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Is this the greenest island on Earth? The surreal lost world you've never thought to visit

Lying off the west coast of Africa's is one of the world's most verdant islands - Scott Ramsay www.LoveWildAfrica.com
Lying off the west coast of Africa's is one of the world's most verdant islands - Scott Ramsay www.LoveWildAfrica.com

Hanging in midwater beneath the dive boat at a site called Pedra Adalha, a rocky outcrop north of Príncipe island in the Gulf of Guinea, my guide Ruben cupped his hand to his ear in a signal that meant “Listen”.

As we clung to the anchor line and began our safety stop – a three-minute pause to prevent “the bends” – I could make out a series of haunting whistles, trills and grunts, then a low grating rumble that reverberated through the water.

“Did you hear the whale?” Ruben asked, as we clambered on board the boat. It was humpback season and what we had heard was the leviathan’s distant song. After years of diving, this was a first – an eerie, spiritual moment entirely in keeping with the surreal lost world that is Príncipe.

Paired with larger São Tomé to the south, it lies 140 miles off Gabon in West Africa and is one of Telegraph Travel’s 20 places to visit in 2019, before the mainstream operators move in. The entire island is a Unesco Biosphere Reserve, meaning a quarter of it is uninhabited, with stark volcanic peaks rising through primeval forest, and the rest split between a “buffer zone” – where ecologically sensitive enterprises are allowed, including a handful of hotels – and a larger “transition area” where most of the 7,000-strong population earns a living from fishing and subsistence agriculture.

A growing number earn a living from tourism too, which brings us to Príncipe’s biggest challenge. How do you boost tourist numbers and revenue without ruining one of the last unspoilt wildernesses on Earth? What you need is someone with vision – and lots of money. Enter Mark Shuttleworth, a South African tech millionaire who lives on the Isle of Man “with 18 ducks, the equally lovely Claire… and the occasional itinerant sheep”, according to his website. In 2000 he formed HBD – the acronym stands for Here Be Dragons, used on medieval maps to indicate unknown territory – and began to invest in emerging markets. But it was his experience aboard the International Space Station in 2002 (he paid a reported $20 million to be South Africa’s first space tourist) that changed his perspective and stoked his passion for the environment.

Investing in sustainable tourism was one of Shuttleworth’s goals, and the blank canvas of Príncipe seemed like the place to do it. Since then, HBD has provided not just cash but experts – in forestry, agriculture, architecture, design, hospitality and more – to make Príncipe a viable eco-tourism destination. Is it the greenest island on Earth, or a rich man’s vanity project?

Arriving with my family at the tiny airport after the 35-minute hop from São Tomé, I was greeted by a huge poster – an aerial photograph of Príncipe bearing the distinctive logos, resembling Druid runes, of HBD’s four properties: Omali Lodge (where we had already stayed on São Tome), Bom Bom Island Resort (our next port of call), Sundy Praia (the newest and most luxurious, with 15 tented villas) and Roça Sundy (a restored plantation house). Outside, liveried 4x4s were poised to whisk guests to their accommodation of choice, driven by staff in crisp khaki uniforms. It felt more like a Save the Children convoy than an airport pickup, and HBD does have something of the aid charity about it.

That feeling was amplified as our vehicle bumped along the rutted, red earth track to Bom Bom, flanked by rainforest and plantations of cocoa and banana. Children waved as we passed; women carrying bundles on their heads walked by the roadside in the 30C heat. The languid, laidback atmosphere reminded me of the Caribbean but culturally it felt like the heart of Africa. If part of Shuttleworth’s mission is to alleviate poverty, there’s a lot of it about.

Idyllic beach on Principe - Credit: Scott Ramsay (lovewildafrica.com)
An idyllic beach on Principe Credit: Scott Ramsay (lovewildafrica.com)

His grand experiment began at Bom Bom, which opened in 2013. Its 19 russet-painted, weatherboard bungalows are sprawled across a promontory with a white-sand beach on either side, but the defining feature is a bridge lancing 150 yards across the water to Ilheu Bombom, an islet where the hotel restaurant is located. Walking across it to breakfast was the perfect way to start each day, perhaps bumping into Chaplin, the semi-tame African grey parrot, or watching one of the local spearfishermen who, when the tide is right, drag their canoes through the shallows beneath the bridge to avoid the long trip around the entire islet.

From a jetty next to the restaurant, a boat from Bom Bom’s Padi-accredited dive centre visits 11 sites, including the one where I heard my whale. Kayaking, snorkelling and stand-up paddleboarding are available, but the real joy is immersing yourself in nature. From a sunlounger I watched through binoculars as bright yellow Príncipe weaver birds built their nests from palm fronds in a tree above my head. Sensing a sudden movement, I turned to see a Madagascar kingfisher alight on the rail of our balcony. Later I would spot a Príncipe kingfisher, or cho-cho, with its pale grey or powder-blue breast and larger, redder beak. Like the weavers, it is only found here.

A Madagascar kingfisher - Credit: iStock
A Madagascar kingfisher Credit: iStock

This is a place where nature sneaks up on you, rather than you seeking it out. One day we took a boat ride to Baía das Agulhas (Bay of Spires) in the untouched south of the island, known for its phonolite towers – needles of volcanic rock that pierce the equatorial clouds like a scene from Jurassic Park. As we cruised the mirror-calm, eerily green waters past Dali-esque geological structures lapped by the waves, the captain shouted: “Whale!” There, just 20 yards in front of us, the cambered backs of a humpback and her calf arched through the water, accompanied by the breathy sound of spouting. The same thing happened when we went to explore some of the north’s golden beaches ­– pretty as a Bounty ad, but always completely deserted. Elsewhere I have set out to watch whales and failed; twice in Príncipe I encountered them by accident.

