Nusa Dua

Nusa Dua is an area in the southern part of Bali, Indonesia, known as an enclave of large 5-star resorts. It is located 22 kilometers from Denpasar, the provincial capital of Bali, and administered under Kuta South District. Nusa Dua means two islands (nusa 'island', dua 'two'), because there are 2 islands in the bay of Bali Tourism Development Corporation area. On the southern side lies Peninsula Island, and on the northern side lies Nusa Dharma Island, which is smaller but shadier, and which contains the Pura/Temple Nusa Dharma.

Geger Beach is located in Sawangan, about 3 kilometers from the southern area of Nusa Dua. The sea here is calm, so farmers grow seaweed here and tourists swim here.

Water Blow is a spot where a giant splash of sea water occurs resulting from waves hitting a rock. It is located in Indonesia Tourism Development Centre (ITDC) area.

Tanjung Benoa

The Peninsula of Tanjung Benoa, with the village of Benoa in the foreground and Nusa Dua in the background.

Immediately north of the Nusa Dua enclave is the peninsula of Tanjung Benoa, which includes cheaper hotels as well as Benoa village. A multi-denominational area, it includes a mosque and Chinese and Hindu temples in close proximity to each other. Much of the beach's sand was eroded away following the mining of the nearby barrier reef for construction materials.

Benoa Port, also located here, was previously for yachts and small ships. In December 2012, it became Benoa Cruise International Terminal's turnaround port, serving as both embarkation and debarkation point for cruise passengers. As turnaround port, tourists can arrive or leave Benoa Port by either plane or cruise ship

On December 26, 2012, 

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Noemfoor Biak district consists of two small islands, namely the island of Biak Island and Noemfoor as well as more than 42 very small islands, including islands that are excellent Padaido development activities of various parties. The overall area Biak Noemfoor is 5.11% of the total area of Papua province

At the time of the Dutch government in power in Papua region until the early 1960s that the name is used to name the Biak Islands-Noemfoor is Eilanden Schouten, according to the name of the first European Dutch, who visited the region in the early 17th century other names often encountered in older reports for local residents and this is Kepuluan Noemfoor or Wiak. W phonemes in the word actually comes from the phoneme wiak v which then turned into cud b so came the word as it is used today. Two last names that are then combined into one name is Biak-Noemfoor, with mark horizontal line in between the two words as a hyphen between the two words, which is used to formally named the area and inhabited islands are located in the north Cenderawasih it. In everyday conversation people are just using the name implies Biak are the same as mentioned above.

About the origin and meaning of the name there are several opinions. The first is that the name is derived from the word Biak v`iak that which was originally a word used to call residents who live in remote areas of the islands. The word implies the people who live in the hutan`, `people who are not good at kelautan`, such as not capable to catch fish in the sea, not good at sailing in the sea and across the vast ocean and others. The name given by the inhabitants of the coastal islands that do have high proficiency in maritime matters. Even though the name implies initially insulted certain segments of the population, then that name is accepted and used as the official name for the residents and the area.

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Back in Manokwari ,we called Yoris who is listed in the LP . Met him and went on a birdwatching tour with him. He was not , in our opinion,a good guide . He was expensive and didn't know any of the few birds that we saw. We were not impressed. To give Manokwari its due, it is the base from which to explore the Arfak Mountain area which is renowned for its birdlife. I have just read another report on T Adviser and see a man called Charles Roring does guiding in that area . Looks as if it would be fantastic

The motto of the story is - if you want to go birding in Papua with a local guide, set it up before you go, as that is where we came unstuck. But when we left home in July, we didn't even know if we would end up in Papua !

Anyway ,we finally made it back to Sorong after 5 days of flight issues. and got met by a representative of the Raja Ampat Dive Resort . He took us to the ferry terminal where the boat was about to set off for Waigeo island - our destination.

The boat trip took 3 hours and then we were transferred to the resort by speedboat.

The resort sits right on an idyllic beach with clear clear water , and great snorkelling right off the beach .

The resort is owned by the government and was not cheap - It cost as much as if we were divers, but still cheaper than the private resorts. But the service was shocking - they had no coca cola, or any other soft drinks - let alone beer . Then when they did get some it was a constant battle to get them to keep it chilled.

The accommodation was very nice- a big bungalow just metres from the water. We had resident KusKus in the trees in the gardens and many many gorgeous birds.

we went out snorkelling a couple of times with the dive boat but found that the snorkelling was not as rewarding as we had found in other places. Not because the marine life is not there, it is one of the BEST dive areas in the world, but the reefs are shallow and have strong currents flowing across them which makes snorkelling less easy.

Anyway we found there was a road at the back of the resort which provided amazing birdwatching potential . So every morning for the week we were there we got up at dawn,5 a.m, and set off . We had some fantastic finds, like a Red Bird of Paradise pair just feeding nonchalantly in a tree by the roadside !! We had planned to make a special boat trip/ trek in search of these while we were there , and there they were , just for us .

Then we found out from the manager that there was a quite a colony of Wilson's Bird of Paradise - the little fellow with vibrant colours who clears a bower ., quite near to the resort. He showed us where and we sat in 2 different hides, several times and had great sightings of several birds of the species. It was a fantastic week , and if we were to go again , same thing applies, - we would find out about a good local guide , but doubt we would go through one of the expensive tour companies , because the birds are there, everywhere, and not at all hard to find .

Our time in Papua was over and we had done and seen more than we had ever imagined. What a great adventure and still a place untouched by mass tourism

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Nīas (Indonesian: Pulau Nias, Nias language: Tanö Niha) is an island off the western coast of Sumatra, Indonesia. Nias (Kepulauan Nias) is also the name of the archipelago, containing the Hinako archipelago.
Nias Island covers an area of 5,121.3 km² (1,977.3 sq mi) (including minor offshore islands). It is mostly a lowland area rising to around 800 m (2,600 ft) above sea level. There were 756,762 inhabitants on the island (including minor offshore islands) at the 2010 Census.

Nias is an internationally famous surfing destination. The best known surfing area is Sorake Bay, close to the town of Teluk Dalam, on the southern tip. Enclosed by the beaches of Lagundri and Sorake, the bay has both left and right-hand breaks. As they wait for waves, surfers can often see sea turtles swimming below. There are also two consistent, world-class waves in the nearby Hinako Islands, Asu and Bawa. Many lesser-known, high-quality surf spots with low crowds await adventurous travelers.
Nias was part of the famous Hippie trail of the 1960s, particularly traveled by surfers, which led to Bali. Some claim that the waves at the southern beach of Sorake are better than the ones in Maui. It has been the site of several international surfing competitions in the past, particularly before the 1998 Indonesian Reformation Movement.
Despite the storied history of surfing in Nias, international surfing in Nias has slowed down especially (but not specifically) due to the recent earthquakes.The situation is slowly changing, however.
 This Whice one videoin Nias.

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