Kofiau islands |
The speedboat that carried us from Misool had engine problems at sea when we entered the waters of Distrik Kepulauan Sembilan (District of Nine Islands). Boat crew tried to repaired it when we were at sea. Unfortunately, it did not work. With one outboard engine that was still working, we landed at Wejim island. We took lunch and had some coconut fruits, and waited for the crew to repair the engine. Because they could not repair it, we decided to move to Wejim village. There, we asked helped from villagers. There was one who had the sparepart of the engine. We had to spend one night in Wejim sleeping at the house of the village chief.
Deer village in Kofiau islands |
There were two birds that were endemic to Kofiau, i.e. Kofiau Paradise Kingfisher and Kofiau Monarch. The Latin name of Kofiau Monarch was Symposiachrus julianae. It was given to the bird in honor of Queen Juliana of the Netherlands. It was interesting to find that such a small bird bears the name of a European queen. In IUCN Status, the bird was put in the status of Vulnerable due to its very limited range and decreasing population. I hope that birding tourism could help local people preserve rainforest and protect their land and marine environment.
The tropical islands of Kofiau were covered by very nice coral reef. So, fishing, snorkeling, birdwatching, island hopping, rainforest tours, village visits are the recommended tourism activities for visitors who want to go to Kofiau. There was another group of islands located in the west of Kofiau. Its name was Boo islands. Unfortunately, due to its remote location, I had not been able to visit them.
After spending several days in Kofiau, we returned to Yelu village by speedboat and then to Sorong the next day.
If you are interested in traveling to Raja Ampat, please, contact me by email to: peace4wp@gmail.com or by whatsapp to: +6281332245180.
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