Wasur National Park

Wasur covers around four hundred thousand hectares in the far south-east of Papua on the border with Papua New Guinea, where it adjoins Tonda Wildlife Management Area, and together they form one of the largest protected wetland complexes in the region. The landscape is not rainforest but savanna, eucalypt woodland, monsoon forest and seasonal swamp - country that belongs ecologically with northern Australia, and the fauna reflects it: agile wallabies, bandicoots, cassowaries, and enormous termite mounds standing metres high across the grassland like a scattered stone circle. Migratory waterbirds arrive from Australia. Four indigenous groups - Kanum, Marori, Marind and Yei - live inside the park with customary rights. Access is along the road east from Merauke.

What you actually see

• Australian-type savanna - eucalypt woodland and grassland, not rainforest.
• Wallabies and cassowaries - fauna shared with northern Australia.
• Giant termite mounds - metres high across the open grassland.
• Four indigenous groups - Kanum, Marori, Marind and Yei with customary rights inside.

When to go

June to November, the dry season. Three days.

Honest expectations

Merauke is remote and expensive to reach. Malaria is present and the risk here is real. Facilities are minimal and guides are needed. The wet season floods and closes much of the park.

Nearby

Merauke is the access town; the Papua New Guinea border runs along the park.