''I did it my
own way for nearly 30 years and need support from government and others to
ensure our bird species are accounted for the interest of tourism and
undiscovered exotic products are promoted''.
Mr. Samuel
Kepuknai
Samuel Kepuknai is a native from
Kiunga’s Drimskai village and a former Aircraft Maintenance Engineer (AME) with
the TALAIR airline company in the 1980s and was based in Goroka. After the aircraft company ceased its
operations in the country, Mr. Kepuknai returned back to his home village with
hopes of working for the giant copper and gold mine at OkTedi.
Whilst in the village, he has
fallen love with the natural surrounding which he did missed for a long time.
He forgot the ideas of applying for new jobs or trying his luck with OkTedi
mine for employment in his field of expertise.
He started his livelihood in the
village by fixing engines of the outboard motors along the Fly River while
based in Kiunga Township. He started the company called; Kiunga Outboard Motor
Repair Shop which later led him to provide logistics for Bird Watchers along
the river. To his coincidental luck, one day a German bird watcher came around
and asked Mr. Kapuknai to take him on a bird watching tour along the Fly River
using his outboard motor. Little did he knew was the beginning of a new chapter
of his life into an unknown field that later he became accustomed to and now a
renown local expert in native bird species.
After the tour of the Fly River
for Bird Watching, the German Bird Watcher did his own recommendation on the TripAdvisor
about Mr. Kepuknai as one of the local expert along the Fly River for Bird
Watching and reliable logistical support on the ground.
The recommendation on the
TripAdvisor website was the icing on the cake for Mr. Kepuknai who have no idea
about birds yet a typical villager who likes to explore new things in his
life. Now he has more than twenty (20)
groups or nearly 300 individual Bird Watchers around the world who are booking
through him for birdwatching tours in Western and other provinces in PNG as
well. He has five (5) identified sites in Kiunga as well as three (3) in Tabubil
areas while others remains potential and unexplored among the 180 species of
plants and animals found in the Fly River area which are new to science.
Now he never regrets of going
back to work to maintain his profession as an Aircraft Maintenance Engineer or
any other related work in his field of expertise. ‘I have an interest to learn
new things and I’m learning a lot from all of these tourists from all over the
world who come here from different backgrounds, cultures and tradition that
interests; said Mr. Kapunai.
His favourite groups are the
researchers and documentary groups because their expectations are not too
serious but convenient to manage and have flexibility to recommend the sites of
his own choices knowing the kind of data and information the group wants for
their research and documentary filming. He once stared on the BBC documentary
on the; Destination Unknown’ series
for Papua New Guinea.
Out of his usual work with Bird Watching,
he has encountered several challenges but that has never deterred him from his
interests in exploring the nature and Birdwatching. At one stage he has to decamp with his group
for documentary filming after realizing that the birds could no longer come to
the identified spot to perform for documentary filming. ‘I had to relocate them to a different site
which was also unknown but alternate site after the twelve (12) Wired Bird of
Paradise could no longer come over to the identified site to dance at its usual
time; recalled Mr. Kapunai. Luckily it was a well-managed relocation and the
documentary team were able to film and complete their work; he added.
In reality, PNG is a challenging
nation when it comes to tourism operations logistics because most of the
tourism products are located in the rural villages which requires an adventurer
to accomplish it. The access to the product sites are something for the
adventure tourists to save as experiences of good or worst in their lives while
exploring PNG. For Mr. Kepuknai, one of the deterrents in his tourism business
is the ever increasing prices of the support services and facilities in tourism
industry which have never been decreasing but instead they are increasing
rapidly and the tourists have complains over the prices or sometimes have to
cancel their trips to PNG. For Bird Watching Tours and other queries, go to
Kiunga Nature Tours website and contact Samuel directly.
The drop in booking are
indication of the national economy shifts and I have nothing to do with it but I’m
struggling and hanging on to the business because the benefit me and my
communities in the remote places receive are more than what money can do. The
communities get a chance to meet and mingle with the outsiders in a while
because of Bird Watching and I’m satisfied with that, Mr. Kepuknai expressed.
