144 Travel | Halmahera
5 Senses – Sound BIRDING
‘ Nemo ’ clownfish crowd together as they enjoy the protection of a purple-tipped sea anemone in Jailolo Bay .
This diving area has much potential . The natural beauty and variety of islands make it a candidate for a new Indonesian hotspot . Halmahera has plenty to offer and is growing as a new destination .
along the shores of a huge bay of lush islands with beautiful beaches . We had the good fortune to get a short city tour from Firman Bachtiar , an energetic tourism official who also happens to be Tobelo ’ s only certified dive instructor . He has been quite instrumental in promoting diving and snorkelling in and around Tobelo and nearby Moratai .
We also visited the Hibualamo Traditional House . Built in 2007 in the centre of town , it is where traditional ceremonies and meetings take place . The Hibualamo also displays quite a bit of the local culture . The building has a traditional octagonal Halmaheran floorplan , with doors opening in all four directions . This symbolises both the fact that guests arriving from anywhere are welcome and the unity among the people of North Halmahera . Another interesting display on the same grounds is a giant model of a traditional korakora war canoe from the Tobelo-Galela area .
Aside from some ash in the air when the wind blew our way , the whole area is idyllic , with isles adorned by sandy beaches and towering coconut palms . We then ventured to the upper reef of Pawole Island , which was thick with coral gardens and clouds of chromis fish . The dive site Kumo Wall offered a plethora of stunning colourful soft corals growing from 3m to 30m . This wall had great small sealife too , including pygmy sea horses and an amazing shoal of tiny catfish .
This diving area has much potential . The natural beauty and variety of islands make it a candidate for a new Indonesian hotspot . Halmahera has plenty to offer and is growing as a new destination . With a rich history and dramatic landscapes , combined with diverse marine life and some great local culture and cuisine , visitors come away wanting just one thing … to return to see what more this amazing paradise has to offer .
Birding in Halmahera is considered some of the best and most diverse in the world . Birding can be done any time of the day or night and , depending on whether you ’ re looking for diurnal or nocturnal birds , can produce some amazing results . It is not uncommon for a die-hard birder to rise at 3am and drive to various elevations listening for the calls of night birds . Sunrise usually brings a completely different cacophony of sounds . Here , birders listen for the call of a Moluccan goshawk , see if a Moluccan drongo-cuckoo emits its strange call or see if a chattering lory ever stops its chatter , and listen for the unmistakeable call of the barking owl . Lists of over 250 species of rare , endemic and exotic bird sightings have been compiled on stays of five days or less in Halmahera .
Observasi burung di Halmahera adalah salah satu yang terbaik dan paling beragam di dunia . Kegiatan ini bisa dilakukan kapan saja , siang atau malam , tergantung apakah Anda mencari spesies burung yang aktif pada siang atau malam hari , dan Anda akan mendapatkan hasil yang luar biasa . Sudah menjadi hal lumrah bagi pengamat burung fanatik untuk bangun pukul 3 pagi dan pergi ke tempat-tempat tinggi untuk mendengarkan suara burung-burung malam . Saat fajar , hiruk-pikuk suara burung di sini sama sekali berbeda . Di tempat ini , para pengamat bisa mendengarkan seruan elang alap Halmahera , mengamati apakah kedasi Maluku mengeluarkan suara anehnya atau melihat apakah burung nuri pernah berhenti berbunyi dan mendengarkan suara unik burung hantu punggok gonggong . Daftar lebih dari 250 spesies burung langka , endemik dan eksotis berhasil dikumpulkan selama menginap kurang lebih 5 hari di Halmahera .