Barry Davies, owner of WTA member Gondwana Guides, has sent the following:

I invite you to join me and Biologist Geoff Gearheart on a journey to one of the most remote and mysterious birding locations in our region, The Arfak Mountains and Rama Ampat in West Papua. We follow in the footsteps of some of the greatest Naturalists of all time, Alfred Wallace, Luigi D’Albertis and Odoardo Beccari. Pleases ownload read this pdf for details. The tour departs on August 12th, 2017. I hope some of you can join us.

Part of the pdf reads:

“An Arfak Mountain adventure…”

On our West Papuan birding expeditions we will follow the footsteps of the great Italian Naturalists D’Albertis and Beccari, who once collected in the Hattam tribe country only a few kilometers away from our base in the Arfak Mountains, located on the mid-slopes of majestic Mount Indon, which towers 2,425 m above the Prafi Valley.

Nearly 150 years after D’Albertis’ intrepid explorations of the Arfak region, bird- ing these magnificent forests remains an irresistible adventure. It is also a privi- leged opportunity to be taken in tow by Hattam tribesmen across their ancestral lands, and marvel at endemic birdlife that few outsiders have ventured to come see before.

Kalawai Adventure has designed two incredible trips for nature lovers with special emphasis on Papua’s exceptional bird life. The first is an expedition into the heart of the Arfak cordillera, on West Papua’s aptly named “Bird’s Head Penin- sula”. The second trip takes travelers to the same Arfak region, but on the way back makes an exclusive “side-step” to the fabled Raja Ampat islands, for two extra days of birding to see the endemic Red and Wilson’s Birds-of-Paradise, and to snorkel on the richest reefs on Earth.

Highlights

Nine (!) species of Birds-of-Paradise, Bower Birds, Vogelkop and Raja Ampat endemics, the richest coral reefs on Earth, other New Guinea fauna (cuscus, tree kangaroos, bats, bird-wing butterflies…)

Expedition dates

Kalawai Adventure works with local Papuan partners. It has reserved three exclusive time-slots for the Arfak + Raja Ampat expeditions, for a total of 21 lucky birders. Note that trips officially start and end at the Bali Airport.

1) Sunday, October 30th to Wednesday, November 9th, 2016
2) Saturday, August 12th to Tuesday, August 22nd, 2017
3) Saturday, November 4th to Wednesday, November 15th, 2017

Physical effort & health considerations

West Papua is one of the last natural frontiers. As such, it is also one of the most challenging… and rewarding! A close-up look at Western Parrotias displaying will make most adventurers forget the hardships they just endured!

Barry Davies is an experienced Naturalist, Environmental Interpreter, Tour Guide and Tour Leader, and is a Certified EcoGuide with Ecotourism Australia. In 2005 and 2009 he was Australian EcoGuide of the Year. He was a guide at Binna Burra Mountain Lodge in Lamington National Park for 20 years, and since 2004 has operated his own tour company, Gondwana Guides, specialising in leading and guiding bird watching tours in Australia, New Zealand, Papua New Guinea and Borneo. You can learn more about Barry here: gondwanaguides.com.au

 For details download  this pdf brochure.