Warikaf Homestay
Northern Gam - Gam - Kabui Bay
Rooms
4 x Over water - Room in a bungalowA room in a bungalow with 2 or more rooms and shared common areas. Sleeps max. 2 persons / room. |
Rates
Use the booking form to calculate exact pricing for your booking
Twin share from USD 30.76 per person / night including 3 meals daily |
Single occupancy from USD 30.76 per person / night including 3 meals daily |
Features
- Mangroves
- Hiking available
- Quiet hideaway
- Has family bungalows
- Has raised beds
- Remote/isolated
- IDR 400,000 to 500,000
Details
September 2022: Warikaf Homestay has not yet reopened after the pandemic. Please contact us if you want to be notified when/if Warikaf reopens.
Warikaf Homestay has two two-room bungalows built over water in a unique and isolated location in a ‘hidden bay’ amid the Wayag-like karst islands of northern Kabui Bay. Named for the fresh spring water that emerges from a nearby cave, Warikaf was originally built as a stopover for sea kayakers exploring Kabui Bay and is splendidly remote. There is no phone network coverage. A generator is provided for lighting and charging devices.
Warikaf’s rooms have free standing double beds with mattress covers, pillows, bolsters and mosquito nets and share a large verandah with a table and wooden chairs.
There is free flowing gravity fed spring water from a standpipe on a boardwalk jetty that connects the homestay to Gam Island. (The water is boiled for drinking.) A combined concrete floored dip mandi bathroom and squat toilet is on the island at the end of the boardwalk.
It’s a 30 minute trip by boat to the nearest village where only basic supplies can be purchased, so it’s best to bring everything you’ll need with you.
Warikaf Homestay owner Pak Daud Mayor and his wife live on site while guests are staying, but have no English, so be sure to bring a phrasebook if you have no Bahasa Indonesia.
Transport / Getting there
Transport from and to Waisai is by longboat and costs IDR 1,000,000 each way. The boat can carry up to 4 passengers and cost is shared.
Activities
Warikaf Homestay’s bay provides good snorkeling. Backed by a thin fringe of mangroves, the bay is patrolled by black tipped sharks and visited by schools of juvenile fish and occasionally by hunting dolphins.
The entrance to the famed dive and snorkel site of the Kabui Passage is close by, and the village of Kabui can be reached in 30 mins by boat, or via a 3 to 4 hour hike through the jungle of the island’s north shore.
Local sightseeing trips and village visits can be arranged for IDR 100,000 per person. The same cost will cover snorkelling trips to Kabui Passage or around the karst islands of Kabui Bay, which are very similar to the famed islands of the much more distant Wayag.
Birds of Paradise can be seen at Kabui village, and for the intrepid, it’s possible to arrange a trek from there over into Gam Bay. Another possible trek is from Kabui across the hills into Yenwaupnor village. The trek affords panoramic views of Kabui and Gam Bays and can be accomplished in a few hours.
The Gam jungle itself is home to mound building wild bush fowl, cuscus, bandicoots and hosts of birds. Warikaf can provide any tour or transfer you might want. Some of the many possibilities are listed below.
| TOUR | PRICE (IDR) |
|---|---|
| Kabui Bay | 100,000 per person |
| Hidden Bay | 100,000 per person |
| Panorama Hill | 100,000 per person |
| Mantas and sandbanks | 1,500,000 per trip max 4 (add 200,000 per person for >4 pax) |
| Batanta | 3,500,000 per trip (max 6) |
| Selpele (West Waigeo) | 2,000,000 per trip (max 6) |
| Pam (Fam) Island | 1,500,000 per trip max 4 (add 200,000 per person for >4 pax) |
| Kali Raja | 1,000,000 per trip max 4 (add 200,000 per person for >4 pax) |
Pulau Gam
See our Gam Island page for an overview of Gam and its attractions.