There is already an interest on
the ground to promote conservation and preservation of the natural habitats for
Birds and exotic products. Some of the
naturally exotic products in the area includes; Hardenberg Wall, Star
Mountains, Wawoi Falls, Strickland Gorge and Mount Bossave in the borders areas
of Southern Highlands as well as Sepik and Western border areas are unexplored
and haven for exotic flora and fauna species.
With the new discoveries in the
province’s unique flora and fauna species, it is obvious that the interest by
the tourists in the area for Bird Watching, nature tours and researches are
growing. Mr. Kepuknai is only a local
person doing what his interests are and have limitations. He needs support from
the government and others in the industry so that a collaborative work can ease
the challenges and promote tourism in the rural villages as a livelihood
support for the people.
The bigger dream he has is to
build capacity for the rural community so that everyone will have the same kind
of attitudes and understanding to promote tourism at the same time conservation
and preservation of natural habitat are the main focus. This saves the people
from engaging in any means of logging in the area and keeping the natural
habitat intact to sustain the livelihood in the long run. Also the database
creation for all the bird species in PNG is likely to be one of his major
achievement after the book; Niugini Birds
which he has co-authored with Nigel.
While realizing the tourism
benefits to be endless, Mr. Kepuknai, encourages the communities and the
resource owners to take ownership. It is an eye opener to the Oktedi Landowners
Trust Limited, a company that looks after the loyalist funds for the local
landowners. Now the landowner company is into ecotourism and they are planning
for ecotourism themed lodge in Tabubil township area. The former Chairman of
the Trust, Mr. Henry, has had the idea for long time ago with the view of life
after the mine. He lobbied and pressed on the interests of tourism for the long
time during his term as chairman and now he is more than happy to support the
Bird Watching Project as well as the Eco-lodge.
PNGTPA supports the projects
through with technical advises following an existing MOU with the Trust and
working collaboratively with the landowners for ecotourism product developments
in the province as well.
The recent visit to the area by
PNGTPA officials for a product scoping have realized the tourism prospects in
the area to be amass. It is no surprise that, Western Province has vast
landmass with undiscovered biodiversity, flora and fauna species that are not
yet recorded in the science books.
The most notable comparison to
the area could be Asia’s Mongolia being one of the inland and mountainous
country with frequent tourist’s arrivals. However, Tabubil in Western Province
has something similar but landscape and features are definitely unique and
different to offer to tourists. The Hindenburg Wall and Lake Wagbin are some
natural wonders in the area but never been explored by the world and the Oktedi
Trust Landowner Company is investment on the prospective tourism interest in
the province and Tabubil despite the unforeseen impediments.
And interestingly, the local
PNG’s bird expert is from Western Province and it’s a bonus for the tourism to
drift to a direction where most people might think Star Mountain is for gold
prospects only but means the other way in Papua New Guinea’s tourism industry.
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| Mr. Samuel Kepuknai near Wawoi Falls in Western Province |
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| Samual Kepuknai's Bird Watchers group at action |
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| Wawoi Fall in Western Province - Picture supplied by Samuel Kepuknai |
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| Samuel Kepuknai and his team of Bird Watches along the Fly River |
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| One of the Bird species on the list for Bird Watchers - Picture supplied by Samuel Kepuknai |
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| Samuel Kepukani and his team at Henry's Bird Watching site at Tabubil |
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Photo of Hidenburg Wall - Supplied by: Samuel Kepuknai
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| The Oktedi Scoping Team Photo with Oktedi Trust GM |
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| Clouds hanging over Hindenburg wall |
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| At the entrance of the 1km tunnel for the Min Highway |
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| Naithan Lati - Inside the Min Highway Tunnel |
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| Simon Pih at one of the rapids along Tabubil Oktedi Mining Road |
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| The rehabilitation work at Yuk Creek in Tabubil |
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Full Oktedi Landowners Royalty Trust Board Members after the meeting
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