Hello there,
We have been traveling independently in South America, Sri Lanka and Europe and are considering a 4 week trip to West Papua (3) and Sulawesi
(1). We are interested in birds but also in nature/animals in general. We do not know every bird by heart/scientific name, so we are just 'afficionados' but we do dream away above our birdingguides..
Despite the fact that we'd prefere to travel independently, that doesn't seem like a good idea in West-Papua. So we are thinking about hiring a guide for a few days/week to see the Arfak Mountains (a hike for about 4 days) and Lake Habema for example. But we'd also like to do some snorkeling and 'relax'.. just walk around alone a little.
Is it possible to hire a guide on the spot? Or should we arrange things before hand? We are on a relatively tight budget but used to 'no-comfort places' but I've read it's still very expensive.
Anyone out there who has a good trustworthy guide/bureau to recommend? I'd love to hear some tips. Any guide with humour and knowledge would be fine, preferably one from the local community so that our cash flows to the right place.
p.s. one of the reasons we didn't like guides in Bolivia for example is that they 'speeded' right through the mountains so we hardly had any time to watch birds! Also, we are 42 (and like a beer from time to time) so we are not in 'top' condition but good enough to do some strenuous hiking... we just like watching birds/insects/plants at our own pace.
We have been traveling independently in South America, Sri Lanka and Europe and are considering a 4 week trip to West Papua (3) and Sulawesi
(1). We are interested in birds but also in nature/animals in general. We do not know every bird by heart/scientific name, so we are just 'afficionados' but we do dream away above our birdingguides..
Despite the fact that we'd prefere to travel independently, that doesn't seem like a good idea in West-Papua. So we are thinking about hiring a guide for a few days/week to see the Arfak Mountains (a hike for about 4 days) and Lake Habema for example. But we'd also like to do some snorkeling and 'relax'.. just walk around alone a little.
Is it possible to hire a guide on the spot? Or should we arrange things before hand? We are on a relatively tight budget but used to 'no-comfort places' but I've read it's still very expensive.
Anyone out there who has a good trustworthy guide/bureau to recommend? I'd love to hear some tips. Any guide with humour and knowledge would be fine, preferably one from the local community so that our cash flows to the right place.
p.s. one of the reasons we didn't like guides in Bolivia for example is that they 'speeded' right through the mountains so we hardly had any time to watch birds! Also, we are 42 (and like a beer from time to time) so we are not in 'top' condition but good enough to do some strenuous hiking... we just like watching birds/insects/plants at our own pace.
Last edited: