite. Visitors who want to watch them have to wake up early in the morning at 05.00. The walk to the birding site is around 10 minutes to the Lesser Birds of Paradise and 30 minutes to the King Bird of Paradise. Visitors need to bring a good pair of binoculars. Camera with telephoto lens such as D-SLR cameras with 400, 500 and even 600 mm lens are useful for taking pictures of birds and other wild animals in the forest.

Cuscus Possum

From my previous trips that I organized in this forest, I saw most of the birds including Spangled Drongo, Rufous-bellied Kookaburra, Rainbow Lorikeet, Hooded Butcherbird, and Blyth's Hornbill.
I also organize night walks in the forest to allow visitors to watch ground skink, Papuan tree dragon lizard, ikaheka snake (which is a very poisonous snake), and cuscus possum.
Local villagers have got the expertise to immitate the sounds of female cuscus possums. To attract the possums, we have to do night walks. Visitors must turn off their flashlight before the calling can be started.
Sometimes bandicoot also comes to the same site and we wait for the cuscus possum.
If you want to watch cuscus possum, you need to fly to Manokwari city. I can meet you in this city and organize your tour to the forest and stay there for 3 to 4 days to watch the wild animals of Arfak mountains.
Booking
Please, contact me by email to: peace4wp@gmail.com or whatsapp to +6281332245180 if you are interested in taking the jungle tour.

Birdwatching Tour in Arfak Mountains

I have organized birdwatching tours for visitors who want to go to Arfak mountains for years. There are 2 different birding locations in West Papua, i.e. Lower Montane Forest and Upper Montane Forest.

Upper Montane Forest

This type of rainforest is the natural habitat of Western Parotia (Parotia sefilata), Magnificent Bird of Paradise (Diphyllodes magnificus), Vogelkop Bowerbird (Amblyornis inornatus), Feline Owlet-Nightjar (Aeghoteles insignis), Green-backed Robin (Pachycephalopsis hattamensis)

There are several guesthouses built by government and now operated by local people.

Lower Montane Forest

Lesser Birds of Paradise (Paradisaea minor)

For this type of environment, the recommended destination is Susnguakti forest located in the eastern region of Arfak mountains. Birds that can be watched including Lesser Birds of Paradise (Paradisaea minor), King Bird of Paradise (Cicinnurus regius), Magnificent Riflebird (Ptiloris magnificus), Hooded Butcherbird (Cracticus cassicus), Common Paradise Kingfisher (Tanysiptera galatea), Coconut Lorikeet (Trichoglossus haematodus).

There are several jungle huts that were built as shelters for tourists who want to stay for a few days watching birds and other wild animals. I provide mattrasses, pillows and tents, as well as cooking and eating utensils in the jungle huts.

Birds are not the only animals which visitors can watch in the lower montane forest of Arfak mountains. Visitors can watch cuscus possum, bandicoot, Arfak dragon lizard, colorful butterflies, and fireflies. I and some local guides can organize nightwalk for visitors who are interested in watching nocturnal animals.

Preparations

To do birdwatching in Arfak mountains, visitors need to wear good trekking boots, short and long pants for hiking tours along the road and trails in the forest. Birds usually perch on the branches of high trees. A good pair of binoculars and a spotting scope will be helpful for watching birds and other wild animals. Don't forget to bring anti-insect lotion to protect you from mosquito and other insect bites. Head torch or flash light is also needed for night walk.

How to get to Arfak mountains

• From your country, you need to take an international flight that will bring you to Jakarta (the capital city of Indonesia), or Manado city (from Singapore by Silk Air)
• After that take a domestic flight to Manokwari city. Regular flights between Jakarta or Manado city and Manokwari are served by Sriwijaya, Garuda, and other airlines.
• I will meet you at Rendani airport or at a hotel where you stay in Manokwari city and organize your tour to Arfak mountains. 

Booking

Please, contact me (Charles Roring) by e-mail to: peace4wp@gmail.com or by whatsapp to: +6281332245180.

