268 S. D. Rijplay—Round about Dutch New Guinea


sad looking specimen of Specific Peafowl, in much too small a cage.

But the casual visitor to the Indies would do much better to call in at

the homes of the European dealers of whom there are three in this

area : the proprietor of the Singapore Zoo, who has some lovely birds,

including Birds of Paradise ; the owner of the Zoo in Belawan Deli,

Sumatra (a port which most liners stop at nowadays for a few hours) ;

or a German dealer in Makassar. In all of these places one can feast

one’s eyes on rarities that might be months getting into the bird market

shops. Fairy Bluebirds, Pittas, Doves, rare Hawks, Pheasants of many

species, Sunbirds, and even Birds of Paradise can be secured. As to

the latter : a permit must now be obtained before they can be exported

from the Dutch East Indies (not from Singapore) so one must not

expect to travel to Dutch New Guinea for Paradise Birds unless one

has previously applied to the Department of Economic Affairs in

Batavia. Other birds, too, such as Crowned Doves and Kingfishers are

on the forbidden list. A trip to Dutch New Guinea is still an exciting

thing, however, whether one has such a permit or not, and also one

should not be deterred by the thought of such a permit alone. It’s

always worth trying for even if one does not get it.


And now on to Dutch New Guinea. Arriving in Makassar, there are

usually a few days to wait for the New Guinea mail boat. The most

interesting place to stay here is Mahno, a hill station about four hours’

drive from Makassar where electric light, good food, and a comfortable

dak bungalow, plus the cool breeze and superb scenery, make an ideal

refuge from the heat of the lowlands. There are two mail boats going

on different routes, one along the north shore of Dutch New Guinea,

the other along the south shore. The more attractive route, both from

the point of scenery and of climate, is the northern one, and an amusing

feature of it is that it skirts so close to the Equator that it is possible

to return from one’s trip of a month a veteran of ten or twelve crossings.

I say a month’s trip, because for those with limited time at their disposal

and no desire to bring along a certain amount of equipment, such as

camp beds, et cetera , it is far more advisable and pleasant to stay on

board the mail boat all the time with a comfortable cabin and regular

meals at one’s* disposal. From this vantage point one can sally out to

see the sights at the different ports without having to live ashore. The



