IMAGES: CHRISTOFFER ÅHLÉN; CHARLOTTE WIGRAM-EVANS; AWL IMAGES
PRÍNCIPE
The caterpillar has something of the punk rocker about it, thanks to a bristling mohawk of black hair running the length of its back
lucky — 10 years ago, the economy was struggling. There were no jobs, and my friends were all leaving the island. Now, we all want to stay. And why wouldn’t we? It’s the most beautiful place on Earth.” Behind thick, indignant clouds stained scarlet
and aubergine, the sun is setting, the day slowly draining from this extraordinary landscape. A flock of grey parrots call out their goodnights as they wheel across the sky, mud crabs make their first tentative moves across the sand and I spot the endemic Dohrn’s thrush-babbler posing on a palm frond as I make my way back to my suite at Sundy Praia. The low-key luxury hotel is one of the three Mark owns on the island. “Nature is the USP here, and it’s crucial people
know that,” Emma Tuzinkiewicz tells me the following day. I’ve met HBD’s sustainability director for a lunch of ceviche and lightly spiced octopus fresh from the ocean and hot off the grill. “There’s no industry here, no big companies, no nothing — and, as Mark always says, people are most motivated by love and money. To safeguard the natural world, people need to profit from it.” Her project, which was pioneered in Costa Rica,
Clockwise from top left: Dishes like ceviche use fish caught that same morning; acraea caterpillars are found nowhere else in the world; Príncipe’s jungles are some of the most biodiverse on the planet; luxury hotel Sundy Praia blends into the surrounding jungle
pays both travellers and locals to plant trees that add to the island’s biodiversity. Emma also works to ensure that as many guest dollars as possible are ploughed back into education and conservation, while also driving through initiatives to cut waste and recycle; rubbish pick-ups have become a weekly social gathering in Príncipe’s toy-town capital, Santo Antonio. And when I meet my second guide, I see how love also plays a large part in the population’s resolve to protect its greatest asset. Jackson seems to come alive beneath the canopy.
During our drive to the entrance of the Obô Natural Park of Príncipe, he’s quietly contemplative, yet in
the shadow of towering kapok trees, with butterflies as small as buttons dancing around his ears, all his shyness evaporates. “Welcome to my happy place,” he grins. “Welcome to the jungle.”
The forest and the future We take the Oquê Pipi Waterfall Trail. Steam rises
from leaves as big as elephant ears, coral trees rain down petals the colour of a freshly stoked fire and birds sing us a morning symphony as Jackson reads me the story written in the jungle. “This little guy will become one of Príncipe’s
most beautiful butterflies, the endemic acraea species,” he says, pointing to a caterpillar that has something of the punk rocker about it, thanks to a bristling mohawk of black hair running the length of its back. “If you happen to pay for something with a 10 dobra note, there will be a picture of this butterfly on it. In fact, all our money has wildlife printed on it.” It’s a fitting echo of the impassioned speech
Emma had given me the day before: that on this tiny island, nature isn’t just captivating — it’s currency. The giant tree frogs belching heartily from their hidden perches in the undergrowth appear on the 20 dobra note, while pretty, pocket- sized shrews grace the fives. “And beyond wildlife, we have so many endemic
plants here, too,” Jackson continues. “This is nature’s pharmacy; we’ve been using the plants found in the jungle as medicines for centuries.” He points out the frilly edges of a mosquito leaf,
famed for its insect-repelling properties, and the rare micaco plant, a potent aphrodisiac. There’s bark for toothache, roots to aid the digestive system and the bulging blooms of a giant begonia, whose petals are said to soothe skin conditions.
NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC TRAVELLER – ISLANDS COLLECTION 15
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