My first introduction
to West Papua was in 2016. Starting with
rumors of the beautiful and fascinating Bird of Paradise on the island of
Waigeo caused me to take a step and flight to Sorong without anyone I knew
there. My worries did not arise even though I had never been to Sorong because Sorong
had long been famous in the eyes of the world with diving tourism in Raja
Ampat. After a while, I finally managed to meet with local people who have a Bird
of Paradise spot on the island of Waigeo. Collaborating with local communities
until finally, I made a short trip to Sorong and Waigeo. During a year operation
in Sorong, many photos I uploaded to Facebook about Wilson's Bird of Paradise
and Red Bird of Paradise and it turned out to be the beginning of more people
who were interested in seeing more Birds of Paradise.
Another story, I have
a friend of mine that works as a tour operator from China who has worked with me
since 2014 for birdwatching and bird photography in Sulawesi and Bali. Seeing
many good responses regarding the photos that I uploaded to Facebook, he
finally offered me to arrange a trip to West Papua at the time to see Bird of
paradise because many of his clients asked to travel to Papua. It never crossed
my mind to be able to arrange a trip to Papua that was farther than Sorong.
Unlike other regions in Indonesia, Papua in our eyes at that time was still
very scary and also isolated and I know nothing about Papua island but Sorong
only. I was a little hesitant to go there plus many issues that were a little
scary at that time made my family worry about my safety. After a long
discussion with him and my family, finally, in April 2017 with all my soul and
careful preparation, I finally ventured to go to the land of West Papua with the
aim of securing the location of the Bird of Paradise and also lodging there.
The first place I visited was the village of Mingre in the Arfak Mountains. Information
about the Mingre village I got from a local guide that I met his contact on the
trip report from the internet.
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| My first step in Arfak |
Arriving there, I was
very fascinated by the beauty and hospitality of the local people in Arfak that
were far from the ‘scary’ image as it was in my mind. I was warmly welcomed by
them. However, the temperature and also the air in the Arfak mountains are not
as warm as the people welcomed, at an altitude of 1,800 meters above sea level
is not unusual for me. Of course, many challenges and also things happened
outside our prediction but it did not dampen the enthusiasm and hard work me
to succeed in the construction of bird tourism spots in the Arfak mountains
especially in the village of Mingre at the time.
After surveying and
establishing bird spots with the local community, we then made our way to the hide
of Bird of Paradise and other bird spots. As we know that the Arfak mountains
are areas that are still far from the touch of modernization. When we arrived
at Arfak, there was no lodging or guesthouse we could use. We only slept on
layers of the board in the traditional houses of the local people that make me sick
for several days. It is a journey that I will never forget.
Finally, after a few
days of everything from the birding location, nests of the Birds of Paradise
and also the location that will be used as guesthouses, I returned to Manado.
In June 2017 I came back to Mingre again and also started construction of the
guesthouses at a place that was approved by the community. All items ranging
from building equipment, beds, bathwater heaters, and all necessary equipment
we brought from the City. The journey is long but has many beautiful memories
to remember.
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| we build up hide |
The construction of
the inn lasted for only one month since July 2017 the first guest from China
finally set foot in the Arfak mountains. Everything went according to what we
planned. Until now, in 2020 we still continue to collaborate with the local
community to jointly build and maintain the potential of Tourism in this Arfak
land so that it can be enjoyed until later our children and grandchildren are
born enjoying it as well as all of us hope that the Bird of Paradise and other birds
in other parts of Papua will be around forever.
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| Old house to be renovated |
I asked why I want to
arrange a trip to West Papua? isn't there in Sulawesi, Java, Borneo, and Flores
too much easier, why should I dare to take such a big risk in Papua? I have so
many friends asking me that. For the answer, of course initially, because there
was a request from Chinese guests who wanted to witness the uniqueness and also
the beauty of the Bird of Paradise that had not been exposed much outside the
world. Then the second is when I first saw the bird of paradise in Sorong I was bewitched and fell in love with the beauty and uniqueness they have. I
myself who is a photographer cannot possibly miss the opportunity given by God
to me to capture the beauty of the bird of paradise in my camera lens. Thirdly, the tourism spirit that I have from a long time ago made me want the
desire to continue to develop the tourism potential in the Arfak region. This
is also inseparable from my love for the local community because they have very
kindly accepted me like their own family in this strange land. I want to
provide even the smallest assistance to lift the economy in this Arfak region.
It was a decision that
I will never regret in 2016 in Sorong and 2017 when I took the first step
towards Manokwari for Arfak mountains in the land of Papua. Although many
things happened that were beyond my ability, I am proud to have dared to take
this path. Leaving my beloved family far from my arms, sometimes traveling for
months so rarely stay at home just to spend time with family and others does
not make me afraid of the goals that I want to achieve. I am very grateful to
be blessed with a family that is very understanding of my profession so that
even though they are out of reach there is no worry in my heart. It has been
the purpose of my life to devote myself to trying to lift the economy wherever
it's place that is related to the world of tourism. By setting foot in the land
of Papua has made me realize that there are still many things that we have to fix
and build together to improve the welfare of the indigenous people of Papua in
the land of West Papua. Contributing to the economy of the local community is
enough to make me proud to wrestle in the world of tourism for more than 20
years. This will not stop here. Going forward, there are still many other
things that we will do in the future with the hope of prospering the lives of local
people and preserving and also protecting together the population of Birds of
Paradise, Arfak endemic birds (Vogelkops), and their culture also.
