Conflict Islands PNG

We are sitting on deck chairs on the terrace of the Panasesa Island bar. Our boat bobs quietly on a bright blue canvas just in front of us, and tropical islands break the horizon in all directions. It seems surreal, Western indulgence amongst the subsistent style of life that is the norm for the Milne Bay province of PNG.

There are 20+ Islands around this magnificent atoll. The mainland is about 110 km to the West, the bulk of the Louisiade Archipelago Islands start about 50 km to the East.
The Conflict Group have been foreign-owned freehold since the English colonial days. In the past several owners have tried to establish tourism here, but due to its isolation, all failed. However, the current owners have done a marvelous job, sparing no expense to make this place a beautiful and hospitable stopover for large cruise liners like P & O that regularly travel through the close by Jomard Passage. Not only do they show off the beauty & culture of PNG in comfort but they have also put a significant effort into creating an Eco environment where turtles and marine life can flourish.

Syl with managers Cameron and Eliza from UK and Natalee from Perth, who was in charge of Turtle conservation. Wonderful young people 🙂

They do not cater for cruising yachts, but we struck it lucky. We had anchored nearby, a cruise liner had just left, and the managers invited us over for drinks which turned into dinner. Next day we got to walk around the island and check out the airfield, vegetable gardens, turtle hatchery and all the infrastructure they put in place. Very impressive.

Home to Australia.

The Conflict Islands were the last throw of the dice for us before cruising back to Australia. We stopped at Osprey Reef on our way home for some boat maintenance, which also gave us a much-needed rest. All was fine. We enjoyed our adventures in PNG, but it was great to be home for Christmas 2016.

• *To see more of our images of the Milne Bay Province, which stretches 250nm through the Louisiade Archipelago click here.
• For those interested in our PNG Milne Bay Province stories scroll thru destinations on this website……….
• Louisiades Sept 2106
• Inside Milne Bay November 2016
• Tawali Resort refuge November 2016
• Nuakata Islands December 2016
• Conflict Islands December 2016