IRIAN JAYA 1995

Time Line
Batanta & Salawati
Baliem Valley
Nimbokrang
Biak Island
Practicalities
References

This is a report of a trip to Irian Jaya made in 1995 by a group of 7 people organised by Chris Doughty, Peregrine Bird Tours. The participants were all from Australia except for one person from USA. We visited four sites in Irian Jaya: Batanta and Salawati near Sorong, Wamena and the Baliem Valley, Nimbokrang near Jayapura and Biak Island. Irian Jaya is politically part of Indonesia but biogeographically it belongs to the Australasian region. There are number of extremely good reasons to visit this area, number one of which is undoubtedly the Birds of Paradise. We were lucky enough to observe 13 species of these extraordinary birds. Other attractions are the beautiful Ptilinopus fruit-doves, a fabulous array of parrots, a number of amazing kingfishers, honeyeaters and other endemics. Birding in New Guinea is not easy however. As in most tropical rainforest habitats the birds can be elusive, on top of this they are still regularly hunted for food and ceremonial clothing by the Irian Jayans and poached by some Indonesians for the thriving cage-bird trade (we saw this process a couple of times first hand). Physically it is also a demanding country and at least an average level of fitness is recommended. That said, a visit to New Guinea is a truly unforgettable experience and I cannot recommend it highly enough!

Sites:

We visited four sites, each of a different type of habitat and high endemicity. Unfortunately we were not able to visit the Arfak Mountains in the Vogelkop Peninsular which is also a high-endemicity zone.

Batanta and Salawati

To get to the islands of Batanta and Salawati it is necessary to first go to Sorong, the westernmost town in Irian Jaya that is a centre of oil exploration. From Sorong we took a motorised long-boat to Batanta. This trip took a couple of hours and is most uncomfortable due to the fact that the boat is totally enclosed and has a very low draft. Consequently you have the feeling that you are ensconced in a floating coffin! Birding is ruled out as it is impossible to see out the heavy plastic ‘windows’. This trip can be dangerous in rough weather-we know of another group of birders who almost drowned and lost a lot of equipment on this crossing.

The two islands are separated by a narrow, deep channel and the trip between the islands really is magic. Blyth’s Hornbill and Brahminy Kites can be seen flying above the dense rainforest if you can manage to extract yourself from the bowels of the coffin. We stayed on Batanta, camping in our tents that we put up inside a lean-to on the beach. Before arriving at the campsite we dropped in to a village, Wai Lebed, on the other side of the island where we chatted with some of the local kids, who put on a diving show for us in the crystal clear waters. We also got in a bit of birding much to the delight of the villagers (who thought we were very strange!). Of course, the main purpose of doing this was to get permission from the village head to stay on the island. There is no fresh water or shops at the campsite so it is necessary to organise all this before setting out.

The object of our visit was to see some of the birds endemic to these islands. Wilson’s Bird-of-Paradise was the highest on this list for most of us, but it was not an easy bird to find and not everyone got to see it as we had to climb Gunung Batanta (1183 m.) three times in order to eventually track it down. Curiously, this species is found on Batanta but not on nearby Salawati. They are separated by the narrow Sagewin Strait. A man by the name of Anton is a very good bird guide, ask for him in the village.

We spent a full morning on Salawati as well in search of Northern Cassowary and Western Crowned Pigeon. Many signs of cassowary were observed but not the bird itself, which is very shy. However, we were luckier with the pigeon with excellent views of two perched in a low branch. Other highlights were the King Bird-of-paradise and Golden Monarch. Again it is necessary to first drop in to the village on the island to get permission, where they proudly showed us the day’s lunch-a turtle that one of the lads had brought back from the reef. ñ

Lake Habema in the Baliem Valley (photo by Susan Myers)

Baliem Valley

The Baliem Valley was only ‘discovered’ by white people in the 1930’s and hasn’t really changed a great deal since then. It is necessary to fly in to Wamena, the main town of the area, as there is no road access. The flight is an experience in itself - flying over huge, unbroken stretches of rainforest and impressive mountain ranges. When you land at the Wamena air strip you are immediately struck by a sense of otherworldliness. There are a number of Indonesian tourist police standing around doing nothing in particular but still managing to look menacing in their immaculate, tailor-made uniforms. (Get your surat jalan checked by the ‘tourist police’). In amongst them are local men wearing nothing but their penis gourds and fabulous hair styles. Many of them will try to sell you handmade head dresses and the like decorated with parrot skins and feathers. Naturally I recommend that you don’t buy these.