So far, so natural – but how else is Bom Bom green? Like all HBD resorts on the island, it sources ingredients for its kitchen, spa and bathroom products from Roça Paciência, a former plantation which is now a centre of organic horticulture, or from two other farms owned and run by HBD. Everything from ginger, basil and lemongrass to muesli mix and vinegar made from fermented cocoa beans comes from here. On a visit I saw soap made with malva (mallow) and moringa (drumstick tree) and essential oils distilled from peppermint. Local fruits such as jaca (jackfruit), sape-sape (soursop) and fruta-pão (breadfruit) are promoted on menus and many of the vegetables are grown at Paciência, too.

Beehive ginger inflorescence on Principe island - Credit: iStock
Beehive ginger inflorescence on Principe island Credit: iStock

In reception, a poster signals Bom Bom’s involvement with the Water and Recycling project. Locals can exchange 50 plastic bottles for one reusable one made of stainless steel, to be filled at fountains around the island. So far, 222,000 bottles have been collected, reducing plastic waste. Add a turtle conservation project and the tour we did (twice) to a women’s cooperative that makes jewellery from recycled glass, and it’s a greenish mix.

Then there are the hiking trails – greenery of a different kind. We began with TR5, a looping, one-hour circuit of Ilheu Bombom islet, with opportunities to snorkel at coves along the way. At the other extreme was TR7, a high-energy, high-altitude trek with our guide Ignaciu to swim in the chilly pools of Ôque Pipi waterfall, negotiating the steep inclines, sucking mud and moss-covered tree roots of the Parque Natural Obô do Príncipe, within the wilder, pristine part of the island.

When Bom Bom staff suggested we walk the three-hour TR4 to Sundy Praia while our luggage was transferred by road, it gave us a chance to meet Spencer, another inspirational local guide. After pressing a fern-like iglesia leaf on our arms to produce a white tattoo, traditionally worn for church celebrations, he led us on a forest walk past oca trees (with flat, flange-like roots used to build canoes), pão sabon (whose pounded leaves produce a milky green soap) and the piri-piri bush with its fiery red chillis, used to make a local pepper sauce, malagueta.

Botany lesson over, we rolled up to the reception of the architecturally imposing Sundy Praia, the island’s first and only five-star hotel, and were bowled over by the opulence. We had a three-suite tented villa to ourselves, with its own infinity pool and expansive deck, nautical styling (cream canvas, steel fittings, sturdy masts), knock-out interiors and direct access to the beach – but the property was not without its flaws. My son’s shower leaked, pouring water into the living area; the phone in the room didn’t work (“Network error”); the aircon was too cold, the shower lukewarm and the service less polished than you might expect.

But what should one expect? Talking to Manuel Barbosa, the general manager, about what he and others keep referring to as “The Project”, I began to form a theory about “kind tourism”. In a country where the hotel sector is embryonic, where infrastructure is poor, where some staff have only just made the transition from harvesting cocoa in the forest to mastering silver service and making the perfect espresso, shouldn’t we make some allowances?

Manuel explained how HBD had recruited local youngsters (it is the second largest employer on Príncipe, after the government), taught them the English names for glass, plate, knife, fork and spoon using labels stuck to the relevant items, coached them in people skills – and then let them loose on some of the pickiest clients on Earth. Sure, nobody came to take my coffee order on the first morning – and after I’d asked, nobody topped up my cup later. But as we chatted, complimented and really got to know this milestone generation of Príncipeans, including all their names, you could see their stature and confidence growing. This idea, of promoting self-worth, is surely a linchpin of green tourism.

At Roça Sundy, our final port of call, the idea of community is taken to extremes. The hotel is a tastefully restored Portuguese-colonial plantation house – arched verandah, shutters, Farrow & Ball colours, zoological prints, antique tiles – set on a derelict cocoa plantation, or roça, its workers’ quarters repurposed as housing for the community. Children hang out in the square where washing is laid out on the grass to dry; dogs wander freely; the faded colonial church is still used for Saturday services – and hotel guests are welcome there.

The idea is that tourists mingle with locals, hearing their stories, understanding their lives. In practice – not least because of the language barrier – it feels awkward, highlighting differences rather than commonalities. Instead, ask for a tour with Paulinho Martins, now in his early sixties, a Cape Verdean who came to Príncipe at the age of eight as an indentured labourer on this plantation and now works for HBD. His stories of hard labour and ethnic strife were harrowing, but the insights he gave into cocoa production and Príncipe’s darker past were more vivid than any history book.

The Roça Sundy, a restored Portuguese colonial plantation house - Credit: Geraldine Bruneel
The Roça Sundy, a restored Portuguese colonial plantation house Credit: Geraldine Bruneel

“I’ve recently learnt to make chocolate,” he told me proudly, “and the plan is to have a chocolate factory here.” Gesturing towards the cocoa drying sheds, the accommodation blocks and the rusting machinery dotted around the place, which must hold so many memories, he told me how happy he would be if this became a cocoa museum. I’m sure Mark Shuttleworth is on the case.

How to do it

São Tomé Choice (01768 721050) offers a nine-night Secrets of São Tomé and Príncipe holiday from £3,398 per person, based on two people sharing on a half-board basis. The price includes international flights with TAP Air Portugal and internal flights from São Tomé to Príncipe. Additional nights at the five-star Sundy Praia cost from £490 per person per night, based on two sharing a one-bedroom tented villa on a half-board basis.