Day 7: In Search of the Red Bird of Paradise

Saturday is the Sabbath day for workers on Sorido Bay. There are no guided dives unless you want to explore the house reef by yourself. But there is also an option to go on a hike on a different island to search for the red bird of paradise. Hiking being one of my favorite activities, of course I opted for it!

Normally, guests would have to leave very early (before sunrise) to catch the birds at dawn. Tertius, our English-speaking, white, South African guide (he's a cool guy), proposed an alternate schedule on a shorter trail. We left after an early breakfast and stopped by a village to pick up a local guide. A group of kids came by the dock to look at us.

It was a pretty colorful display :)

We then proceeded to the trail head, which was in this little bay accessible only by boat. Well, I guess if you really want to you can also swim there. But that's beside the point. I just like the fact that it's so secluded. Gives you a mystical/adventurous feel. You rarely get that in L.A., even in the Santa Monica mountains.

Here's the bay, with our boat and James guarding it with his life.

The trail head with a little wooden bench.
(Tertius, our guide, and my mom)

As you can see from the picture above, the trail leads right into a forest. It is a narrow trail that takes around 30 minutes to reach our destination. And man, this trail is the real deal! All the hiking trails that I've been on so far are very.....used. They're all so distinct and well trodden on with a variety of "shortcuts." Boot marks on the dirt make it seem almost like a parade just passed by. And you just can't shed the feeling that only a few miles away are communities of houses, people, and cars.

Here, you know there is no one around. The trail is covered with leaves and moss, sometimes I didn't even know which way to turn and even where the trail was until Tertius pointed it out to me. It felt almost as if fulfilling my old dream of becoming an explorer.

My mom on the trail in front of me.
See, I wasn't kidding when I said the trail is covered by moss!

The walking tree.
A very slow walking tree.

The trail was steep at times, but nothing too major. My mom was having a hard time though because she's not a regular hiker. But she was definitely pushing herself. Despite saying that the trail wasn't too hard, we were all sweating like crazy. I think it's because of the humidity and tropical weather.

We finally came to the little bird watching shack that our guide apparently built himself. It was a waiting game after that. The shack faces this little clearing where the red birds of paradise usually frequent to "dance" in their mating ritual. We were warned that they might not come out to this spot because it was a little windy and was about to rain.

Our little bird watching hideout.

These are holes to look through once the bird comes.
Looks almost like peepholes, hahaha!

Despite our guide's best effort at ca-cawing in the bird's native tongue, which, by the way, sounds very real and convincing to me, it did not come to grace us with its presence. Although, I must say, the time spent sitting, waiting, and whispering in the hideout was no less interesting and educational.

Tertius told us that this bird watching program is part of a conservation effort in preserving the population of the birds. Locals have been known to illegally catch and sell the red birds of paradise to foreigners who, in turn, sell them in the black markets of their country. One bird will sell for about $50.

This program aims at educating the locals that selling the birds is not sustainable for both the environment and their own well being. From the sale of a bird, they will only receive a one time profit and further decimate the bird's population. There is only a limited resources in terms of the number of birds around. But with a guided bird watching tour every week, there will be a continuous flow of sufficient income, which will last through the generations with careful preservation of the environment.

So here's a picture of the red bird of paradise (not taken by me):

Photo credit: National Geographic.

The rest of the day was spent packing and sulking over having to leave this amazing paradise with wonderful people and wonderful natural artifacts. I bought a couple shirts to commemorate my stay, and my mom bought a couple books on the Raja Ampat region.

On the next day, we were scheduled to leave very early because of our flight time. But before parting, I got to watch the black tip shark feeding session from the jetty. No wonder they're so plump and fat on our dives, hahaha!

It has been an overall unforgettable experience! Raja Ampat holds a special place in my heart, and I definitely found a home in the Sorido Bay family. I definitely plan on coming back here many more times. :)