Already in 1979, Dr. Weiglein was adopted by Egidius Soter, clan head of the Beriten Asmat Clan, during a cult ceremony. Since then he is also called “Emenji” which translates to “the one who comes with many heads”. 

His big passion is to travel. As a 16 year old teenager he already visited Afghanistan and India. In 1982, he took part in a Camel Trophy in Papua New Guinea. After that he was an active member of the Camel Trophy society and often joined the German Camel Trophy team.

Since 1979, his main interest is in the cultures of Oceania, especially in Papua, the Indonesian part of the New Guinea island. Until today, he successfully organised and guided more than 250 expeditions in New Guinea and the Salomon Islands. Many publications for specialized press and books underline his experience and reputation. Furthermore, Dr. Weiglein is co-author of publications by world-famous explorers Heinrich Harrer and Dieter Kronzucker. The physician organised and guided more than 20 TV productions to China, Mongolia, Namibia and especially Papua/Indonesia. With more than 30 tours to the Carstensz Pyramid one can safely assume that he is the current world record holder for tours to this mountain. 

In 1997, he began building the Baliem Valley Resort, a pioneering tourism project in what was and still is Indonesia’s most remote province – Papua. The final approval for the project had to be given by the then President Suharto himself. The Resort opened in late 1999 and has since become a base for adventurers and travelers from all over the world.

Today, Werner’s main interest is the qualified development of ecotourism projects in Papua and the further development of his cultural and educational projects, such as the Papua Student House, the Papua Museum and the Indonesian Culture Center.

His Papua Museum in Gelnhausen, Germany was inaugurated in 2015 and can be visited upon request.