Irene Spencer

Meet Primatologist Dr. Birute Galdikas on one of Irene’s Borneo Travel Adventures Travel Advisor Irene Spencer provides her clients true exclusive access to some of the most beautiful creatures in the world. For the past 15 years, she has been the only travel professional to work with primatologist Dr. Birute Galdikas, the third angel and protégé of Dr. Louis Leaky. Dr. Galdikas has been in the field for more than 47 years and is the longest living person to study these mammals. Irene takes groups to the Orangutan Foundation International (OFI) in Borneo, Indonesia where they meet with Dr. Galdikas and enjoy a private visit of the orangutan sanctuary. “Since I have been going to the orangutan sanctuary for such a long time, the orangutans know me. It’s a delight to see them grow up,” Irene says. “I have some that I have been fostering and watching since they were babies.” The care center that Irene takes her adventure tourism clients to is closed to the public and only available through one of Irene’s tours. It houses 330 orangutans who may eventually be released back into the wild. While Irene meets the requirements of her adventure travel clients by providing them with unique exploration-type tours, she does so much more. Beyond just adventure travel, she offers experiential travel that is life changing. Many of Irene’s clients begin to cry when they are at the orangutan sanctuary having the interactions with the animals. Afterwards, her clients go on African safari tours or other adventure tours but find that the experience in Borneo was so special it is hard to match.