About Papua Bird Club

Papua Bird Club (PBC) was founded in 1995 as the first Bird Club around entire West New Guinea or Irian-Jaya or Papua today. In Indonesia, PBC is registered as one of Indonesian NGOs under the name of Yayasan Papua Bird Club (YPBC).

Papua Bird Club specializes in tailor made tours for any kinds of interest and offers customized trips for bird lovers, naturalists, biologists, conservationists, photographers, film-makers and holidays adventurers. For a special trip request, PBC offers an unforgettable expedition journey to visit the Tree House Tribe (Korowai-Kombai Tribes). PBC provides wildlife consultancy, personal professional wildlife/eco-guiding, contact to documentary filming agents, assisting international/domestic ticketing and providing information on the world diving around Papua.

Besides accommodating request on birding inside Papua, Papua Bird Club has been undertaking similar trips too around Sulawesi, Moluccas and other Wallacea regions. For special request outside Papua, PBC offers various wildlife, culture and natural history tours to Sulawesi, Moluccas, Bali and Komodo Island.

Papua Bird Club has also been carrying out community base development programs and contributes itself in Indonesian Ornithology Union (IdOU) activities. Papua Bird Club stands as IdOU Representative for Papua Region up to 2010.

Papua Bird Club guarantees you that when you travel with us, you will travel in the footsteps of "Attenborough in Paradise", where Sir David Attenborough was with his same guides.

Our Guides:

Kris Tindige:

Originally comes from Talaud Islands of North Sulawesi. Talaud islands are the islands that are situated between South Philippines (Mindanao), and the north coast of Sulawesi. Kris was born at Desa Tabang of the Karakelan Island, but grew up at the small city of Girian (Bitung) on the norther peninsula of North Sulawesi. Girian is a city located under the foothills of Dua Sudara Mountains (twin mts), and is the entrance point for anyone want to visit Tangkoko Nature Reserve.

Kris graduated from a Foreign Languages Academy in North Sulawesi with a thesis on tourism and tour guiding in Bitung, North Sulawesi. After his graduation in 1990, Kris moved to Papua to follow his dream of learning & observing the Birds of Paradise in the wild and later he founded the Papua Bird Club, the first bird club entire West Papua region.

Before leading trips in Papua, Kris had undertaken various tours in Sulawesi, beeing granted with licensed as one of the best guide for the North Sulawesi Province. After he settled in Sorong, Papua (1991), with a Biak Tribe family who adopted him as their children, Kris started to learn Papuan birds with special interest on the Birds of Paradise. From 1993 Kris starts to conduct birding trips, various expeditions and scientific researches through out West New Guinea, Irian-Jaya, (today Papua), Sulawesi, Moluccas and other Wallacea area including Komodo Islands.

Kris's long field study and knowledge of the Birds of Paradise finally earned him the contract with BBC Natural History Unit in 1995, when BBC produced today's most acclaimed documentary of the Birds of Paradise, "Attenborough in Paradise", with Sir David Attenborough.

Kris's experience with BBC brough him to work with other Television Companies such as France Television (TFT1), NHK, Discovery Channel, American PBS TV, Zebra Films, Tigress Production & Partridge Film. In his country Indonesia itself, Kris has worked with Garin Nugroho, a famous Indonesian film director, who successfully produced natural education films (first time in Indonesian television history) for Indonesian children's consumptions.

Since 2005, Kris has been consulting local Indonesian television such as TV7 in producing documentary series on nature and wildlife for the country's needs.

In 2002, Kris visited Europe on a lecture tour and to learnt more about modern conservation methods and enriched his knowledge in ornithology. He has been also invited to give lectures about conservation of the Papuan birds and eco-tourism at Charles Darwin University (2005) and gave the same talks at Queensland Bird Society as well as other clubs and church community around Brisbane.

In addition to birding, Kris also sponsors natural history trips to the Korowai and Kombai the 'tree house tribes" of the Southern Papua and culture/natural history trips around the Dani-Lani and Asmat tribes.

If you are subscribing to National Geography Magazine, your eyes should focus on its July 2007 edition to see stunning 20 pages of the Birds of Paradise. Kris was the man behind the scene of the project.

M.V. Shita Prativi:

Shita Prativi, originally from Jawa, born and grew up in Jakarta. Graduated from Law Faculty of Catholic University of Parahyangan Bandung, West Java, in 2000, with thesis : Domestic Violence in the Perspective of Indonesian's Criminal Law.