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Trekking and Birding in Arfak Range of Manokwari

Coastal area of Mawowi forest of Arfak mountains

Arfak mountains of Manokwari have been an important birdwatching destination since early 1990s. Most birdwatchers go there to find Lesser Birds of Paradise (Paradisaea minor), Vogelkop Bowerbird (Amblyornis inornatus), Magnificent Birds of Paradise (Cicinnurus magnificus), Cinnamon Ground Dove (Gallicolumba rufigula) and a lot of other birds that live in the jungle.
Mabowi Forest of Arfak Mountains
There are several places in the mountains that are frequently visited by tourists. In this article, my focus of description is Mawowi forest. It is located in the eastern part of Arfak range. Visitors who go there will stay in the jungle. There is a campsite for tourists located deep in the forest. It can be used as a base to watch birds, insects and other wild animals that make Mawowi forest as their natural habitat.

Little Paradise Kingfisher

Warmarway Village
Mawowi forest is under the traditional territory of Warmarway village. Visitors can go there by car or by motorcycle. It takes around 1 hour to reach the coastal village by motorized vehicle. Local villagers can work as porters, cooks to help birdwatchers explore the jungle to see its wild animals, colorful birds and unique plants.
Rainforest Tour
On the average, visitors stays between 3 to 4 days in the jungle to explore the bio-diversity of Arfak mountains. As a tour guide, I can organize birdwatching and camping tour in Mawowi Forest of Arfak range for anybody who is interested in staying and birding in the mountains.
Booking
Please, send text message to my cell phone: +6281332245180 and contact me by email to: peace4wp@gmail.com

Western Parotia

Male Western Parotia Dancing

Western Parotia (Parotia sefilata) is a species of paradise birds that people can watch when traveling to Manokwari. I guided Prof. Richard Ebright - an American biologist on a birding tour to Arfak mountains from 18 to 20 July 2013. In the last day of the tour, we entered a blind that was especially built for watching Western Parotia. The male bird has got black color all over his body with 6 antennas at his head. We had to wait for 5 hours inside the blind that was wet, dark and full of mosquitoes.
In order to seduce his partner, male Western Parotia had to perform a beautiful courtship dance where female Western Parotia perched on a small branch of a tree just above the dancing ground. Before dancing, the male bird cleaned the "stage" from fallen twigs and leaves.

Juvenile Western Parotia

Then he would dance to impress his lover. The style of the dance was similar to ballet.
The Young Western Parotia also Danced!
When we were waiting for an adult male Western Parotia to land on the ground and performed, suddenly, we saw a young Western Parotia landed on the ground. He performed a courtship dance without the presence of a female bird. He was doing a rehearsal. We were very surprised to see that scene. At first we thought that it was another species but later after opening our field guide book, Birds of New Guinea, we determined that it was a young or a juvenile Western Parotia.

During our stay in the blind, we were able to see Spotted Catbird (now it is called Arfak Catbird) and Cinnamon Ground Dove. It was a fleeting moment for the cat bird. Cinnamon Ground Dove was at the dancing site quite long. I think he was there for more than 30 minutes finding grains on the ground. I could make some videos and photographs of this bird. The bird stayed still with her eyes staring at the "peep hole" where I put my camera. I guessed the auto focus lamp of my camera attracted her attention. We also saw two other smaller birds that we could not shoot by my camera.

We returned to Manokwari city again at 12.00. During the birdwatching tour we saw vogelkop bower bird, blyth's hornbill, cinnamon ground dove, spotted catbird, magnificent birds of paradise and two smaller birds that I could not identify. They flew away in seconds before I could take pictures of them.
As a birdwatching destination, Manokwari has got plenty of places where birdwatchers can explore to see tropical birds.
For lowland and coastal birding, Western Crowned Pigeon, Pinon Imperial Pigeon, Beautiful Fruit Dove, Sulphur Crested Cockatoo, Sandpiper, and Kingfishers are some of the birds that can be seen in Manokwari.
Now I spend more of my time organizing snorkeling, birding and sightseeing tours in Raja Ampat,  please contact me: Charles Roring by email: peace4wp@gmail.com or by whatsapp to: +6281332245180.

Birdwatching in Arfak mountains

Male Lesser Birds of Paradise in Susnguakti Forest

The mountain range of Arfak is located in the south of Manokwari city. It is a popular destination for watching various species of paradise birds and other tropical birds that are endemic to rainforest of New Guinea. There is a birding and wildlife watching site that I highly recommend for birdwatchers. Its name is Susnguakti forest (located in the eastern side of the mountains).

As a tourist guide, I have organized numerous tours to this forest for visitors who come from European countries such as Sweden, Poland, the Netherlands, United Kingdom, Belgium, Germany, Spain, and Switzerland.

