November 1, 2022 - Nabire / Sowa Village - Places
On October 31, 2022, after a 5am alarm, 4 hours of bird watching, a 2 hour car ride and a 1 hour domestic flight, Philipp and I arrived at the airport of Nabire in the north of central Papua.
The taxi and ojek (motorcycle taxis) drivers were ready to greet us outside the tiny arrival hall.
We declined all offers with a friendly smile and asked for our guide Sem, who we had contacted beforehand.
We waited at the Kamusioh guesthouse during the preparations of the trip, finally took a shower and then hopped on the car of Sem towards the village of Sowa.
His wife and two members of the family joined us on the journey to see the whale sharks of Cenderawasih Bay.
A forgotten project?
In the 90s, fishermen started fishing on so called Bagans. The wooden platforms are lit during the night to attract fish into their nets.
To their big surprise, whale sharks started visiting the Bagans too and ever since, some of the more than 160 whale sharks spotted in the bay chose the site as their permanent home.
The bay was turned into a National Park and as I read in the Lonely Planet travel book, the information all suggested that more tourists and more protection are on their way.
That was before Covid.
We arrived at Sowa village in the evening and were the only visitors. Many of the wooden huts and the monuments built as the entrance for the National Park were abandoned and in need for renovation.
Fragile beauties of the sea
After an instant noodles dinner we went to bed. It was hot in our hut.
At 6am we had breakfast and went out towards the Bagans.
It took us around 30 minutes to the closest floating platform and Sem tied our boat to a pole.
Just as we were preparing our snorkeling masks, the first whale shark appeared.
Philipp and I jumped into the water and saw them.
Two whale sharks circled the platform in constant circles.
Sometimes, they disappeared and came back after a few minutes.
We spent around 3 hours in the water.
It felt as if the whale sharks were actually playing with us. Coming really close, so that we had to slightly change our direction in order not to be hit.
Never in my life, did I feel so grateful to be so close to nature.
Yuanfen yuanfen: This was really meant to be.
Towards an unknown future
As we rode our boat back towards Sowa Village, we passed an abandoned floating platform that looked like a former visitor center.
I wondered how this place will look like in 5-10 years.
The forgotten infrastructure and the plastic waste lying around at the beach, did tell a story of how Covid had impacted big plans for the area.
But the whale sharks are still there.
Hopefully well-protected and save, also in the future.
And how was the video experience?
Substack launched this beta version for testing and I‘m curious what you think about adding motion pictures to the written Yuanfen stories!
#26 Wonders of Papua, Part III