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Independent Birding in Indonesia (1 Viewer)

julienl

Well-known member
Hello everyone,

I am planning to do a 3 weeks birding trip in mid-may this year. I was thinking of going to Indonesia. As I don’t know much about this country, I have several questions about birding there. I will be travelling on a budget, which means backpacking and independent birding (no guides). In order to better expose what I mean by “independent birding” I will quickly describe my last trip in south east asia which is exactly what I’d like to redo this year.


2 years ago I did a 2 months trip in south east asia: Cambodia, Vietnam and Laos. Initially, birding was not my first purpose but I ended up doing it a lot (almost everyday). I was a beginner/unprepared birder with no experience whatsoever. I had no fieldguides, no binoculars, no good camera, no hiking shoes and was travelling on my own. I had planned nothing. Still, I really enjoyed it. I may not have seen some rare/endemic species (despite the bare faced bulbul in Laos) but I kept entertained for 2 months. I was doing 3 kinds of birding:

1) Touristic places vicinity: As birding was not my only purpose, I also visited some touristic places. Most of the time, birding was possible around, for example: Angkor Forest, Bat Cave, Vang Vien, Luang Prabang waterfalls etc…

2) Random places: Most of the time I was slipping in random towns/villages. What I used to do was driving 10 minutes out of town (In Vietnam I bought a motorbike), stop on the side of the road, and walk for 2-3 hours in the forest/in fields along a river. My best experience was Koh Ta Kiev island in Cambodia were I spent 5 days birding, almost alone on the island.

3) National Parks: That was mainly in Vietnam: Phong Nha, Cuc Phuong, Ba Vi, Tam Dao, Ba Be Lake. But what they called national parks in Vietnam are not always what you could think, Ba Vi and Tam Dao are full of resorts. Anyhow, for most of them, you could go in the parks without a guide and follow the different trails.


My main question about Indonesia is: Is it easy to do some independent birding there ? Are some national parks accessible without a guide ?

Would you recommend a specific island ? In order to save time and money I’d like to spend the 3 weeks on the same island. Just looking at the map, I was thinking of Sumatra or Kalimantan because they are big enough to visit several places.

I am still a beginner birder (but better prepared) and I am clearly not expecting to see 200 species in 3 weeks as in organized tour. I know independent birding is not the best way to fill your lifers list but I really prefer birding on my own.

Any advice/comment is more than welcome !
Thanks !
Julien
 
Hi Julien,

Yes, it's very possible to visit much of Indonesia independently and cheaply. The requirement to have a guide varies, but more and more of the parks are making this mandatory. I suggest you have a look at recent trip reports on Cloudbirders to give you an idea of the more popular birding sites.

Almost any part of Indonesia has interesting birds. Sumatra has great birding, and a big variety of Sundaic species as well as endemics, but is quite a tough island to bird in my opinion. I would personally not recommend Kalimantan, unless you want to explore, as it is much easier to bird in the Malaysian part of Borneo. You should definitely consider Sulawesi, which is a fantastic island with great birds and very enjoyable birding.

Don't discount Java, which is the most populated island but still has some very good birding. Combined with Bali (probably my least favourite bit of Indonesia!), it's a good introduction to the country. Just avoid Jakarta as much as possible.

Many, many other possibilities!

Cheers
Duncan
 
Thanks for those inputs ! Indonesia is such a big and scattered country, it is hard to make choices. I will look at Sulawesi more in details. I have to decide fast in order to book the plain before the prices are too high.
 
Thanks for those inputs ! Indonesia is such a big and scattered country, it is hard to make choices. I will look at Sulawesi more in details. I have to decide fast in order to book the plain before the prices are too high.

I'd recommend the Lesser Sundas. Easy birding, easy logistics, lots of cool birds. I wouldn't get too set on the 1 island idea. It's very easy to island hop most of the time and plane tickets are cheap and usually very easy and cheap to reschedule if need be. A Sumba/Timor/Flores trip will allow you to get off the beaten path a bit, but still be able to do so cheaply/stay in near by towns.

If you want to get a bit more remote, check out Buru and Seram. There's a few multi day hikes that can get you in to remote areas.

Check out the link below for blog posts on most islands
https://budgetbirders.com/category/trip-adventures/indonesia-2017/

And trip report for info on costs/budget as well as specifics on traveling around independently and birding locations

https://budgetbirders.files.wordpress.com/2017/12/indonesian-trip_gallardy.pdf

Indonesia is awesome. My favorite country. The people are very friendly are always willing to help.

Enjoy.

Ross
 
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Hey Ross,

I haven't read everything you wrote about Indonesia yet, but that will be my main source of information. Your way of travelling is exactly what I am looking for (except that I won't have a tent). I have to admit I am really impressed by the way you manage to see almost all endemics/rareties/targets. I can't imagine the amount of time you spend to gather all the information (I am very bad at planning things, and I hate it). As a beginner I don't have too much expectations. If I manage to get like 50+ lifers, I will be happy.

Do you think 3 weeks is enough for a Sumba/Timor/Flores trip ? (taking away at least 4 days for the travel from/to europe). To travel between these islands, would you recommand boats or planes ? Even if planes are cheap, taking 3-4 flights could become expensive.

I forgot to mention that I will be travelling with someone who is not really a birder so I hope there are other nice things to do/visit on these Island (I am pretty sure they are).

