Speleologi and Birdwatching In Cerme Cave

Tomorrow, Juni 17, 2007, we will outbond activity in Cerme Cave. Cerme Cave is south of Jogjakarta city about 12 km. it has 1,1 km long. good for speleologi activity and birdwatching.

Planning Itinerary: Java Overland

Java overland: for those with more time available, the above two itineraries can be linked with birding stopovers on the overland journey from Bogor to Surabaya. In Bandung, three hours east of Bogor, a side trip to the active Tangkuban Prau volcano is a must. You can drive right up to the magnificent crater rim, which is surrounded by stunted elfin forest, so this is a place to see the speciality birds of Java’s mountain tops: the endemic volcano swiftlet, island thrush, mountain white-eye and, if you’re lucky, Sunda seri, with minimal exertion.

Five hours southeast by road from bandung is the popular south-coast resort of Pangandaran, where a small national park offers gentle lowland birding, an opportunity for a little sea-watching and the possibility of stumbling across a giant Rafflesia flower. In the same area the back waters between Pangandaran and Cilacap have lots of unexplored potential for water and marshland birds, including such locally rare species as racquet tailed treepie, milky stork and ruddy kingfisher. The route east continues to Jogjakarta, a full day-or more usually night-bus ride away. Jogja is the cultural centre and famous for the large Buddhist temple of Borobudur. The dieng plateu, lying between jogjakarta and Semarang, is popular with travelers on account of its evocative landscapes, but it features on few birder’s itineraries, for the good reason that the birding is better elsewhere.

Planning Itinerary: East Java

East Java: there is a wonderful, circular 2-3 week itinerary commencing from Surabaya, Java’s second largest city. The tour starts with a visit to the Brantas delta to look for Asian dowitchers and other waterbirds, then heads east along the north coast to Baluran National Park and its Green Peafowl, with a stopover to experience a sunrise over the awesome volcanic scenery of Mt Bromo/tengger. A short diversion can be made across to Bali Barat National Park from the ferry terminal at Banyuwangi, before swiing round south back on Java to the lowland reserves of Alas Purwo and Meru Betiri. Continuing west, the loop is completed after a relaxing sojourn at the peaceful environmental centre at Trawas, in the hills above Malang. Naturally, this can also be done as an add-on to Bali.

Planning Itinerary Sumatra and West Java

Planning an Itinerary

The first thing to realize is that you can never cover the entire archipelago, even if you were to spend months or years here. Don’t make yourself an impossibly tight schedule. Be aware that distances are great and travel slow. Better to spend more time in fewer places. You’ll see more this way, not less.

Below are four 3-4 week and two overland birding itineraries that maximize both the range of species see and time spent in the field.

Sumatra and West Java: in terms of getting a massive trip list with plenty of endemics, combining west Javan with way kambas and/or Kerinci, south and west Sumatra, is hard to better. There is a great itinerary, starting with a search for Javan Coucal in the tiny marsh reserve at Muara Angke in Jakarta, followed by a few day’s cleaning-up on the montane forest endemics at Mt Gede/Pangrango National park outside Bogor. Then head to the far west peninsula to see Green Peafowl and other lowland rainforest specialities at Ujung Kulon National Park before crossing to Sumatra to see highly prized species-Storm’s Stork and White-winged Duck at Way Kambas and Schneider’s Pitta and Sumatran Cochoa at Kerinci. Alternatively you can fly from Singapore to Padang in Sumatra and then after visiting Kerinci, travel dawn to way kambas and across to Java.

Trekking and Local Guides in Indonesian Birdwatching

To trek in most areas in Indonesia it is necessary to be self-sufficient in food and to take a guide. Aour guide will need to eat rice, and lightweight, pre-packaged food is not available, it is usually best to hire a couple of porters to carry provisions and equipment. The normal daily wage is IDR 25,000-50,000 plus food. Few guides have their own trekking equipment and you will need to buy this before setting out. They will be adept at knocking up shelters (pondok) in the forest, so there’s no need to worry about tents for them.

The usual pre-trek shopping list is : a large pot (for rice), a small pot (noodles and tea), plastic cups and plates, spoons, a ladle (for rice), a small kerosene lamp, 1 litre jerrycan with kerosene (minyak tanah) and a piece of plastic sheeting and raffia. This will add up to about $ 40 in any general store and, unfortunately unless you want to cart it around, you have to buy it again at each location. The essential food on the list is rice (plan on 1 kg/4 people/day), instant noodles (one or two packs/person/day), fish (either dried, or tinned sardines), chili sauce (sambal), creamcrackers, coffee, tea, sugar, tinned milk, cigarette lighter and cigarettes (for the guides porters and anyone else you meet). You will quickly tire of rice and noodles for breakfast lunch and dinner, so look for variety to liven up the diet. Good bets are chocolate wafers, crispy crackers, egg-coated peanuts and boiled sweets. Ask the shop for rice sacks to put all this in. the porters will carry these, either slung from poles over their shoulders or in ingenious ruck sacks rigged up from tree bark.

Almost everywhere you will be expected to take a local guide when entering a forest area, whether this is in or outside a national park or reserve. In the reserve the guide will be a local PHPA ranger. They vary greatly in knowledge and enthusiasm, and the best are noted in each sections’s practicalities. In rural areas the local village head (kepala desa) will feel responsible for your safety and will understandably be concerned if you try to wander about alone. Even if you are an old hand in tropical forests, it will be hard for them to believe it. So, even though it’s a hassle, it is wiser to go with local wishes and to take someone for you. You will be expected to pay IDR 25,000-50,000 a day for the services. The trouble with local guides is that concept of recreational birdwatching will be totally new and probably quite incomprehensible to them. Take the time to explain your needs carefully.