Wasur National Park
The 13,00 ha Wasur National Park, located in the extreme southeast of Papua, bordering the Papua New Guinea border, is a veritable bird paradise and access is easy. The flat expanse of the vast Fly-Digul River delta is a mosaic of swamps, reedbeds and open savannah woodlands with denser forests along the rivers. In the dry season, literally thousands of waterbirds-many migrants from Australia-concentrate on the receding pools. There are mangroves and mudflats to search for shorebirds, and two species of bird-of-paradise in the denser forest.
Key species
Australian Bustard
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Southern Cassowary, Brolga Crane, Magpie Goose, Australian Bustard, Noisy Pitta, Rufous-bellied and Spangled Kookaburras. Recently, Crimson Finch, White-spotted and Grey-crowned Mannikins and Fly River Grassbird have all been recorde on the Papua side of the Fly River and are all new additions to the Indonesian bird list. Black Mannikin, present just a few km across the border in Papua New Guinea, has not yet been confirmed in Wasur National Park.
Other wildlife
Sugar Glider, Striped Possum, Rusa Deer, Agile Wallaby and forest wallabies, bandicoots and cuscus.
Getting there
The best place to get information and help in arranging tours to the national park is the World Wide Fund for Nature office on Jl Brawijaya sepadem, WWF are developing community tourism activities, including birding, in the park. Hiring a jeep is expensive unless you are in a group (around $75 a day, which includes driver/guide and fuel). It is cheaper and more pleasant to hire horses from the villagers. This creates less disturbance and provides a good vantage point for watching birds if you hang on (the horse are very tame). The WWF office will give you the price per day and can help you arrange a guide. The park entrance fee (pay at either Wasur or Ndalir KSDA posts) is a IDR 2,000 per person. Do not forget copies of your surat jalan for the police posts in the park.
For the Maro river trip, you ideally need two days. Arrange boat hire from the Kelapa Lima Maro river crossing, just to the north of Merauke. Like jeep hire, it is more economical if there are several people sharing the expense. Prices could be from IDR 400,000-900,000 per day including a boatman. Take all your own food.
Accommodation/dining
There are guest-houses in four villages; Yanggandur and Soa (for greater Bird-of-paradise), Onggaya (by the beach near Ndalir) and Soa (on the Maro river). These provide very simple accommodation, cooking equipment ets. Take your own food and water into the park.
General information
The best time to visit from August to December.
If you hire a jeep and driver for the 3-day trip described in the colour section, spend the first night at Tomeran village and the second at Ukra. Leave Ukra mid-morning to get to Rawa Biru by early afternoon. Ask the driver to meet you in Yanggandur and spend the rest of the afternoon (3-4 hrs) walking the track up to Yanggandur. Spend the night here for a dawn sighting of Greater Bird-of-paradise. Leave Yanggandur mid-morning to allow time to look around Wasur village on the way back to town. If you only have 2 nights, go straight to Ukra on the first night (you can get there in one day if you rush) and Yanggandur on the second.
At the village of Soa, about 5-6 hours up river (depending on tide), arrange for guide to take you in the monsoon forest nearby. Best chances to find the King Bird-of-paradise will be early in the morning.
Be very of snakes in Wasur; there are some real nasties including Taipan and Death Adder. There is no snake bite serum available in Merauke, so watch where you tread.
taken from Birding Indonesia. Periplus Publishing. Singapore