Marine Tours, Diving, and Snorkeling in Bunaken National Park

Bunaken National Park is a marine park located in Indonesia’s North Sulawesi province. The location is in the Coral Triangle, providing habitat to 390 species of coral as well as many fish, mollusc, reptile and marine mammal species. Bunaken is representative of Indonesian tropical water ecosystems, coral reef, consisting of seagrass plain, and coastal ecosystems.

Bunaken Island seen from Manado Tua Island.
Source: wikipedia.org 

The Park covers a total area of 890.65 km², which 97% of it is marine habitat. The remaining 3% of the park is terrestrial, including the five islands of Bunaken, Siladen, Nain, Mantehage and Manado Tua. At the southern part of the Park covers part of the Tanjung Kelapa coast.

A very rich coral ecosystem covers most of Bunaken, dominated by fringing reef and barrier reef corals. Approximately 390 species of coral recorded in the Park. A distinct feature is a 25-50 meter vertical coral wall which is inhabited by 13 coral genus. Seaweeds that can be found here include Halimeda, Padina, and Caulerpa species. The dominant seagrasses in Montehage and Nain island are Enhallus acoroides, Thalassodendron ciliatum, and Thalassia hemprichii.

Approximately 90 species of fish live in the waters of the park, among them are the Emperor Angelfish, Almaco Jack, Spotted Seahorse, Bluestripe Snapper, Pinkish Basslet and Two-lined monocle bream. The species of mollusc include the Giant Clam (Tridacna gigas), horned helmet (Cassis cornuta), pearly-chambered nautili (Nautilus pompillius), and ascidians.

Bunaken National Park, Manado. Source: wikipedia.org

On the land, the Park are rich in species of palm, sagu, woka, silar and coconut. Among the animal species that live on the land and the beaches are black-crested macaques (Macaca nigra nigra), Timor deer (Cervus timorensis russa), and bear-cuscus (Ailurops ursinus ursinus). The mangrove forest at the Park contains Lumnitzera, Rhizophora, Bruguiera, and Sonneratia species. This forest is also rich in species of crab, lobster, mollusc, and sea birds such as gulls, herons, sea doves, and storks.

There are some tourist attractions in the park. Anniversary of Manado in July and Menulude in January are suitable for cultural attractions. Bunaken is one of Indonesia's most famous diving and snorkeling spot, it draws visitors from all over the world. Marine habitats suitable for tourists to do the marine tours, diving, and snorkeling in Bunaken. There are beginner-friendly sites too and all dive shops can arrange introduction dives and Open Water Dive courses. The best time to visit it is at May to August.

How to go to Bunaken ?

The Park can be reached from Manado harbour, the Nusantara Diving Centre Marina in Molas subdistrict, and the Blue Banter Marina. From Manado harbour by motor boat :

• to Siladen Island takes about 20 minutes, 
• to Bunaken Island takes about 30 minutes, 
• to Montehage Island takes about 50 minutes, 
• to Nain Island takes about 60 minutes. 

From Blue Banter Marina heading to the tourist attractions on Bunaken takes about 10-15 minutes by cabin cruiser. From the Nusantara Diving Centre harbour to the dive spots take about 20 minutes by speedboat.

Lorentz National Park, the Tourist Attractions in Papua

Lorentz National Park is located in the province of Papua, Indonesian. With an area of 25,056 km², the Park is the largest protected area in the Asia-Pacific region. it represents the most complete ecosystem for biodiversity in either Southeast Asia or the Pacific. It is also one of only three tropical areas in the world that has a glacier. Stretching from snow-covered peaks down to coastal waters and mangrove forest and bordering upon the Arafura Sea, this astonishing ecological spectrum ranges from alpine to lowland and wetland vegetation areas.

Puncak Jaya at the north-western edge of the Lorentz National Park.
Source: wikipedia.org

The park contains Puncak Jaya (Carstensz Pyramid), which at 4,884 metres is the tallest mountain between the Himalayas and the Andes. Puncak Jaya is surrounded by equatorial glaciers, which are rapidly retreating due to the effects of global warming. Lorentz National Park also has other unique features such as a river that disappears under the ground for several kilometres in the Baliem valley.

