[grapevine]

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.

[Marmot]

We do have a member that did quite a lot of birding in this area and also one that does tours there as well....they both come on BF now and again so have sent them both messages pointing out this thread to see if either of them can give any advice to you.

[grapevine]

Thank you Marmot, I really appreciate it! We have just been watching David Attenborough's episode abouth the Birds of Paradise again.. it makes you really want to go a.s.a.p...
edit: I acidently posted this in the wrong forum at first, then posted it in the right forum (Indonesia) and got a reply from Papuan Birder.

[Rob Hutchinson]

It is a very good idea to book guides in advance, they are extremely helpful in some areas eg Arfaks. This is especially important during the busiest period of June - August.

In the Arfak Mountains Zeth Wonggor is THE guide to show you the birds, he is based in Mokwam village but there is no phone signal or other communication so it is difficult to contact him in advance if not traveling with a tour agent.

You will encounter many guides on arrival into Wamena but few know more than the most obvious birds.

Snorkeling - the Raja Ampat islands off Sorong are reported to be excellent for diving / snorkeling.

Cost - West Papua is expensive (maybe twice the cost of other parts of Indonesia)

[grapevine]

Thanks Rob, I got some info regarding W-Papua from various sources now but as far as I can see I do not have enough time to arrange what I would like to do. So I am hesitating between doing West Papua and Sulawesi or just Sulawesi (and maybe Banda Islands) and wait with a trip to West Papua until I have a longer (6 months) trip due in a few years. But a few years seems so far away... :-(

You are right that it is difficult to contact the Papuan Bird club (I didn't get a reply yet emailed over a week ago). Also, since it's so expensive it would be relatively cheaper to spread a visit over at least a month instead of a week. We just can't afford the waiting for days this time.
We did something similar (independently) in the Amazon and it took days to get a lift at times and sometimes even weeks to get on a (cargo) boat. I suspect it is about similar here.. I will let you know if I make up my mind.
Anyhow, thanks for the reply. I'd love to hire Zeth Wongor but guess I should've made arrangements a few months earlier for that!!