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Sulawesi and Halmahera Birdwatching Tour
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Sulawesi and Halmahera Birdwatching Tour
When: Sat 14 Aug - Tue 7 Sept 2010
Leader: Chris Doughty and Darwin Sumang |
Suawesi and Halmahera Birdwatching Tour
Melbourne/Melbourne (25 Days) $7,990
Single Supplement $430
Ground Content (ex Manado) $6,911 |
| Ferdinand Magellan's famous circumnavigation of the world commenced in 1519 and was completed in 1522. It started off with five ships and over 250 men. Only one ship and 18 men returned to Spain, nevertheless its cargo of about 50 tons of cloves and nutmeg, made the expedition a huge financial success. During the 16th and 17th centuries cloves and nutmeg were worth literally, more than their weight in gold. By the late 18th century the exotic spices of the Moluccas were being grown successfully in other parts of the world and the fabled Spice Islands became a forgotten backwater. Even today, the magical islands of Indonesia are only visited by a few intrepid travelers and very few visitors penetrate beyond Java and Bali. The very inaccessibility of much of Indonesia has led to the country being largely neglected by birdwatchers; only one ornithologist visited the island of Halmahera between 1932 and 1986. The millennia-long isolation of many of the islands has resulted in the creation of a remarkably rich, diverse and highly endemic avifauna. One of the great attractions of birding in Indonesia is the large number of species of birds, which are found nowhere else on Earth and nowhere is this more marked than on the islands of Sulawesi and Halmahera. Sulawesi has a staggering 75 endemic species of birds and the much smaller island of Halmahera, is home to 24 endemic species of birds. Imagine two emerald green islands, each shaped like the petals of a windblown orchid, ringed by coral reefs, with majestic, brooding volcanoes towering over their domain of humid tropical rainforest, which abound with a colorful and spectacular diversity of both animals and birds, to kilometres of sandy beaches lapped by coral blue waters and fringed by waiving coconut palms. This is Sulawesi and Halmahera, unspoilt islands in the sun. On the island of Sulawesi we explore the slopes of forested volcanoes surrounded by primeval rainforests that echo with the calls of Sulawesi Serpent-Eagle, as we search for a host of exciting endemic and near-endemic birds. We will search for the extraordinary Maleo, surely the most bizarre of all the megapodes, we are hoping for a daytime sighting of the rare Diabolical Nightjar, rediscovered in 1998, following a 60 year absence. W e could also see the endangered Mountain Anoa, a species of wild buffalo and watch a family group of Sulawesi Crested Macaques amble past. On the island of Halmahera we will visit the display site of Alfred Wallace's greatest find, the Standardwing, one of the most spectacular and bizarre of the birds-of-paradise, as well as a host of other little-known birds, including White Cockatoo, Goliath Coucal the stunning Ivory-breasted Pitta and the delightful Moluccan Owlet-Nightjar. Our Suawesi and Halmahera birdwatching tour will surely be a tour to remember. |
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