The forests of Lorentz encompass the traditional lands of eight indigenous ethnic groups, including the Asmat, Amungme, Dani, Sempan, and Nduga. The park contains many unmapped and unexplored areas, and is certain to contain many species of plants and animals as yet unknown to Western science.

There are 34 vegetation types that make up the forest area of the Park, including swamp forest, riparian forest, sago forest, peat forest, coastal forest, coral reef, slope/flat land rain forest, hillside rain forest, montane forest, grassy plains, and moss-covered areas. Among the species of plant that grow in this Park are Podocarpus pilgeri, Rhizophora apiculata, Pandanus julianettii, Nauclea coadunata, Nypa fruticans, and  Colocasia esculenta.

The Southern Crowned Pigeon found in Lorentz.
 Source: wikipedia.org

The Park have over 630 species of bird (around 70% of the total number of bird species in Papua) and 123 species of mammal. Birds include two species of cassowary, 31 species of cockatoo, 31 pigeon and dove species, 29 species of sunbird and 13 species of kingfisher. Six bird species are endemic to the Snow Mountains including the Snow Mountain Robin and Snow Mountain Quail, 26 species are endemic to the Central Papuan Ranges while three are endemic to the South Papuan Lowlands. Threatened species include the Pesquet's Parrot, Southern Crowned Pigeon, Macgregor's Giant Honeyeater, Southern Cassowary and Salvadori's Teal.

The mammal species include the Short-beaked echidna, Long-beaked echidna, and four species of cuscus as well as wildcats, wallabies and tree-kangaroos. Endemic to the Sudirman Range is the Dingiso, a tree kangaroo species only discovered in 1995.

The best time to visit the park is on August to December. Tourist can do cultural tourism, animal observation and mountain climbing.

How to go to the park?

From Timika, to the northern part of the Park by the local air service and to the southern part of the Park by sea from the Sawa Erma Port, then follow the trails to various locations.

Teluk Cenderawasih National Park, The Beauty of Cenderawasih Bay Papua

Teluk Cenderawasih National Park is a marine national park located in Cenderawasih Bay south-east of Bird's Head Peninsula at Papua island, Indonesia. The park includes the islands of Mioswaar, Nusrowi, Roon, Rumberpon and Yoop. With a total area of 1.453.500 hectares, it is the largest marine national park of Indonesia. It combines coral reef ecosystems, coastal ecosystems, mangrove ecosystems and an island terrestrial tropical forest ecosystem.

About 46 species of plant have been recorded from the park dominated by Bruguiera and Avicennia species, Nypa fruticans, Metroxylon sago, Casuarina equisetifolia, and Terminalia catappa. The park protects a rich marine ecosystem, with over 150 recorded coral species consisting of 15 families and distributed on the shores of 18 large and small islands. The percentage of live coral coverage varies from between 30-40% to 64-65%. In general, the coral reef ecosystem is divided into two zones: the reef flat zone and the reef slope zone. Among these are colonies of Black coral, Blue coral, Mycedium elephantotus, Leptoseris species, and Alcyonacea or soft corals.

Parrotfish, one of over 200 fish species
recorded in the National Park. Source: wikipedia.org

The Park is famed for its wealth of fish species. Over 200 fish species inhabit the park, include: Parrotfish, Butterflyfish, Clownfish, Damselfish, Sharks and Rabbitfish. Species of mollusc include Lambis species, Cowry, Giant clam, Strombidae and Charonia tritonis. There are four species of turtle that are quite often seen in this Park. They are the hawksbill turtle, green turtle, olive ridley turtle, and leatherback turtle. Mammals include dolphins, dugong and blue whale.

There are some tourist attractions in the park. Rumberpon Island is suitable for observing birds and deer, marine tours, diving and snorkeling. The wreck of a sunken military aircraft lies on the sea bed. Nusrowi Island is suitable for diving and snorkeling, marine tours, and animal observation. At Mioswaar Island tourist can see thermal springs, waterfalls and sites of cultural interest, also diving and snorkeling, animal observation. At Yoop Island and Windesi waters tourist can see whale and dolphin. Roon Island is suitable for bird watching, diving, snorkeling and cultural tourism. The best time to visit this park is on May to October.

