Ikan Pari Manta

Ikan pari adalah salah satu spesies ikan yang dilindungi di dunia. Ukuran bentang sayapnya mencapai 3 atau 4 meter. Berarti ikan pari bisa beberapa kali lebih besar dari manusia. Saya melihatnya saat berkunjung ke Raja Ampat beberapa waktu yang lalu ketika memandu 4 wisatawan Ceko.

Selama berada di kepulauan yang indah itu, kami berkunjung ke berbagai lokasi terumbu karang seperti di Yenbuba, Mansuar Barat, Teluk Kabui, Batu Lima, Friwen, hingga ke Pianemo (gugusan pulau-pulau karst yang memiliki pemandangan indah sekali). Biaya keliling Raja Ampat selama 5 hari untuk satu grup kecil wisatawan Ceko tersebut terbilang mahal yakni 38 juta rupiah.

Stasiun Pembersihan
Di lautan bebas, ada sebuah tempat yang cukup "dangkal" di mana ikan-ikan pari manta ini membersihkan dirinya. Di lokasi inilah, para wisatawan yang umumnya adalah penyelam skuba dan penyelam bebas mengamati ikan-ikan manta tersebut. Dalamnya sekitar 15 hingga 25 meter di bawah permukaan laut. Sewaktu berada di Stasiun Pembersihan, kami merasakan adanya arus laut. Kami harus terus berenang melawannya agar tetap berada di atas stasiun pembersihan ini.
Ikan-ikan manta akan melayang mengitari stasiun pembersih sambil tubuhnya dibersihkan oleh ikan-ikan kecil yang memakan berbagai kotoran yang menempel di tubuh mereka. Inilah yang disebut simbiosis mutualisme.
Ketika tubuh mereka telah bersih maka mereka akan meninggalkan stasiun itu kembali ke lautan bebas. Tubuh yang bersih akan mengurangi tahanan air sehingga ikan pari manta bisa berenang lebih cepat di samudra.

T-shirt Manta
Nah, setelah membaca sedikit cerita dari saya tentang Manta, besar harapan saya, para pembaca berminat membeli T-shirt dengan gambar ikan Manta tersebut yang telah saya desain menggunakan Inkscape.
T-shirt ini bisa dipesan secara online lewat website Zazzle pada link gambar di bawah ini:

Swimming with Manta Ray T-shirt by tropicalart

Two Dolphins in Open Sea

Today, most people travel to distant places by airplanes. I live in a region where there are a lot of islands. So, I prefer to visit the islands by ship or boat. When I walk along the outer aisle of the main deck I seldom see dolphins. They swim in groups. Passengers are happy when they see the fish jumping or swimming very close to the bow of the ship. Dolphins like to "escort" fast moving ship.
I used to see dolphins at surf spot in Cape Bakaro of Manokwari city. They are still considered as the best wavesurfers compared to human.

Because I like drawing, I consider dolphins as a good inspiration for my artwork. To make the drawing, I first make a sketch using a graphite pencil. After that, I color it using Derwent Watercolour Pencils.
Now the drawing is available online as printed artworks on various zazzle products from iPhone and iPad Dolphin cases to high quality canvas print which you could see below:

Two Dolphins in the Open Sea Canvas Print by tropicalart

Whaleshark Watching

In my previous post, I said that whaleshark watching has become a popular tourist attraction. As a tourist guide I can give some information about where to go to see whaleshark. There are to sites in West Papua where you can see or swim with whaleshark. The famous one is in Cendrawasih bay whereas the second on is in Triton bay. Both area located in West Papua. So, if you have time and money, you can fly to Jakarta city (the capital of Indonesia) and then by domestic airline go to Nabire where you can continue your trip to Kwatisore to swim with whaleshark.

Swimming with whalesharks in Cendrawasih bay of West Papua

If you have already seen it and need a souvenir or gift, I can recommend some products that are printed with whaleshark illustration. I created that illustration using inkscape and uploaded the file into zazzle online store. Now you can buy it printed on various products from t-shirts to iphone cases. Here is the link: whaleshark watching.
To give you an idea of how it will look like when you buy it printed on t-shirt, please, have a look at the following picture:

Whaleshark Tank Top
by tropicalart

I hope that you will be interested in buying the tank top or other products with the same vector graphic.

