Indonesian Parrot Project 2008 Eco Tours

Spirit of Seram Expedition, Maluku
Fall 2008 – Dates TBA

 Paradise Expedition, West Papua
Fall 2008 – Dates TBA

Trip Itineraries
(Please note that as we are traveling in Indonesia, there is a chance that some scheduled activities may change – please be flexible – it’s part of the adventure!)

Spirit of Seram

Download the Indonesian Parrot Project Expo Expeditions Team Briefing (PDF, 12 pages)

Depart USA
Departure time from destination cities will vary.  All guests should arrive in Bali.

Saturday, Arrive Bali
When you arrive in Bali you will proceed through customs and will be met at the airport.  You will be transported to our hotel (Balihai Resort and Spa) and rest.  Dinner is on your own tonight, since after countless airline meals and long flights, you may not feel like eating much.  However, the restaurant in the hotel is great, and is open till 11 p.m.   A great breakfast buffet is included with hotel room. 

Sunday, Bali
Today we’ll spend the day seeing old Bali.  We’ll take a hike through the rice paddies in the mountains above Bali, visit a 400 year old Hindu village of basket weavers, have lunch in the village and have the opportunity to shop for some local crafts. Upon our return and before dinner join us for a cold Bintang (the favorite brand of beer) in the bar and we’ll brief you on what to expect during the next two weeks.  Then we'll have dinner at the hotel and get ready for our adventure. (dinner included)  

 Monday, Bali to Ambon
This morning we rise early, have a buffet breakfast, then fly via Makassar (some good craft shopping in this airport and great maps and books), then on to Ambon, the capital of Central Maluku province.  We will have a local Ambonese dinner at our hotel (dinner included). We will be staying at the Bagualla Bay Resort on the Ambon waterfront.

Tuesday, Ambon to Sawai Village
We rise early and have a light breakfast that will be provided by the hotel.  Today we will travel by “fast boat” to Masohi, on South Seram (in VIP quarters with air conditioning and either some terrible karaoke or equally terrible American movies). We’ll stop in Masohi for lunch (lunch included) then take a beautiful drive over the mountain range to Saka, and longboat to Sawai.

We'll have dinner at the guesthouse and overnight there in simple but comfortable rooms built over the water on stilts. This is the guesthouse of Pak Ali and includes his legendary smile! (At guesthouse and jungle camps all meals are included)

 Wednesday, Morning Hike & Overnight on Canopy Platform
In the morning we will take a jungle hike to the outskirts of Sawai Village.  You will learn about the local flora and fauna, and a little about the history of Seram.  For those who desire it, suggestions in hiking techniques for Seram and binocular use will be provided.  After a leisurely lunch at the guest house, we will take a boat and a 45 minute hike to the village of Masihulan, where we will hike to Masihulan canopy platform.  We will ascend the platform to observe the parrots, lories and lorikeets, hornbills, and hopefully cockatoos and sleep on the platform high above the rainforest floor. Other wonders include flying foxes (giant bats) and beautiful fruit-doves. To our knowledge, this is the only overnight sleeping rainforest canopy platform in the world! We’ll have a simple dinner of tea and nasi goreng (fried rice). (Bring your snacks here!)  Be aware we will be in rather close accommodations and sleeping in our clothes.  For those who may need to use the latrine overnight, a simple setup will be rigged with a privacy screen.

Thursday, Morning on the Canopy Platform and Kembali Bebas
We’ll awake before dawn with the birds and the magical forests of Seram, enjoy some more bird watching (this is a super spot for Great-billed parrots and Moluccan Red lories), then a visit to Kembali Bebas, our Rehabilitation, facility for confiscated parrots.   We’ll have lunch at the facility, visit the birds, learn their stories, and then proceed back in the afternoon for a night at the guesthouse and enjoy some more great Indonesian cooking!

Friday, Sawai Village
Accompanied by our local guide, this morning we’ll make a visit to Sawai Village, learn about the local cooking and the peaceful Muslim culture.  After a lunch at the guesthouse, we will review safe snorkeling techniques, and then visit several of the nearby islands for a picnic and snorkeling, ending the day with a visit to Bat Island at dusk where we can see them waking up for their nightly foraging on Seram Island.  Dinner and overnight at the guesthouse.   

Saturday, Tiapiate Jungle Camp
Today will be an incredible adventure.  The entire team will leave very early this morning for our jungle camp at Tiapiate.  We will travel by boat and then hike to the camp arriving in mid afternoon.  On the way we’ll visit Wai Toto, a beautiful waterfall.  We will then hike to the canopy platform and do some bird watching.  Dinner and spend the night in our jungle camp. 

Sunday, Tiapiate Jungle Camp
We will arise early morning and visit the platform to watch birds, take an afternoon swim in the river near the waterfall if you so choose, and make one more afternoon visit to the platform. 

 Monday, Overnight on Tiapiate Platform or overnight at Stone Cave at Api Lima
Early morning visit to the platform, lunch at camp and a swim and then we'll split into two groups.    For those who wish, we will take the team to visit Api Lima in the afternoon, for some more bird watching from the top of the stone cave, and spend the night in the cave or you may overnight at the platform at Tiapiate.  Api Lima is in Manusela National Park and bird watching can be terrific.  On last years eco tour we saw birds, and also hundreds of fruit bats.  It is a rather primitive camp and the hike is all uphill.  Sleeping quarters are rather close together, there is no latrine, and food is simple.

 Tuesday, Sawai Village
Today we return to Sawai.  In the afternoon we pack and prepare for the journey to Bali, and get ready to have a big farewell dinner with all our friends at the guesthouse.

