Halmahera
The Only Place To See Wallace'S Standardwing, The One Bird Of Paradise Found West Of The Papuan Region On The Island Where Wallace Was Working When He Wrote To Darwin · Tobelo, North Maluku
Birds-of-paradise belong to New Guinea and its satellites. HALMAHERA HAS ONE ANYWAY. WALLACE'S STANDARDWING is found here and on a couple of neighbouring islands AND NOWHERE ELSE ON EARTH - the only member of the family west of the Papuan region, and its presence on the wrong side of the line is exactly the sort of thing that made this archipelago matter to nineteenth-century biology. ALFRED RUSSEL WALLACE COLLECTED IT HERE IN 1858, the same year and the same island group from which he sent Darwin the letter that forced him into print. THE MALES DISPLAY AT DAWN in specific trees, and you walk in before light with a local guide and wait. THE OTHER HALMAHERA IS INDUSTRIAL: WEDA BAY IS NOW AN ENORMOUS NICKEL OPERATION and the conflict around it is live and unresolved. You reach all of it through Ternate, on ferries and small flights that answer to the weather, so build in the spare days before you book anything at the far end of the trip.
Halmahera, North Maluku, Tobelo, North Maluku, Indonesia
REACHED VIA TERNATE, then a FERRY to SOFIFI or TOBELO, or small flights - all limited and weather-dependent, so BUILD IN SPARE DAYS. THE STANDARDWING DISPLAY SITES near LABI-LABI AND FOLI are reached by road and then on foot, and A LOCAL GUIDE IS ESSENTIAL: the display trees change between seasons and only local people know which are active. YOU LEAVE BEFORE DAWN and the display is over within the hour after first light. AKETAJAWE-LOLOBATA, the national park, is entered with permits arranged locally. NORTH MALUKU IS STRONGLY MUSLIM: dress modestly, expect Friday closures and check for Ramadan. WEDA BAY'S INDUSTRIAL AREA IS NOT A VISITOR DESTINATION. Bring cash; banking outside the main towns is minimal.