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latest picture: February 22, 2018

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1172  2/14/2018: Emil leaves in the port of Wahai

in the North of the island of Seram after a totally

34 hours' boat trip with our LandCruiser the

“KMP Kalabia” ferry. The 400 miles [640km]

long ride from Sorong via Fakfak in West-Papua

to Seram in the Central Moluccas cost

6’139’000 Rupias (US$489)

1173  The first yards on Seram’s narrow

island streets already evoke a kind

of jungle feeling

1174  Houses on stilts (here at low tide) line

the harbor shore of the sleepy coastal village

of Wahai in the North of the island

along the Seram Sea

1175  At the small market at Wahai’s seashore

fresh vegetables of every kind are sold

1176  The aroma of grilled fish is filling the air.

Fish, rice, vegetables and bananas are the

main diet in Indonesia

1177  T-break for the vendor

at the market of Wahai

1178  Our LandCruiser and a little dog are

the only users of Wahai’s village road

1179  Also in the little village of Wahai there

is a Pancasila monument (the 5 principles of

the Indonesian national philosophy and

constitution)

1180  As in many places, the mosque Al-

Muhajirin in Wahai is also a showpiece of

the village. Slightly more than half of Seram's

population of 450'000 is Moslem

1181  Like in the good old days: The (currently)

traffic free main street of Wahai. Where else

can this still be found today?

1182  In company it makes more fun.

Three village ladies return home from work

1183  Boat racks made of simple wooden poles

line the West coast. Is it also a boat builders site?

1184  The small island road along the northwest

coast leads through one of the many impressive

jungle appearances

1185  This red ginger flower (Alpinia

purpurata) with its white blossom

grows abundantly in the tropics

1186  The mystical brown jungle river

emerges from the thickness of the forest

1187  An easy passage for our LandCruiser:

A broken branch from the recent storm

barred the street

1188  A modest fisher’s hut made from

wooden laths and straw roof. The fishing

net is resting at the colorful washing line

1189  Reflecting palm ponds in calm

waters make for a special tropical picture

1190  The wild growing delicate lilac flower

belongs to the aster family and is called

"Ironweed" (Vernonia gigantea)

1191  What especially attracts the attention

of this strange tropical flower are its snow-

white leaves. It's interesting that we found

already in West Papua the same plant but

with yellow blossoms (Pic. #1128)

1192  A delicate white terrestrial orchid

(Spathoglottis plicata) grows

between ferns and scrub

1193  Our LandCruiser winds itself through the

thickly forested Manusela National Park to the

4'183 ft. [1275m] high pass. Due to the still

unsolved overheating and pressure problem

in the carburetor, it comes to a standstill.

Emil must suck in fuel once more

1194  A short lunch break amidst the refreshing

green of the Manusela National Park. It consists

of crackers, cheese and an ice cold Bintang

beer from our Engel refrigerator

1195  A crystal clear little mountain

creek is hiding behind the undergrowth

of the Manusela National Park

1196  Surrounded by the lush jungle green

of the Manusela National Park, the flowering

yellow trees are standing out particularly

beautiful (see below pic. # 1247 in red)

1197  An impressive Blyth's hornbill (Rhyticeros

plicatus), also called Papuan hornbill, makes a

short rest on a tree branch and gives us the

opportunity to admire and to picture it

1198  After the descent of the Manusela

National Park pass, estuaries surrounded

by untouched nature come into view;

here south of the Campedak Island

1199  The pier across the village of Wailulu

on the island of Campedak, about 15 miles

[24km] north of Saleman in the Sawai Bay, is

the playground for people, goats and chicken

1200  The blue “Nural Iman” mosque in

Wailulu on Campedak dominates in front of the

impressive ridges of the Manusela National Park

1201  A couple of houses are nestling on the

narrow tropical shore at the end of the village

1202  View to the estuary near the island of

Campedak with its beautiful mountain backdrop

1203  Nature at its best on the way to

Pasanea with our accommodation

1204  Our LandCruiser is rolling along the

palm-lined shore of the Sawai Bay,

part of the Seram Sea

1205  The color matching is perfect: Our Land-

Cruiser at the “Muzdalifah” guesthouse in the

village of Pasanea in the northern part of the

Sawai Bay with the offshore islet Sa'u, where

we lodge for three nights in a modest room

1206  The 36 years old rear door lock of

our LandCruiser blocked. Emil tries in vain to

deblock it. Igor from the Ukraine who flew with

friends for spear fishing on the island Sa'u to

Ambon and arrived here afterwards with ferry

and taxi, is now trying to help …..

