November 02, 2002

Boat anchored at Tanjun Warai (01° 58’ 737’ S, 130° 28" 419’ E). The teams explored the north coast of Batanta today.

The divers visited a narrow inlet on the north-east coast of Batanta, thinking that the sheltered waters could hold a high diversity of coral species, they were not disappointed. In two dives Emre counted 130 species. Here, and at the second dive site a few kilometers further west, staghorn corals (Acropora sp.) were common, including several rare species. In his mind ‘this site is not a tourist mecca but a taxonomist’s dream’.

The vegetation team traveled along the north coast, visiting two areas of forest classified differently on satellite image maps. The speedboat pulled in to a disused jetty at the first site; this was an old ‘log-pond’ where timber trunks were loaded onto ships to be transferred to the sawmill. Climbing into the forest, many sawn tree stumps were found, mainly Intsia bijuga. Some were 2 meters in diameter. A notable feature of this forest was the incredible number of biting red ants, which seemed to wait on every branch. The forest was extremely dry - it seems that selected logging has allowed more sunlight into the forest floor, making the forest drier than previously. At the second site, behind the village of Yensawai, the forest was relatively undisturbed, and the forest floor not as dry. Nevertheless, the forest types were very similar, and the team saw no reason to distinguish between them on the satellite maps.

Wildlife sightings included a palm cockatoo, several hornbills, and one male Red-Bird of Paradise, but by far the most unforgettable experience was being greeted at the jetty by the entire community of Yensawai, singing psalms. The village is a recent one, being established only 3 years ago by a local Seventh day Adventist community.