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Traveling to Islands in the Dorey Bay of Manokwari
Most
travelers who visit Manokwari will go to Mansinam island that is located
in the middle of the Dorey bay. Activities such as swimming, snorkeling
and scuba diving can be done around this island. This is the largest
island in the Dorey bay of Manokwari town. Two other islands that are
also beautiful are Lemon and Raimuti. Raimuti is the smallest and the
only island that no one lives there. It is a perfect place for beach
lovers who like sun bathing without any disturbances. It is located in
the Arfai area. It is a fifteen-minute car ride from the Sanggeng bus
station.
When you have arrived at the Arfai beach, hire a boat from a local fisherman to go to Raimuti island. If you hire the boat for the whole day then you will need to pay the boat owner Rp. 100,000 (around 10 US dollars). If you only use the boat a half day (around 6 hours) then you only pay Rp. 50,000 (about 50 US dollars). Although it is not far from the main land, the sea that separates the island and the main land is deep. Don't try to swim to the island as the sea current might be too strong for you.
If you want to do scuba diving, don't forget to carry your own scuba diving equipment as there is not any diving center in this town. Actually the Dorey bay is the best site in Papua for shipwreck diving but the town dwellers do not know about it. During the World War II, the US bombed several Japanese ships in the bay.
The best sites for shipwreck diving are at back and at the front of the Mansinam island. The back side is usually called by the local people as Manggewa beach while the front is the Cross Monument. Corals can be found thriving between the Mansinam and the Lemon islands.
For tourists who are not interested in scuba diving, other activities that they can do is forest trekking. Small forest located behind the villagers homes in Mansinam island is beautiful. You can explore it all in just one day. Don't forget to bring digital video or photo camera when you visit these islands. The animals, the people, and the plants and the corals that you see are worth recording.
In January 2010, three Russian eco-tourists visited Mansinam and Raimuti islands, they were accompanied by my friend Paul. They landed with a water taxi boat at Manggewa beach. The photos in this article were shot by Mikhail Trokhimenko, one of the Russian tourists for the promotion of eco-tourism in Manokwari. As a matter of fact, they expected to see bats hanging on trees in the area during the day but they did not see any of them. In 1980s, bats were still hanging in trees in the Manggewa area of Mansinam island. Due to the increasing human population, hunting and deforestation, those animals had to migrate to safe place deep in the tropical rainforest of the interior region of Papua island. Bats can still be seen at night eating fruits in the trees in the Table Mountain of Manokwari.
Every year many Papuan people gather in Mansinam island to celebrate the Gospel Landing Day. On 5 February, two European evangelists Otto and Geisler landed on this island to preach the Gospel to the indigenous Papuan for the first time. Now, majority of the population in Papua is Christian.
There are not any hostels in this island but if you really want to stay in this island for several days, you can stay in the houses that belong to the local islanders or set up camps near the beach.
This article is written by Charles Roring, a local tourist guide in Manokwari. If you want to visit this town and need a tour guide, you can contact me at this email: peace4wp@gmail.com or through my cell phone 081332245180.
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