Berenang dengan Hiu Paus

Berenang dengan ikan hiu paus telah menjadi sebuah daya tarik wisata di beberapa negara bahari di dunia. Hiu paus dalam bahasa Inggris disebut whaleshark. Nama Latinnya adalah (Rhincodon typus). Ikan ini tidak buas. Makanannya adalah ikan puri yang ukurannya kecil-kecil. Di Teluk Cendrawasih dan Teluk Bitsyari Papua, para nelayan mengumpulkan ikan puri di malam hari dan menampungnya semalam suntuk. Saat subuh tiba hiu-hiu paus itu akan datang. Mungkin mereka mampu mencium bau ikan-ikan kecil tersebut. Wisatawan dari berbagai negara di dunia, suka sekali melihat ikan tersebut. Mereka akan berenang bersamanya dan memotret ikan raksasa tersebut. Kegiatan wisata pengamatan ikan hiu paus tersebut telah menciptakan tambahan penghasilan bagi penduduk lokal.

Meskipun tidak berbahaya bagi manusia, wisatawan yang hendak berenang di laut terbuka untuk melihat satwa ini perlu menjaga jarak yang aman. Maksudnya agar ikan bisa bergerak bebas. Sering sekali wisatawan memeluk dan bahkan berada di depan mulut sang ikan sehingga menghalanginya mencari makan.
Grafik Vektor
Berikut ini adalah gambar dari sketsa di atas yang telah saya olah lebih terperinci di komputer dengan menggunakan software inkscape. Grafik vector ini bisa dibeli dalam bentuk cetakan di berbagai produk zazzle mulai dari topi, hingga kaos oblong.

Swimming with Whaleshark T Shirt by tropicalart

Kurangi penggunaan plastik
Sengaja saya buat sketsa ikan hiu paus pada blog ini untuk membangkitkan kepedulian kita semua tentang pentingnya menjaga kelestarian alam yang kita miliki. Salah satu cara paling efektif adalah dengan mengurangi penggunaan kantong plastik dan botol plastik (biasanya kita beli berupa air minum dalam kemasan).
Bila laut kita bebas dari sampah plastik, logam dan bahan kimia yang berbahaya maka ikan-ikan bisa hidup sehat. Para nelayan akan memperoleh tangkapan ikan yang berlimpah. Wisatawan pasti senang berkunjung ke sini. oleh Leo Roring

Birding Tour in Manokwari

Cinnamon Ground Dove

Manokwari as Birding Destination
As a birding tour destination, Manokwari has got several areas that are suitable for birdwatching:Manokwari regency has been famous as the most important birdwatching destination in New Guinea island. As the largest tropical island in the world, New Guinea is divided into 2 territory. The eastern region is the independent state of Papua New Guinea and the western one is the territory of Indonesia called West Papua. There are 2 provinces in West Papua, i.e. Papua (with the capital of Jayapura) and Papua Barat (with Manokwari as its capital).
The Lowland Forest
This is the forest area which is the natural habitat of Sulphur Crested Cockatoo, Blyth's hornbill, Western Crowned Pigeon, Rainbow Lorikeet, Pesquet Parrot (which is very difficult to find), Friarbird, Beautiful Fruit Dove and the famous Lesser Birds of Paradise. Azure Kingfisher, King Birds of Paradise, Paradise Riflebird, Spangled Drongo, Eclectus Parrot and a lot more.

Arfak Mountains
Higher Montane Forest of Arfak Mountains has become a world class birding destination. Here, visitors are able to watch Western Parotia, Magnificent Birds of Paradise, Vogelkop Bowerbird and Cinnamon Ground Dove.

The Lower Montane Forest of the mountains has got birds whose species are similar to the ones in low flat land area.
As a tourist guide, I could arrange a trekking tour in the jungle of Manokwari regency. During the tour, visitors will be able to stay in the jungle for several days to watch not only birds but also other wild animals such as cuscus possum and colorful butterflies.
Birding Gear
Most birdwatchers need a pair of binoculars to see birds. To enhance birding experience, I will also bring a spotting scope and a field guide entitled Birds of New Guinea written by Bruce Beehler and his friends. A D-SLR camera with telephoto lens will be a useful device particularly for taking pictures of birds in distant branch of a tree. Today, Nikon has manufactured a bridge camera with the highest optical zoom 83x. Its type is Nikon Coolpix P900. Because the birding activity will be done in tropical jungle, I will bring dome tents.

Lesser Birds of Paradise (Paradisaea minor)

Snorkeling Tour
In addition to jungle tour, I can also organize a snorkeling tour for you if you want to see coral reef and tropical fish that live in Manokwari waters. Based on my personal observation, there are a lot of of species of fish that can be seen. Some of them are striped surgeon fish, trevally, damselfish, moorish idol, parrotfish, grouper, and anemonefish.

How to get there?

• Fly from your country to Jakarta city (the capital of Indonesia)
• Fly from Jakarta to Manokwari by domestic airlines such as Garuda, Express Air, Sriwijaya Air 
• I could meet you in Manokwari city and organize your birding trip in the jungle.

Contact:
Please, contact me by email to: peace4wp@gmail.com if you are interested in trekking and birdwatching in Manokwari.