 Wednesday, Sawai to Ambon
Today we head back to "civilization" in the back of a pickup truck, via the new road that goes through Manusela National Park.  Hanging out of the back of the truck we can bump our way over the mountains and see pristine rainforest, spectacular scenery, and a chance to do some easy bird watching at higher elevations.  We’ll again stay at the Bagualla Bay Resort. We’ll stop for lunch in Masohi (lunch included) and then have dinner at the hotel (dinner included).

Thursday, Ambon to Bali
Today we fly to Ambon through Makassar and on to Bali.  We’ll arrive early enough for those who wish to shop, sleep, or get a legendary Balinese massage.  (Lunch, dinner, your shopping spree and the massage are not included)

 Friday, Bali
We will visit the crafts district of Ubud, a shoppers paradise, where millions of treasures can be found. (lunch not included)  Tonight we’ll have a special farewell seafood dinner on the beach (dinner included) 

 Saturday, Return to U.S.
Arise early and have a leisurely breakfast (included) and depart for home.

 
Paradise Expedition

Depart  USA
Departure time from destination cities will vary.  All guests should arrive in Bali.

Saturday, Arrive Bali
When you arrive in Bali you will proceed through customs and will be met at the airport.  You will be transported to our hotel (Balihai Resort and Spa) and rest.  Dinner is on your own tonight, since after countless airline meals and a long flight; you may not feel like eating much.  However, the restaurant in the hotel is great, and is open till 11 p.m.   A breakfast buffet is included with hotel room.

Sunday, Bali
Today we’ll spend the day seeing old Bali. Depending upon availability we may visit a coffee plantation or local fishing village and learn more about the Balinese culture.   Upon our return and before dinner join us for a cold Bintang (the favorite brand of beer) in the bar and we’ll brief you on what to expect during our adventure. Afterwards we'll have dinner at the hotel and get to know each other better! (dinner included)  

Monday, Gam Island
Today we will be flying from Bali to Makassar, and then flying into Sorong, West Papua.  From there we will travel by fast boat to the Island of Gam, a tiny and very hospitable island paradise.  (FYI: airline connections to Sorong can be a little erratic, so please understand that we might have to spend the night in a Sorong hotel and leave in the morning.)

When we arrive in Gam we will be greeted by the villagers, then hike up to our jungle guest hut, Rumah Teman ("House of Friends").  This hut was built by Project Bird Watch in a garden from which you can often view birds such as Eclectus, hornbills, Red-cheeked parrots and if we're lucky Palm and Triton cockatoos. Like Seram, West Papua is also home to some of the worlds most spectacular lories and lorikeets. On this part of the trip (Gam, Batanta and/or Salawati), we should see Black-capped lories and Green-naped (Rainbow) lorikeets, and possibly several others loriids. (Until we return to Bali, all meals are included.)


 Tuesday, Gam Island
Today with our experienced local guides, we will make several hikes to view cockatoos, parrots and other birds including the Blythe’s Hornbill. Late in the afternoon we will proceed to tiny Stone Island to watch in boats offshore for Great-billed parrots returning in a large flock to their nocturnal roosting site.

Wednesday, Gam Island
Very early morning hike to view the Red Bird of Paradise (Paradisaea rubra) as well as look for parrots and cockatoos.  You will have to climb up to the blind and quarters are very tight, so we may have to take turns.After lunch at the hut, we will hike to a beautiful lake for a boat ride, and then return in time to look for birds before dusk. 

 Thursday, Gam Island
Early a.m. we’ll go look for birds, then after breakfast hike back down to the village and visit the local village of Yenwapnour. We will then pass out gifts to the children and briefly visit their school.   Afterwardswe will visit to Max Ammar’s world dive resort, just minutes away. The snorkeling here is incredible.   We will enjoy a sumptuous lunch together at the resort and then snorkel in pristine waters that will leave you breathless with their beauty.
In the later afternoon, we will take our boat to Waigeo, the large island just to the North.  We arrive at camp in the early evening, and then set up camp (tents) and overnight on the beach. 

Friday, Waigeo Island
Today with our experienced local guides we will venture again into the forest, early morning and mid afternoon, to view birds, looking for the spectacular Wilson's Bird of Paradise.  In the afternoon there will be time for relaxing on the beach, looking for shells or just enjoying life.

Saturday, Waigeo Island to Batanta Island
Rise early for another birding opportunity, then head by boat to the Island of Batanta. We sleep in "Rumah Teman 2", another comfortable eco-tourism hut build by the Indonesian Parrot Project. After we arrive, we will settle in and look for birds.  There is a large population of Palm cockatoos and Eclectus here, and usually Triton cockatoos.  Often the Palm cockatoos come down and roost right above our sleeping hut. We will also go out in boats looking for them, since they often come down to the mangroves along the shore to find the fruits of the ketapong trees there.

Sunday, Batanta Island
For those who choose to make the trek, we will rise before dawn and take a somewhat strenuous uphill hike to view the Wilson’s Bird of Paradise in their lek.  Those who stay behind will go with a local guide to look for birds.  We’ll compare notes at lunch. 

Then in the afternoon we will take a boat ride to nearby Salawati Island in search of the King Bird of Paradise.  Return in the early evening and overnight at our guest hut.

Monday, Salawati to Bali
Today we go by boat to Sorong, and then catch a flight to Makassar and on to Bali.  We will again stay Balihai Resort & Spa.  (Lunch and dinner are not included, but our local guide will join you and visit one of Bali’s great restaurants) 

Tuesday, Bali
It’s shopping day.  We’ll take a group van to visit the artisan district of Ubud.  Overnight at the Balihai and we’ll have a fun farewell seafood dinner on the beach (dinner included).

Wednesday, Return to US
Arise early and have a leisurely breakfast (included) and depart for home.