THE CONFLICT ISLANDS
A bold plan to take cruise ships to Panasesa Island – the largest of the Conflict Islands of PNG – is a win for passengers, the locals and the pristine environment.
An island getaway on pristine white sands.
As far as press junkets go, this one took the cake – the opportunity to accompany a multimillionaire to his group of 21 private and uninhabited islands in a far-flung corner of Papua New Guinea, and report on his grand plan to create a five- star resort with over-the-top features such as a jet strip, golf course and luxury overwater bungalows.
It sounded like the kind of thing that would mess with the delicate ecosystem of the so- called Conflict Islands – as the atoll (which is part of Milne Bay, ranked among the top dive sites in the world) is known. But according to owner Ian Gowrie-Smith, developing the Conflicts is the only way to preserve them. “Forty per cent of the 100,000-odd people living on the surrounding islands are under 15 years of age,” he says. “When they grow up, they are probably going to be involved in unsustainable fishing practices for their own survival. So the only logical answer is to create tourism-based employment opportunities.”
Initially, I was skeptical of this plan. The Conflicts are in the middle of nowhere, in a country better known for tribal warfare than luxury resorts. But Gowrie-Smith answered all of my questions with aplomb, and proved himself to be the antithesis of your average rich-list nominee; an unlikely eco-warrior. My report, published in the July 2014 issue of MiNDFOOD, gave his concept the thumbs-up.
But the idea never took off. Gowrie-Smith did, however, come up with an interesting plan B – a deal with Carnival Cruises to include Panasesa Island, the largest of the Conflicts, as a stop on its Papua New Guinea and South Pacific island cruises.
“Their environmental footprint is virtually zero – they take away any waste they generate on the day,” he explains. “I have not seen as much as a loose cigarette butt on the island.”
My interest piqued, I hatched my own plan – to travel to Panasesa and see it before, during and after the next cruise ship visited. Would it remain pristine after being stormed by up to 1000 cruise passengers in a single day? Or would paradise be lost?
After a long journey from Sydney, I finally disembark at a jetty that cost a whopping $500,000 to build. Then I stroll into the resort’s plantationstyle clubhouse. Sitting at a table is Ed Cardwell, Panasesa’s general manager, and we chat about the island.
“We make more money from cruise ships coming here a dozen times a year than we would operating all six bungalows at full occupancy every day of the year,” he states.
After breakfast, I take a look around. The area is a beachcomber’s dream, with the Conflicts’ central lagoon sparkling in the sun. In the distance I can see Carnival’s P&O cruise ship. Its dinghies soon begin dropping off passengers, and their faces light up on seeing the island’s white sand and electric-blue waters. “It’s beautiful, just beautiful,” says Sally McMillan from Brisbane.
Passengers are free to wander around or find a little beach to work on their backstrokes or tans. Many take advantage of the activities on offer – snorkelling tours, glass-bottomboat tours, kayak tours, history tours, sailing trips on a traditional outrigger canoe, and tours of the marine-turtle rescue and rehabilitation centre.
By midday, most of the guests have amassed along the stretch of white sand on Panasesa’s back beach. The strip feels like Bondi on a sunny weekday, with passengers spread out on picnic tables, under palm trees, on a dreamlike sandbank, or in the crystal-clear water that hides the true magic of the Conflicts – technicolour reefs home to 430 coral species, 950 species of invertebrates, 1100 kinds of fish, manta rays, giant sea turtles and harmless black-tip reef sharks.
“We’ve been to other islands, but this place tops it visually,” says Kyle Drewery from Brisbane. Adds his wife Shantel: “That reef out there, there’s so much marine life – it’s amazing, stunning, the highlight of this trip.”
By 3pm, when the last passenger has left, I do a reconnaissance around the island to see how the environment has fared. True to Gowrie-Smith’s words, I can’t see any rubbish or mess at all – not even a single loose cigarette butt left on the beach. The passengers, he says, “seem to respect [the land] and take on the shared responsibility to leave it how they found it: absolutely pristine”.