There are also tourists who come from the United States, South Korea, China, and Australia. Some Indonesian tourists visited this forest too.
Most of them went to Susnguakti forest to watch paradise birds during the day and cuscus possum at night. The location of Susnguakti forest is approximately at around 400 to 700 meters above sea level. Visitors who go there need to walk up steep slopes of Arfak range to reach it.

Hiking, Birding and Camping

Jungle hut for tourists

Susnguakti forest is a great place for watching lower montane forest birds such as Lesser Birds of Paradise, King Bird of Paradise, Hooded Butcherbird,  Common Paradise Kingfisher,  Beautiful Fruit Dove,  Rufous-bellied Kookaburra and Coconut Lorikeet and a lot more.
The birds of paradise can be watched early in the mornings and late afternoons. The birding sites are within the walking distance from our basecamp approximately 10 to 15 minutes. I and local villagers have built huts for tourists who want to stay for several days in the jungle watching birds, and other animals.

Birding Binoculars

Swarovski SLC 10×42 WB binoculars

Because birds of paradise like to dance or perch on high trees, visitors need to use a good pair of binoculars to watch them. There are a lot of birding binoculars that are available on the market. The ones that produce sharp images are Swarovski EL 8.5×42 and the multi purpose Swarovski SLC 10×42 WB. There is also Canon 15×50 IS UD binoculars that are powered by image stabilizer technology. Binoculars that are made of high quality materials such as Extra-low Dispersion Lenses and Bak4 prisms glasses will produce sharp and rich color images of birds, butterflies, wild flowers and anything in the jungle.

Booking

If you are interested in traveling to Arfak mountains of Manokwari to watch paradise birds in the jungle, please, contact me (Charles Roring) -  by email: peace4wp@gmail.com or send whatsapp text message to my number +6281332245180.

Lesser Birds of Paradise

This is perhaps the most sought after birds in the world. People have hunted the Lesser Birds of Paradise (Paradisaea minor) since hundreds of years ago. Because of the continuous hunting, it is now facing extinction in several parts of New Guinea or West Papua forest. In 1980s, they could still be seen in the jungle of Table Mountain near Manokwari town. Today, I cannot see or watch the birds in that jungle anymore. Although Table Mountain is protected by the Department of Forestry of the Indonesian government, it is facing constant destruction from the town dwellers. Hunters carrying air guns like to go into the jungle of the mountain to shoot cuscus, soa-soa (monitor lizards) and birds.

Susnguakti Forest

Paradise bird in Susnguakti forest
of Manokwari

After searching the birds since 2010, finally, I was able to find their dancing site located in the territory of Susnguakti forest. It is a 1-hour ride from Manokwari town. There are four or five trees that have been chosen by the birds of paradise as the place where they perform courtship dance in the mornings and in the afternoons just before sunset. The trees stand on a hill with steep slope. I've got a blurred photograph of the male that I shot using Nikon Coolpix P500. I hope that I can make better pictures in the future. As a nature lover and eco-tourism enthusiast, I try to protect the area by offering birdwatching tours to tourists who want to watch birds of paradise. I hope that this environmentally friendly eco-tourism scheme will help local Papuan villagers generate alternative income that can replace their present livelihood.
Birds and Wild Animals

King Bird of Paradise

In addition to the Lesser Birds of Paradise, Susnguakti forest is also the natural habitat of King Bird of Paradise, Magnificent Riflebird, Hooded Butcherbird, Rufous-bellied Kookaburra, Coconut Lorikeet, Beautiful Fruit Dove, Common Paradise Kingfisher, Papuan Frogmouth.
Animals such as snakes, soa-soa monitor lizard, large ground brown skink, Papua Dragon Tree Lizard, blue-tailed lizard, Cruiser Butterfly (Vindula arsinoe), the Silky Owl Buterfly (Taenaris catops), Swallow tail blue mountain butterfly (Papilio ulysses) butterflies, beetles and fireflies can also be found in this forest.
A lot of species of plants in the jungle of this Arfak mountains including bamboos, big trees, orchids, and glowing mushrooms.
Booking your birding tour
If you want me to organize your birdwatching and wildlife tour in Manokwari, Sorong, Tambrauw Mountains, and Raja Ampat, please, contact me by email to: peace4wp@gmail.com or by whatsapp to: +6281332245180.
Also read: 

• Wildlife Tour in Lowland Forest of Sorong