22 Oct 2023

Exploring Jayapura and Lake Sentani

After a 140-nautical-mile voyage Heritage Adventurer sailed into the Port of Jayapura as dawn broke. The capital and largest city of the Papua province, Jayapura is our final stop in Indonesia on this voyage and it was a very special one at that.

We drove in escorted buses through the lush hills and urban valleys of the city to Cenderawasih University's Museum Loka Budaya (cultural museum) where our guides explained the fascinating range of Papuan artefacts, in particular the Asmat carvings, sailing vessel models, and large ornamented shields. We had opportunity to buy beautiful hand-carved sculptures, and locally-made jewelry and art from the museum shop which was a treasure in itself. We then made our way to the sparkling waters of Lake Sentani, a crater lake, where communities of houses on stilts are tucked into the shoreline and fisherman sit peacefully in dugout canoes or stand shoreside in the water to their waist to secure their daily catch.

Lake Sentani is home to the endemic Red Rainbow Fish (Glossolepis incises) which we weren't sure we'd see - the males are a striking red colour and up to 11-centimetres in size. As we walked across a bridge we were very excited to spot a few hiding in the pond weed - although the pond weed is invasive, it shelters this rare endemic fish from the, also introduced and predatory, Tilapia fish which we saw young boys spear fishing for under the bridge.

We received a warm welcome and cultural performance from the Yobe Village community with traditional colourful garments and crafted instruments, as well as a marching band, with drums and homemade flutes, performing 'Onward Christian Soldiers', reminding us of the remnants of their Dutch heritage. With the aid of our guides, we interacted with the community for the morning, learning about the process to prepare sago, their staple food with fish, tasting foods, and purchasing carvings, woodworking, bark paintings and artifacts with traditional motifs.

We returned to Heritage Adventurer buzzing with excitement for the next leg to Papua New Guinea, marked at the border by a tall red and white striped lighthouse on the coastal boundary, en route to the highly anticipated Sepik River.

Images © S. Bradley, Heritage Expeditions