1207  ….. curious spectators are soon

popping up. There is not much entertainment

in this part of the island of Seram

1208  One of the main tasks of the islanders

is to barrel coconuts to the copra processing site.

The boy is allowed to take a ride on top

1209  At the hairdresser: Is there a more

beautiful place to have his hair cut than

under palm trees?

1210  A boy is enjoying himself with a bicycle tire

– a still often used toy on these islands

1211  A deep morning glow shining through

the palm trees announces the new day at our

“Muzdalifah” guesthouse

1212  It is amazing how clever this guy climbs

up to the 100 ft. [30m] high palm tree,

to harvest coconuts

1213  Liliana is enjoying a freshly harvested

coconut containing between 10 and 25 fl.oz.

[3 - 7dl] of water

1214  Coastline northwards from our

“Muzdalifah” guesthouse. A sandy

beach stretches along the bay

1215  One can also rest on a trunk of a palm

tree – however be careful about falling coconuts!

They might weigh up to 3.3 lbs. [1˝kg]

1216  Coastal view southwards from our

guest house “Muzdalifah” – in the background

the ridges of the Manusela mountains

1217  The drone of the Ukrainians flies over the

small offshore island Sa'u near our guesthouse –

the daily fishing grounds of the spear fishing guys

1218  The cleaning of the Ukrainian’s large

diving gear equipment at the draw well of our

“Muzdalifah” guesthouse attracts the village

children from Pasanea

1219  Farewell party with the Ukrainian

spear fishers. From left to right: Igor,

Sergei, Slava, Jeka, Igor und Alex

1220  The deep peace at sunrise at our

“Muzdalifah” guesthouse is almost

touchable on our farewell day

1221  View over the beautiful wide Sawai Bay

in northern Seram, framed by forested steep

mountain slopes of the Manusela National Park

1222  View over the guesthouse “Pasir Putih”,

built on stilts, and the mosque Raya Salemang

with its silver dome at Sawai Bay

1223  A tempting tourist bungalow of the

Belariski Resort at the idyllic Sawai Bay,

protected by mountain ranges

1224  The Ora Beach Resort at the foot of the

green mountains is the most expensive hotel

at Sawai-Bay and accessible only by boat

1225  The rising sun catches the “Pasir

Putih” guesthouse at the Sawai Bay

1226  Life without hustle and bustle: The sleepy

main road of the picturesque village of Saleman

at Sawai Bay with about 700 people. The name

“Saleman” refers to a language from Seram that

is still spoken in this village

1227  The long wooden pier in the middle

of the Saleman village leads to our accommodation

– the overwater guesthouse “Pasir Putih”. Our

LandCruiser finds a parking place right in

front of the jetty …..

1228  ….. the village at the foot of forested

mountain walls continues further along the

peaceful bay towards the north

1229  At the end of the village of Saleman

there is a small white sandy beach where

children enjoy a simple swing under shady

trees on their way home from school

1230  A fisherman is smoking a cigarette on

his boat in the shade of trees waiting for better

times to come! Indonesians are the

world's number 1 regarding smoking

1231  Sunshine, palm trees and the sea –

what more can one wish?

1232  This coastal scenery in the Sawai Bay is

so peaceful. The overwater bungalow on the

right hand side is a new guest house

1233  For the people of Saleman and

surroundings the fishing boat is often used as mean

of transport, but otherwise mainly for fishing

1234  Children are wading through the crystal

clear water dotted with sandbars. In the back-

ground the overwater bungalows at Saleman

1235  Sunrise from our terrace at the

“Pasir Putih” guesthouse with the vastness

of the calm Seram sea in front of us

1236  Emil is enjoying his “European adjusted”

breakfast with view to the open sea on our

terrace of the “Pasir Putih” guesthouse

1237  Ingenious: The table on our terrace is

made of a sidewall of a “Good Year” tire.

Also the chairs are woven of tires

The population of the village of Saleman is mainly Muslim. Its mosque Raya Salemang with its silver dome, the deeply forested hills of the

Manusela National Park and the crystal clear blue sea conjure forth again and again new pictures in different moods, be it by day,

at a passing storm or at dusk. We are sitting on our terrace fully enjoying the beauty of this remote spot

1238

1239

1240

1241  In the morning we watch from our terrace

of the “Pasir Putih” guesthouse the group of fishes

which continue to swim around our bungalow.

Unfortunately there was fishing by dynamite

so that the coral colonies got destroyed .....

1242  ..... at dusk we follow the flocks of

bat-like Lusiala birds which fly from their caves

in beautiful formations into the evening sky …..