From Wamena we set off for Lake Habbema, after much debate about whether to go by car on the recently constructed road or stick to our original plan of trekking up. We decided to drive in order to increase our birding time at high altitude, although I wish they hadn’t felt the need to build the road at all. (The ramifications of the construction of the road will no doubt continue to make themselves apparent for a while to come. It was ploughed through with very little regard to environmental issues and severe erosion could already be seen.) Our entourage of Lani guides and porters joined us on the trip up. The Baliem Valley is populated by the Dani people. The Lani are their next door neighbours and many have apparently chosen a less traditional lifestyle. From Wamena (1500m) we drove through grassland then rainforest eventually entering subalpine heath at Lake Habbema. The altitude here is 3200m and altitude sickness is a distinct possibility.

We camped at a shelter located to the north-east of the lake and spent the next three days birding around the area. There are a number of species peculiar to either the Snow Mountains or the Central Mountains. The scenery is spectacular with the highest mountains between the Himalayas and the Andes as a backdrop. Trikora Mountain at 4 730 m high can be seen quite clearly to the south of Lake Habema. The vegetation is unique with a strata of knee high swampy heathland interspersed with scatterings of 2 to 3 metre high tree ferns along ephemeral creek lines. A short walk downhill from our campsite we found moss forest with a slightly different avifauna again.

With more time and the appropriate permits it is possible to go in search of the Snow Mountain Robin which is only found on Snow Mountain peaks above 3850m. This would be well worth the (considerable) effort!

From Lake Habbema we began our trek down the Baliem Valley. On the edge of the moss forest we encountered a number of different species including the fabulous Painted Tiger-parrot. On the first night we stayed at a place called Yabogema (2600m) which is a small clearing in the rainforest. The next day we continued walking and birding. We were shown a bower of MacGregor’s Bowerbird Amblyornis macgregoriae by some local people. Questioning these people they said that they hear the bird all the time but have never seen it! We settled down behind a log to see if it would come in and were treated to a spectacular vocal show which is well described in Beehler. Unfortunately the bird was not to be seen. That night we stayed at Dyela (2000m) another clearing beside the Ibele River. From there into agricultural land scattered with remnant forest to Tanamera (1800m) then to Wamena. By this stage we had made firm friends of our guides, Frankie, Mas, Iban Danau and Mina who are great fun and brilliant at spotting birds, as well as excellent singers! ñ

Nimbokrang

Nimbokrang is a transmigration centre situated in the middle of an area of lowland swamp forest near the base of the Cyclops Mountains in the far north-east corner of Irian Jaya. It is quite easy to get to by car from Jayapura via Lake Sentani. It is about 100 km from Jayapura but the drive itself is a great chance to do some birding in varied habitat. We stopped first at Lake Sentani, one of Irian Jaya’s largest lake at 148 000 km² with 19 islands. The lake is rich in birdlife especially waterbirds, of course. After passing through a government check point, another spot worth looking at is the Deweruba Telekom Station. You will have to park at the bottom of the steep hill then walk up the bitumen road, however, which is extremely hot. From there keep heading west (not that you have a choice - there is only one road) until you get to a village called Genyam where the dirt road starts. We camped at a disused sawmill which is nothing more than a dilapidated lean-to and a clearing. The surrounding forest is in less than pristine condition due to logging, but if you walk in a few hundred metres many large trees remain. Birding along the road is also very rewarding. We found this area to be particularly good for fruit-doves, cuckoo-shrikes and parrots amongst others. We managed to hook up with a local guy by the name of Jamil, an Indonesian dubbed ‘Java-boy’ by one of the Irian wags! Jamil is a good birder (though not up to the standards of the Lani in the Baliem Valley) who was able to show us the Twelve-wired BoP display tree and the Pale-billed Sicklebill and Lesser BoP leks. A drive further west along the logging road (watch out for the trucks) took us further into the foothills where we saw Pesquet’s (Vulturine) Parrot and Torrent Flycatcher (on the edge of the river in a spectacular gorge). ñ