How to go to the Park?

From Jakarta, Surabaya, Denpasar, Makasar, Jayapura, Honolulu and Darwin by direct flight to Biak, then from Biak to Manokwari by plane. Or from Jakarta, Surabaya, Ujung Pandang and Jayapura by plane directly to Manokwari.

From Manokwari to the Park (Rumberpon Island) by longboat, it takes about 5.5 hours. Or other route, from Manokwari to Ransiki subdistrict by car, it's about 3 hours, then take 2.5 hours trip by motor boat.

For more information please contact the office of the Park: Jl. Trikora Wosi Rendani, PO Box 229 Manokwari 98312, West Papua, Indonesia. Phone: +62-986-212212. (The contact info is retrieved from http://www.dephut.go.id/INFORMASI/TN%20INDO-ENGLISH/telukcendra_NP.htm at 11 May 2010)

Cultural Tourism and Animal Observation at Wasur National Park Papua

Wasur National Park is located at 8°36'S 140°50'E in the province of Papua, Indonesia. This area is part of the largest wetlands in Papua. The high value of its biological diversity has led to the Park being dubbed the "Serengeti Papua". Approximately 70% of the total area of the Park consists of savanna, with the remaining vegetation is swamp forest, monsoon forest, coastal forest, bamboo forest, grassy plains and large stretches of sago swamp forest. The dominant plants in the forest area include mangroves, Avicennia, Bruguiera, Terminalia, and Melaleuca species.

Early morning rainbow in the Wasur National Park.
Source: wikipedia.org

The park provides habitat for a large variety of up to 358 bird species of which some 80 species are endemic to the island of Papua. Fish diversity is also high in the region with some 111 species found in the eco-region and a large number of these are recorded from Wasur. The Park's wetland provides habitat for various species of lobster and crab as well. Common fauna species include: Greater Bird of Paradise, Red Bird of Paradise, King Bird of Paradise, Blue Crowned Pigeon, Agile Wallaby, Southern Cassowary, Pesquet's Parrot, Saltwater Crocodile, and New Guinea Crocodile.

Wasur National Park is the habitat for a number of rare and endemic species. Red-listed species known to be present in viable populations are Fly River Grassbird, New Guinea Harpy Eagle, Black-necked Stork, Dusky Pademelon, Southern Crowned Pigeon and Little Curlew. Three Trans-Fly endemic bird species have been recorded, including the Grey-crowned Munia and Fly River Grassbird.

The park is suitable for animal observation, kayaking/canoeing along the rivers, fishing, and cultural tourism. The best time to visit it is at July to November.

How to go to the park ?

From Jayapura to Merauke by plane, it takes about 1.5 hours. Then from Merauke to the Park by car, it takes about 1-2 hours via the Trans Papua (Jayapura-Merauke) road.

For more information, please contact:
Office: Jl. Raya Mandala, Gang Spadem Nr. 2, PO Box 109, Merauke 99611, Papua, Indonesia
Phone: +62-971-322495 or 325406
(The contact info is retrieved from http://www.dephut.go.id/INFORMASI/TN%20INDO-ENGLISH/wasur_NP.htm at 11 May 2010)

Adventure and Diving at Komodo National Park

Komodo National Park is a national park in Indonesia, located in the center of the Indonesian archipelago, between the provinces of East Nusa Tenggara and West Nusa Tenggara. This national park consists of three major islands: Komodo, Rinca, and Padar, as well as several smaller islands, with a total area of 1,733 km² (603 km² of it land).

Komodo National Park. Source: wikipedia.org

In 1980 the national park was established to protect the Komodo dragon and its habitat. The hot and dry climate of the park, characterized by savannah vegetation, make it to a good habitat for the endemic Komodo dragon (Varanus komodoensis). Other than the Komodo Dragon twelve terrestrial snake species are found on the island. Including the cobra (Naja naja sputatrix), Russel’s pit viper (Vipera russeli), and the green tree vipers (Trimeresurus albolabris). Lizards include 9 skink species (Scinidae), geckos (Gekkonidae), limbless lizards (Dibamidae), and, of course, the monitor lizards (Varanidae). Frogs include the Asian Bullfrog (Kaloula baleata), Oreophyne jeffersoniana and Oreophyne darewskyi. They are typically found at higher, moister altitudes.

