Exploring the natural tourist attractions in Papua seems endless, with many being interesting to visit. One of them is Wasur National Park. Wasur National Park is a popular tourist destination in Merauke, South Papua.
Wasur National Park is vast, stretching across three districts namely Sota, Naukenjerai, and Merauke Districts. There are many interesting things you can find in Wasur National Park. In addition to the diversity of flora and fauna, you will also see other uniqueness stored in Wasur National Park. Quoted from the official website of Wasur National Park, the park experiences two seasons: dry season for 5 to 6 months (June/July-December) and wet season for 6 to 7 months (January-June/July) in a year.
Wasur National Park is one of the most important wetland ecosystems in Indonesia, as it has high biodiversity potential. Here, you can see various flora and fauna endemic to the South Papua region. There are 34 vegetation types in Wasur National Park, including melaleuca dominant forest, swamp grassland, grassland, savanna, mangrove forest, riverside forest, seasonal forest, panta forest, sparse forest, and melaleuca co-dominant forest.
Wasur National Park, which is a wetland area, is a very important place for waterbirds in Indonesia, especially migratory birds to and from Australia and New Zealand. Areas frequented by migratory birds include grasslands, Blue Swamp Lake, Dogamit Swamp, Mblatar Swamp and Ndalir Beach.
Meanwhile, the native large mammals found in Wasur NP are three marsupials, namely the agile kangaroo (Macropus agilis), the forest/ordinary kangaroo (Darcopsis veterum) and the bus kangaroo (Thylogale brunii). There are also a number of reptiles, amphibian and insect fauna. Wasur National Park is also home to several species of fish such as striped snapper (Amniataba affinis), striped snappers (Toxotes jaculatrix), and arowana (Scleropages jardinii).
In Wasur National Park, you can also see towering earthen structures that are ant houses or musamus. Although known as an ant hill, the musamus is not a nest built by ants, but by termites. Quoted from Indonesia.go.id, musamus is physically a mound of earth formed from the basic ingredients of dry grass, soil and the saliva of termites that make it. Musamus has a shape resembling stalagmites in caves and is formed towering above the ground. The place, which is home to millions of termite colonies, has a grooved surface texture and a reddish-brown colour.
Attractions of Wasur National Park
Besides seeing the flora, fauna and musamus, Wasur National Park also has other attractions. Tourists can visit the Biras bathing pool. Biras bathing pool is actually a former excavation of road embankment that is filled with rainwater so that it forms a pond on the side of the road. Usually many residents swim, fish and just relax around the Biras pool.
Wasur National Park also has the popular Blue Swamp Lake. Lake Rawa Biru is a source of water for the residents of Merauke and its surroundings. You will see biodiversity here. Various species of animals such as migratory birds, wallabies and cassowaries often come and inhabit Lake Rawa Biru. To explore Lake Rawa Biru, visitors can use motorboats rented by local residents.
You can also camp in the campground in this area which has been equipped with outbound facilities. No less interesting is Savana Youram which is a grassland in this national park. Here tourists can encounter kangaroos directly.
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