PNG in the first half of July 2023 (1 Viewer)

[Jose Ramon]

I would second Jurek's observations. I'm in West Papua right now, finishing off a se;f-organized trip. I feel totally safe here, like anywhere else in Indoensia. I would not say that about PNG. There I was escorted by armed police! Definitely a better place to be.

Fine, but my question is:

Are you able to find all the endemic families of NG in the Indonesian side?

I believe that the answer is no, even more if you cannot visit the highlands that is the right habitat to look for them.

Regarding birds in general terms, both sides of the island of NG are excellent and the Indonesian side could be safer and the logistics much easier.

But if your target is to watch all the endemic families of the island of NG I believe that visiting PNG is the only option.

 

[Welsh Peregrine]

My experience is visiting PNG and dipping Melampitta (heard only) and Berryhunter. All the families are potentially gettable on the standard itinerary. In West Papua, all the families occur, but the standard sites don’t seem to target some (eg Ploughbill, Satinbirds, Ifrit). If these are accessible in WP then that would be a better self-guiding option by far; I would not contemplate birding anywhere in PNG without an experienced local guide; although it may be possible to organise a trip transferring from guide to guide if you are VERY lucky with timings. Kelvin

 

[Jon Gallagher]

You would certainly need to include Wamena/Lake Habbema if you want all the families, and that would be the major complication but not impossible. I have just completed a run through Biak, Nimbokrang, Arfaks, and Raja Ampat with no issues whatsoever, all organized by myself, not using a tour or an agency. Depends what you want, as always. Total cost out of Jakarta including 5 domestic flights was around USD3000.

 

[Jose Ramon]

Sorry but we postpone the tour to PNG to 2024.

Instead, we will try to go to Sulawesi in the fist half of July.

 

[Welsh Peregrine]

Good luck with Hylocitrea; had brilliant views last year.

 

[sicklebill]

Here's a thought. Walking the Kokoda Trail is not desperately expensive https://worldexpeditions.com/Papua-New-Guinea/Trekking-Walking/Kokoda-Northern-Beaches-Trek. And it's through forest, so there must be lots of good birds. But the UK Foreign Office says:

"There have been serious attacks and robberies along the Kokoda Track. Although community leaders have assured tourists of their safety and well-being while walking the Kokoda Track, you should take care. If you intend to walk a trail or track, including the Kokoda Track, avoid walking independently and travel with guides from reputable travel companies. You can get details from the Papua New Guinea Tourism Authority or the Kokoda Track Authority." Safety and security - Papua New Guinea travel advice

So if you go on a regular trip, you will probably be required to stay close to the rest of the group for safety, and get very frustrated if trying to watch birds.

But would it be possible to approach one of the companies that organises these hikes, and tell them you want a birder's special tour, on the basis that you will go out birding every morning as a group before breakfast, and then make lots of stops on the way when you see things? If all clients on the trip are birders, it should work, surely. The altitude on the trail ranges from 300 - 2500m by the way.

Kokoda is expensive and you need to be pretty fit, very little info about seeing the endemics and not something I would suggest for this purpose; there has also been a lot of aggravation there recently and it was closed for a while over disputes about payment. It's primarily a venue for hard core trekkers or those that want the Kokoda experience with all the ANZAC background.
Our company Sicklebill Safaris Sicklebill Safaris - Small Groups | Expert Guides | Great Destinations has 25 years experience in setting up dozens of New Guinea tours, some guided by our experienced staff, others with local guides, as folks have said it's not a place you can just rock up on your own and hope for the best. There are very good guides in all the usual areas, with Kiunga as standout off course, those guys are supernatural at spotting stuff but it does not have the endemic families. Kumul is a good bet for all 7 endemic families, we usually get them on our Endemic Families tour there, and Rondon is a good fall back in case any don't co-operate in these very challenging climate and viewing conditions, with shy low density birds.
Good luck whenever you go anyway, it's terrific destination

 

[Arbu]

Kokoda is expensive and you need to be pretty fit, very little info about seeing the endemics and not something I would suggest for this purpose; there has also been a lot of aggravation there recently and it was closed for a while over disputes about payment. It's primarily a venue for hard core trekkers or those that want the Kokoda experience with all the ANZAC background.
Our company Sicklebill Safaris Sicklebill Safaris - Small Groups | Expert Guides | Great Destinations has 25 years experience in setting up dozens of New Guinea tours, some guided by our experienced staff, others with local guides, as folks have said it's not a place you can just rock up on your own and hope for the best. There are very good guides in all the usual areas, with Kiunga as standout off course, those guys are supernatural at spotting stuff but it does not have the endemic families. Kumul is a good bet for all 7 endemic families, we usually get them on our Endemic Families tour there, and Rondon is a good fall back in case any don't co-operate in these very challenging climate and viewing conditions, with shy low density birds.
Good luck whenever you go anyway, it's terrific destination

Doing a comparison:

Sicklebill endemic families tour: AUD4600, six days, 180 species seen in 2019.

Birders on page 44 here Australian Birdlife June 2016, one month, 206 species seen, cost not given, but here for 10 days it's AUD3900 Kokoda 2023 Trek Packages | Trek Inclusions — Australian Kokoda Tours. So maybe if you wanted to see 180 species it would take 20 days and cost you about AUD6000, and you'd have to have it tailored to your needs a bit. But if you really like the trekking, and want more of an adventure, it might be a reasonable proposition compared to yours.

Presumably nearly all species on both itineraries would be endemic. I'm not sure that I see the reason to focus on endemic families rather than endemic species.

 

[Jose Ramon]

You would certainly need to include Wamena/Lake Habbema if you want all the families, and that would be the major complication but not impossible. I have just completed a run through Biak, Nimbokrang, Arfaks, and Raja Ampat with no issues whatsoever, all organized by myself, not using a tour or an agency. Depends what you want, as always. Total cost out of Jakarta including 5 domestic flights was around USD3000.

Regarding Western Papua (Indonesia), the Spanish Ministery of Foreing Affairs advice not to go under any circunstances at this moment.

It seems that the armed group that keeps the New Zealand pilot are flighting for the indepence of the Western part of Papua from Indonesia and the Indonesian Army has been deployed in the area.

 

[Jon Gallagher]

Hi Jose,

I'm just back from West Papua and experienced no problems whatsover. The region where the New Zealand pilot is being held is a long way from birding sites such as Biak, Nimbokrang, Arfak Mountains, and Raja Ampat. There's no warning from the British Foreign Office about travel to West Papua, see here: Indonesia travel advice

Cheers,

Jon