There are 277 species of animal which is a mix of animals from Asia and Australia, which consists of 32 species of mammals and 128 species of birds. Mammals include the Timor deer (Cervus timorensis), the main prey of the Komodo dragon, horses (Equus sp.), water buffalo (Bubalus bubalis), wild boar (Sus scrofa vittatus), long-tailed macaques (Macaca fascicularis), palm civets (Paradoxurus hermaphroditus lehmanni), the endemic Rinca rat (Rattus rintjanus), and fruit bats. One can also find goats, dogs and domestic cats. One of the main bird species is the orange-footed scrub fowl (Megapodius reinwardti), a ground dwelling bird. In areas of savanna, 27 species were observed. Geopelia striata and Streptopelia chinensis were the most common species. In mixed deciduous habitat, 28 bird species were observed, and Philemon buceroides, Ducula aenea, and Zosterops chloris were the most common.

Kanawa Island, Komodo National Park.
Source: wikipedia.org

Cloud forests appear only in few areas above 500 metres but they provide habitat to several endemic flora. Coastal vegetaion includes mangrove forest, which generally appear in the sheltered bays of the three larger islands. The three major coastal marine plants are algae, seagrasses and mangrove trees. Algae are primitive plants, which do not have true roots, leaves or stems. An important reef-building algae is the red coralline algae, which actually secretes a hard limestone skeleton that can encrust and cement dead coral together. Seagrasses are modern plants that produce flowers, fruits and seeds for reproduction. As their name suggests, they generally look like large blades of grass growing underwater in sand near the shore. Thallasia sp. and Zastera spp. are the common species found in the Park. Mangroves trees can live in salty soil or water, and are found throughout the park. An assessment of mangrove resources identified at least 19 species of true mangroves and several more species of mangrove associates within the park's borders.

Big eye squirrelfish (Priacanthus hamrur)
being serviced by cleaner wrasse (Labroides dimidiatus)
at cleaning station in Komodo National Park.
Source: wikipedia.org

Moreover, Komodo National Park includes one of the world's richest marine environments. It consists of forams, cnidaria (includes over 260 species of reef building coral), sponges (70 species), ascidians, marine worms, mollusks, echinoderms, crustaceans, cartilaginous and bony fishes (over 1,000 species), marine reptiles, and marine mammals (dolphins, whales, and dugongs). Some notable species with high commercial value include sea cucumbers (Holothuria), Napoleon wrasse (Cheilinus undulatus), and groupers. Fringing and patch coral reefs are extensive and best developed on the north-east coast of Komodo Island.

Scuba diving and snorkeling are popular because of the park's high marine biodiversity. You may also swim in the Flores Sea on your incoming or outgoing boat trip to one of the islands. Beware of sharp corals on the sea floor near some of the small islands.

How to get there?

The ferry service (to and from the cities of Sape, on the eastern tip of Sumbawa, and Labuanbajo on Flores) drops off passengers on Komodo once or twice every week. There is no port on the island, so passengers are unloaded onto small vessels which take them into the island's only village. Note that not all departures have this service, check beforehand. Bima, a short drive from Sape, has an airstrip with flights to Denpasar.

Travelers coming in from Sape to the west (those traveling overland through Sumbawa and also those arriving at Bima airport) should note that the once-daily ferries from Sape can be suspended indefinitely due to bad weather, so if you want to be sure of your travel arrangements, flying to Labuanbajo is a much safer bet. If you get stranded at Sape, the best Bima airport will be able to offer is a flight back to Denpasar on Bali.

Wakatobi National Park, World's Best Dive Sites

Wakatobi beach, Indonesia.
Source: wikipedia.org

Wakatobi National Park is a marine national park, that located at the south-east of Sulawesi island in Indonesia, between 05°12’-06°10’S and 123°20’-124°39’E. The name of Wakatobi is an acronym of the four main Tukangbesi Islands: Wangi-wangi, Kaledupa, Tomia, and Binongko. With an area of about 1.39 million hectares, this area has the potential of marine natural resources, which presents a stunning underwater panorama.