Biak Island

Biak is an island situated, along with Numfor and Yapen, in Teluk Cenderawasih (formerly Geelvink Bay). The word Cenderawasih is Indonesian for Bird-of-Paradise. Yapen is a land bridge island with no endemics; Numfor and Biak are oceanic islands with high degrees of endemicity.

We stayed at a hotel in the town of Biak which was rather luxurious after the previous two and a bit weeks! From the town we visited a number of sites around the island. The amount of deforestation is rather shocking and depressing, not helped by Java’s transmigration programme which has assisted large numbers of poorer Javanese to come to this purported paradise to improve their lifestyles. They are given a small grant to enable them to clear the land and start farming. The problem is that the island is almost pure limestone coral and nothing will grow for more than a couple of seasons, leaving the island denuded and the families hungry. Nevertheless, we were able to observe a number of endemics, some of which are quite common. We tracked down a guide who was supposed to know something about birds but this was patently not the case, you will need someone just to find some vegetated areas though. Shortly after our visit the main town of Biak was wiped out by a huge tidal wave, no doubt it has recovered by now but it may be worth checking before you go. ñ

Practicalities:

Malaria is a big problem in Irian Jaya. Before visiting Irian Jaya it is imperative that a visit to a specialist travel doctor be made. I advise strongly against a visit to your regular GP because they are invariably not up to date with regard to tropical diseases and health. In particular the situation regarding malaria is constantly changing. In Irian Jaya chloriquine-resistant falciparum malaria is rife and proper precautions are necessary.

Permits, otherwise known as surat jalan should be obtained at your first city of arrival which should be Sorong, Biak or Jayapura. You will need a number of passport photos so bring them with you. The permits are just a matter of formality and seem to be easy to obtain as long as you don’t want to go anywhere too out of the ordinary.

Fitness, a certain level of fitness is important if you intend visiting Irian Jaya. The trek down from Lake Habbema is hard work and a couple of people in our group almost didn’t make it. In the lowlands the climate is very hot and humid and very draining. None of us suffered any illness but a few were pretty knackered!

Personal safety Irian Jaya is heavily patrolled by Indonesian police, of which there seems to be an infinite variety. We never felt in any way that safety was a problem. Soon after our visit a group of Western and Indonesian researchers were kidnapped and held hostage by the OPM (Organisasi Papua Merdeka or Free Papua Movement). Subsequently two of the hostages were killed in the ensuing mess. However, this occurred in the region of the Freeport Mine which is off limits to most visitors due to the volatility of the politics of the region. Apart from this the only advice I would give would be don’t walk around the larger cities (Jayapura and Sorong for instance) alone at night.

Equipment: take the usual stuff but also take a scope. We took our Swarovski, which is rather large and a bit of a pain at times but well worth the effort. It was particularly worthwhile at Lake Habbema in open habitat, enabling fabulous views of Salvadori’s Teal and MacGregor’s BoP for example, and at Nimbokrang where we spent a lot of time birding along the road. Many of the trees at Nimbokrang are very tall and raptors and fruit-doves amongst others have a habit of perching in the top of them. ñ

References:

We used just one field guide - The Birds of New Guinea (1986) by Beehler, B.M., Pratt, T.K. & Zimmerman, D.A. published by Princeton University Press, New Jersey. For study prior to departure The Birds of Papua New Guinea vol. I & II by Brian Coates is excellent but far too heavy to consider taking with you.

A recently published book Birding in Indonesia (Periplus) was not available to us at the time but I would naturally recommend it to anyone planning a trip, along with the Periplus guide to Irian Jaya which is full of practical information and discussions of the culture &c. The Lonely Planet guide to Indonesia is also worth looking at for advice on practicalities, accommodation, transport and so on. ñ

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