I also noticed in your report that you travel with your camera. I will be bringing my camera too (80d + 100-400mm mkii). That will be my first trip with such expensive equipment. Were you always keeping your camera with you ? Or sometimes you left it in the room while going out too eat ?

Thanks for your help !

Julien
 
Hey Ross,

I haven't read everything you wrote about Indonesia yet, but that will be my main source of information. Your way of travelling is exactly what I am looking for (except that I won't have a tent). I have to admit I am really impressed by the way you manage to see almost all endemics/rareties/targets. I can't imagine the amount of time you spend to gather all the information (I am very bad at planning things, and I hate it). As a beginner I don't have too much expectations. If I manage to get like 50+ lifers, I will be happy.

Do you think 3 weeks is enough for a Sumba/Timor/Flores trip ? (taking away at least 4 days for the travel from/to europe). To travel between these islands, would you recommand boats or planes ? Even if planes are cheap, taking 3-4 flights could become expensive.

I forgot to mention that I will be travelling with someone who is not really a birder so I hope there are other nice things to do/visit on these Island (I am pretty sure they are).

I also noticed in your report that you travel with your camera. I will be bringing my camera too (80d + 100-400mm mkii). That will be my first trip with such expensive equipment. Were you always keeping your camera with you ? Or sometimes you left it in the room while going out too eat ?

Thanks for your help !

Julien

Yes, I think 3 weeks would be enough to do Sumba/Timor/Flores. Yes, plane tickets will be a bit more expensive than hanging out on the same island, but overall they should still only be $40-$60 per flight. Use Nusatrip.com to book flights. I always found the best prices on there. Kupang on Timor is the major hub for the area. For those three islands, I don't think trying to take ferries would make much sense.

As for other things to do, I think it depends. Hopefully the other person at least likes nature (which I'm assuming they do). I don't really pay attention to "other things to do", but the Mt Mutis area on Timor is very scenic, especially the track that starts at -9.610256, 124.22383. You have to stay in a local hut too so that's kind of unique/touristy I guess.

Flores has plenty of tourist options. There's some three color lake area in the eastern part of the island (didn't visit) that a lot of people recommend. And then of course there's Komodo and Rinca on the far western side. You can make due on pretty cheap trips out to those islands if you want.

As for camera gear, I always keep my backpack with me at all times when traveling. No matter the country. That bag has my binoculars, camera, recorder in it. Passport and wallet are always in my pocket. Although Indonesia is very safe and Indonesians are by far the nicest people I've met, I still don't take the risk with leaving things back in a room.

Ross
 
As regards security I used to take my most valuable stuff with me until I left my Leica bins in a restuarant. Luckily a member of staff ran after me. That was about 30 years ago. I've always left my gear in the hotel at night since, in any country.

It wasn't at night but I almost lost a scope in SA due to my own forgetfullness. Luckily that was handed in. There are risks whatever you do with your gear.
 
I forgot to mention that I will be travelling with someone who is not really a birder so I hope there are other nice things to do/visit on these Island (I am pretty sure they are).
Julien

Indonesia is a very nice destination for non-birders!

I have spent 2 months travelling Indonesia in 2009 independently backpacking on an ultra-low budget before I became interested in birding. I travelled with cheap public buses accross islands and then hopped on boats to go to the next. This way I travelled Java-Bali-Lombok(incl. Gili Islands)-Sumbawa-Flores. From Flores I flew to Sulawesi.

What makes Indonesia quite unique is that every island is very different.

Java is mainly Muslim, has some nice historic sites (like the famous Borobudur Temples, the city of Yogyakarta, etc) and natural wonders like volcanos. For me one of the highlights in the whole trip was east-Java with Bromo volcano and Ijen Plateau.

When you cross the sea to Bali everything becomes completely different. Most people are Hindu and this is reflected in architecture, ceremonies etc. Just avoid Kuta with all the rowdy tourists. I rented a scooter for a few dollars per day and drove across much of the island through rice-paddies, volcano slopes, forests and visited a famous temple site.

Then crossed the sea to Lombok (Muslim again). Rented a (cheap) scooter for two days to explore the island and made a side trip to Gili Islands (Gili Air) for a nice low-key beach.

After Lombok I crossed the sea to Sumbawa. This arid island is bypassed by most tourists because there in "nothing to see", but that always makes me curious! There are indeed not many tourist attractions nor facilities but it is always interesting to see how people live.

Then crossed the sea again to Flores, a beautiful lush island. Here most people are Catholics so you'll see churches and people singing on Sundays. I made a side trip to Rinca/Komodo to see the dragons (awesome) with some snorkling on the way. Another highlight was the Kelimutu volcanic lakes in the mountains. They have different colours that change over time. Get a motorcycle ride to the top in the early morning, see the sunrise and walk down te slopes back to the village. There is also nice hiking to nearby villages. People are really friendly. On Flores there are also some traditional villages that you can visit (arrange a guy with a motorcycle to get you there).

Finally, I took a plane from Flores to Sulawesi and bussed across the island. One massive highlight is Toraja, an area with a strange but interesting culture where they preserve their dead and bury them ~10 years later (after a great party) in graves cut out in mountain sides and place puppets that look like them in front of the grave. Very weird and interesting place. Toraja is a great place for hiking too. In the far north of the island, Bunaken is the best place in the world where I have ever snorkeled. At least in 2009 the coral and fish were in very good shape.

Unfortunately, in 2009 I wasn't yet into birding! :eek!: So I definitely have plans to go back sometime in the coming years, this time armed with binoculars and a fieldguide!
 
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