1243  ….. and at sunset the puffy red cloud

formations, floodlighted by the setting sun,

make our day

1244  Our LandCruiser explores the peaceful

village road of Saleman at the Sawai Bay

1245  Boys in school uniforms take a rest

under the shade of a tree. It amazes us again

and again how they manage to keep their

white shirts so immaculately clean

1246  A modest wooden house under palm

trees at the white sandy beach of the Saleman

village. The boats are ready for fishing

1247  Leaving the village of Saleman and

climbing up the steep hill to the 4˝ miles [7˝km]

distant main road, we experience again a spot

of natural beauty – the red version of the

above picture #1196 in yellow

1248  The crosses along the road show that

in this otherwise Muslim country we are driving

now through a Christian section. This happens

especially on eastern islands of the

Moluccas and in Papua

1249  At the port of Masohi resp. Amahai,

Emil is sitting already at 6.30am in front of his

cup of “Kopi Susu”, the sweet Indonesian

coffee, and waits for the ferry boat

1250  Emil maneuvers our LandCruiser back-

wards into the hull of “KMP Dolosi”. It will carry

us for 415’000 rupees (about US$30) in 4˝ hours

from Seram to our next, 45 miles [72km] distant

island of Ambon in the Central Moluccas

1251  Two of the vendors, who are selling

food and drinks to ship passengers before

departure, pose happily for a farewell picture

1252  At 8am on 2/22/2018, we leave behind

the port of Masohi resp. Amahai with the

attractive tall mountain backdrop

(Mount Binaiya, 9'931 ft. [3'027m]) and

set sail on 'our' 310th ship towards Ambon

More websites from the "Borneo-Sulawesi-Moluccas-Papua" trip:

Part 1: Pictures from Sarawak-Kalimantan-North Sulawesi – Miri/Malaysia via Kuching and Balikpapan to North Sulawesi from Aug. to Oct. 2017

Part 2: Pictures from the second part of North Sulawesi – Tomohon and surroundings, Tangkoko NP in October 2017

Part 3: Pictures from the North Moluccas Part 1 – Ternate and Tidore in November/December 2017

Part 4: Pictures from the North Moluccas Part 2 – Halmahera in November/December 2017

Part 5: Pictures from West Papua Part 1 (Irian Jaya) – Sorong and westerly ‘Trans Papua Road’ in December 2017-February 2018

Part 7: Pictures from the Moluccas Part 2 (Central) – Ambon in February/March 2018

Part 8: Pictures from Papua Part 1 – Yapen in March 2018

Part 9: Pictures from Papua Part 2 – Biak in April 2018

Part 10: Pictures from West Papua Part 2 (Irian Jaya) – Manokwari and easterly ‘Trans Papua Road’ in April 2018

Part 11: Pictures from South Sulawesi-Kalimantan-Sarawak Part 2 – South Sulawesi via Kalimantan to Kuching and Miri/Malaysia from May to July 2018

More websites from Indonesia and Timor-Leste:

• Pictures and report from the first part of our Indonesian trip in Java and Sumatra from November to December 2006
• Pictures from the second part of our Indonesian trip in Bali from January to March 2007
• Pictures from the third part of our Indonesian trip in Lombok, Sumbawa and Flores in April 2007
• Pictures from the fourth part of our Indonesian trip in Sumba and West-Timor in May and June 2007
• Report and pictures from Timor-Leste (Oecussi and Mainland) in May 2007
• Pictures from the fifth part of our Indonesian trip in Southern Sulawesi before and after Toraja Land in June and July 2007
• Pictures from Tana Toraja (Toraja-Land) in South-Sulawesi in June and July 2007
• Pictures of the sixth part of our Indonesia trip in Kalimantan (Borneo) in July 2007
• Pictures and report from our 2010-Indonesian trip in North Sumatra from March to April 2010
• Pictures and report from our 2010-Indonesian trip in West Sumatra in May and June 2010
• Pictures and report from our 2010-Indonesian trip in Southern Sumatra in June 2010

More websites from East Malaysia und Brunei:

• Report from Brunei in September 2006
• Report from Sabah in October 2006
• Report from Sarawak, Part 1: Northeast (Miri) from June to August 2006
• Report from Sarawak, Part 2: South (Kuching) in November 2006
• Pictures from our Borneo trip through Sarawak, Brunei, Sabah and Kalimantan from August to November 2006
• 1st Rejuvenation of our LandCruiser in Miri/Sarawak/East Malaysia from 6/15/2006 - 8/26/2006 + 9/17/2007 - 9/24/2007
• 2nd Rejuvenation of our LandCruiser at the same place from 7/30/2012 - 10/4/2012
• 3rd Rejuvenation of our LandCruiser at the same place from 2/6/2017 - 5/3/2017 + 7/16/2018 -