10 Oct 2019

Birding, Caving and Island Life on Biak

Just as dawn started brightening the overcast sky, the first Zodaics began shuttling expeditioners from Spirit of Enderby to the shores of Biak Island. Its long isolation from other landmasses has endowed the island with a high degree of endemism among its birdlife and the opportunity to see these species was the motivating factor for this morning's early risers.

Despite a heavy downpour passing through during the morning, it was a successful outing birding with 9 of the 13 endemic species being seen by the group during their travels. While the birders were exploring the hills, the rest of the expeditioner made our way to the caves that had been home to nearly 5,000 Japanese troops during WWII. Humid and calm, it was sobering to walk down into what remained of the caves after the American's had heavily bombed the area to defeat the Japanese.

We then explored the magnificent orchid gardens before delving into the modern heart of Biak town with a visit to the fish market where we were caught up in the hustle and bustle of village life and picked up a tuna to enjoy for this evening's dinner.

The afternoon was spent sailing a short distance to some of the offshore islands where we enjoyed snorkelling over a spectacular underwater wall that disappeared into the inky blue depths more than 200 metres below in just a matter of metres.

Image (c) A.Russ, Heritage Expeditions