Year: 2026

This village is situated in Cenderawasih Bay National park on the mainland. There is a road leading to nearest town several hours away. A clinic with some interesting posters for child immunisation, an ambulance and a police station. The houses are more solid and the school building is spanking new. The welcome here had a…

And No it was not us on the menu ! We are in Cenderwasih Bay, a place that has transformed from a hunting area of marine life to community based tourism with the largest fish on earth at its centre. Bagans are fishing stations in the deep ocean. They fish on lift-net platforms. Some of…

We have travelled round from Raja Ampat to West Papua over the Bird’s Head and into the bay. Our destination was Roon island for a snorkel off the coast and a visit to the village nearby. Roon comes from the Indonesian word for ironwood. Yende is one of seven small villages built literally on the…

Alfred Russel Wallace is regarded as the father of biogeography. He was an avid collector, an environmentalist, a contemporary of Darwin’s, a slighter younger man ( he was a pallbearer at Darwin’s funeral ) he travelled through the Malay archipelago collecting an astonishing 125,660 specimens from 1854. He loved beetles and birds and introduced the…

Alfred Russel Wallace came to this region in 1856. One of the many exploratory journeys he did was going through The Passage between Waigeo and Gam islands. I imagine he was led to this area by local guides. It’s a fascinating passage, winding, not very wide, just over a kilometre in length. What is noteworthy…

An area of dramatic limestone islets formed by ancient tectonic shifts and erosion they form karsts in the geological landscape here. A popular tourist hot spot for obvious reasons. Up about 250 steps to a viewing platform. We saw many sailing ships anchored here and they are special. In 2017 UNESCO designated Pinisi boatbuilding in…

While in Kofiau we had the opportunity to go on a bush walk just opposite the village. We were looking for the paradise kingfisher.We spotted butterflies and this Green Crested Lizard. A handsome fella. I walked back to the xplorer on the beach. While there is undoubtedly lots of plastic and rubbish there is also…

Today a visit to Kampung Deer village. We were welcomed by two traditional boats from the village with drummers and dancers. They accompanied us all the way. Small wooden houses built on stilts along the coastline. People going about their daily business. A Christian Protestant community with churches in each of the villages. A focal…

In all its glory. Towering rocks covered in ferns, betel nut palms, many pitcher plants and flowering orchids. Rocks like Xmas trees, sheer faces and azure waters. Pretty much uninhabitable. A National Park. The snorkelling was great along an extensive reef where a coral tablecloth caught my eye extending out in the deep underneath as…

It’s not every day you meet a king. And here is the Raja of Saparua, a traditional leadership system known as raja or kepela negeri. They are Cultural leaders preserving land, tradition and ceremonial events. Keep it quiet in case you know who wants to come and become king of this place too! We arrived…