Shita Prativi volunteered as Children Assistance in a children NGO based in Jakarta and Bandung for four years. She helped and supported urban children who live on the street with alternative education.

After she graduated, she joined with one of the famous Indonesian woman NGO in Jakarta, called Kalyanamitra Foundation (KF) from 2001-2004. KF is the first Indonesian's woman NGO. Shita started as a volunteer but finally served as a full staff with latest position as a coordinator of the women assistance's department.

During few months in 2004, Shita accepted a contracted from one of the International NGO from the Netherlands called Cordaid, based in Ternate, North Halmahera with her position as Interim Field Program Officer. Her job enabled her to travel through out remote islands of Halmahera to supervised Crodaid's project with its local NGO's partners. Cordaid worked in Halmahera to restore indegenous tribes' livelihood as impact of the political riots.

From Halmahera, on the same year, Shita was contracted by another International NGO (International Medical Corps) to work in Palu with latest position as Community Mobilizer. Her job lead her to travel through most remote areas of Central Sulawesi, including Poso, and the villages around Lore Lindu National Park. Her continues visits around Lore Lindu National Park finally drew her attention to nature with special interest in birds (Raptors) that she used to observe almost daily, especially after a rare occasion happened to her, where a wild Sulawesi Serpent Eagle came to her and landed on one of her bare hand.

In early 2005, Shita joins Papua Bird Club starting as Legal Advisor and later based on her various background experieneces both in Indonesian & International NGOs, she develops non profit programs for PBC such as an Alternative Education and raising funds to support young Papuan students. Now she spends most of her time in the field teaching children in the remote villages and in the same time she gets the chance to learn Papuan birds. She has learnt too how to lead trips together with other PBC's guides. PBC recorded her as the first Indonesian's woman who has seen the most species of the Birds of Paradise in the wild. She has joint guiding PBS's trip not only around Papua, but also at Sulawesi, Halmahera, Bali & Komodo Island.

Shita's commitment, hard work and her low profile makes her heartily welcome by indigenous family and some of them even have given their new born daughters after her name. Her joining with PBC has certainly brought PBC new colors

Zeth Wonggor:

Zeth is a native Hattam Tribe of the Arfak Mountains. Beeing a self-trained local bird guides for more than 12 years, Zeth has guided many birders around the Arfak mountain areas. His traditional knowledge about his region's wildlife has built him a reputation as best local guide of his area. Zeth dedication to nature conservation has also educated his community to follow his step. Together they protect the birds of their region among others are the Long-tailed Paradigala, Western Parotia, Arfak Astrapia, Black Sicklebill, Vogelkop Bowerbird and many more other wildlife. The result of this action has brought many travelers visiting their area. This success holds a very important role to long term eco-tourism and wildlife/habitat protection of the area. On his part time, Zeth does farming and teaches children at the Sunday School. We record that the benefit of eco-tourism to the area and local community have enabled them to send their children to school and some of them to universities in Papua and outside Papua. Zeth and his wife Kristina have successfully financed their brothers to finished their master degree in universities in Manado, North Sulawesi. Today, Zeth & Kristina are financing their 2 children in another university in Manado, studying tourism.

Jamil Minto:

Jamil is originally from East Jawa, transmigrated to the Nimbokrang area of Jayapura more than 15 years ago. Jamil has a passion not only in wild birds but also in captive birds. He was probably the first person in Papua maybe Indonesia who managed to keep the Lesser Bird of Paradise, Paradisaea minor for 14 years under his good care for breeding purpose, though he finally failed but it certainly enriched himself with knowledge of the species' molting season and behaviors.

Jamil's dedication in conserving the birds of their area has brought a postive effect to Dance, an indigenous young land owner, who is now assisting Jamil with bird guiding. They both know the area very well, including the birds' display trees, mating season and callings.

Yonas Wenda:

Yonas is a sun of Dani Tribe, lives in Wamena town. His wide knowledge of his natural area, culture and its wildlife has promoted him as the only considerable local bird guide. Yonas has lead numbers of our birding trips, culture/natural history & trekking trip around Lake Habema, Pass valley, Baliem Valley & Korowai-Kombai, in the last 12 years. Yonas speaks English and registered by local government as one of the leading guide for Jayawijaya Regency. His very positive attitudes towards eco-tourism & the sustainable development of his country has motivated his clans and friends to follow his steps. By doing such a job, they are able to send their family into schools and even university.