The types of vegetation found in the national park are mangrove forest, coastal forest, lowland swamp forest, riverbank vegetation, lowland rainforest, mountain rainforest and coral reefs. The Wakatobi Archipelago has 25 groups of coral reefs including fringing reefs, barrier reefs and atolls. Approximately 112 species from 13 families of coral, located at 25 points along the 600 km coastline. The types of corals are: Acropora formosa, Acropora hyacinthus, Psammocora profundasafla, Pavona cactus, Leptoseris yabei, Fungia molucensis, Lobophyllia robusta, Merulina ampliata, Platygyra versifora, Euphyllia glabrescens, Tubastraea frondes, Stylophora pistillata, Sarcophyton throchelliophorum, Sinularia species.

The park also has a variety of fish species, including: Argus Spot (Cephalopholus argus), Takhasang (Naso unicornis), Pogo-pogo (Balistoides viridescens), Napoleon fish (wrasse undulatus), Red fish (Lutjanus biguttatus), Rabbitfish (Siganus guttatus), Amphiprion melanopus, Chaetodon specullum, Chelmon rostratus, Heniochus acuminatus, Lutjanus monostigma, Caesio caerularea. Among the recorded species of seabird are the Brown Booby, Common Kingfisher and Malaysian Plover. Turtles in the park include the Hawksbill turtle, Loggerhead sea turtle, and Olive Ridley.

Coral reefs at Wakatobi. Source: wikipedia.org

For tourists who love the beauty of the underwater to do some activities in the Wakatobi National Park, such as diving, snorkeling and swimming to see the beautiful coral reef and other underwater animals and also see various cultural communities. Hoga Island, Binongko Island and Tomia Island are attractive location to visit, especially for diving, snorkeling, marine tourism, swimming, camping, and cultural tourism.

How to get to Wakatobi ?

Towards Wakatobi, there are lots of ways. But the easiest access is via Kendari. From Kendari, there are two options, by sea or air. By air, there was a plane that connects Kendari to the Matahora airport in Wanci, as the capital of Wakatobi. Susi Air is the airline, a travel distance of less than 1 hour. By sea, there are two choices as well. From Kendari through Baubau in Buton, or directly to Wanci. Baubau can be an alternative route because the waves are not strong. Voyage from Kendari to Wanci about 12 hours. Whereas voyage from Kendari towards Baubau taken within 6 hours, and then headed Wanci taken within 8 hours.

Diving at Raja Ampat Islands, The Coral Reefs Paradise

 Raja Ampat exotic destination in Papua, Indonesia.
Source:  wikitravel.org   

Raja Ampat or the Four Kings is dubbed as the Coral Reef Paradise by divers. It's located at the northwest tip of Bird’s Head Peninsula of New Guinea island, in Indonesia’s West Papua province. It is an archipelago comprising over 1,500 small islands, cays, and shoals surrounding the four main islands of Misool, Salawati, Batanta, and Waigeo, and the smaller island of Kofiau.

Raja Ampat has approximately 600 kind of coral reefs, it's 75% of all known coral species in the world. This numbers is 10 times of hard coral species found in the entire Caribbean. In this area there are 5 species of endangered sea turtles, 57 species of mantis shrimp, 13 species of marine mammals, and 27 species of endemic reef fish only found in that area.

Coral Reef at Raja Ampat. Source: gorajaampat.com

This area are a truly natural phenomenon with enormous biological diversity. The conditions, high endemic level of land, sea biodiversity, coastal ecology, and local culture & tradition the islands offer more than just amazing landscapes.

How to get to Raja Ampat ?

No special ticket to enter this area. Travelers who interested in visiting Raja Ampat can be started from Jakarta or other big cities to the airport Domine Eduard Osok, Sorong, West Papua. Flight from Jakarta to Sorong usually transit at Makassar or Manado. From Domine Eduard Osok Airport at Sorong, travelers can get to the Raja Ampat using boat. There are two types of boats available: Speed Boat (40 minutes - 1 hour boat trip, carries 15 passengers and costs Rp2 million/US$208.55), Long Boat (2-3 hour boat trip and could carry 10 passengers for the cost of Rp1,2 million/ US$126). Please consider that all rates are subject to change without notice.