P&O Pacific 12: Conflict Islands, Fraser Island, Onboard Health.

TA K I’M EM YO EHO UR M S E

pacific ISSUE 12 2017

The future of play Have you ever wondered what it’s like to step inside a game?

meet the comedy queen COMEDIAN KAT DAVIDSON GETS THE GIGGLES ONBOARD

tastes as old as time THE ANCIENT FLAVOURS OF FRASER ISLAND

TRAVEL

The Conflict Islands are some of the most remote islands in the world

CONFLICT ISLANDS

g harmon n i g n i y br ~to the~

conflict islands

How did an isolated group of islands in Papua New Guinea became a signature stop for eco-aware cruise guests?

In the hammock: Roderick Eime

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hen you see ‘Conflict Islands’ written on the page of your travel brochure, you’d be forgiven for thinking it’s a place to avoid. Far from it. These all-but-uninhabited islands, every 21 of them, are in fact located within one of the most diverse marine ecosystems anywhere in the world.

Located 130km west of Alotau, Papua New Guinea (PNG), the islands are truly special — and we’re cruising there regularly.

Of course, it’s easy to speak in glowing terms about the pristine beaches and impossibly clear waters that surround this remote lagoon in the Louisiade Archipelago.

The islands, formed by ancient volcanos, are like a scene from The Land Time Forgot, but it’s the picturesque reefs that really steal the glory.

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TRAVEL

Did you know?

THE ONLY WAY YOU CAN VISIT THE CONFLICT ISLANDS WITHOUT HIRING THE ENTIRE RESORT IS ON ONE OF OUR SHIPS.

HOW DID P&O GET INVOLVED? “The connection was pure serendipity,” says Ian Gowrie-Smith, who privately owns the entire atoll and its islands.

“A couple of years ago now, I went in to see P&O about using the island as a cruise stop, and what transpired was a like-minded relationship with P&O, who were just as keen as I was to see the islands preserved and utilised in a sustainable way,” he says.

This involvement has included the participation of locals in all shore-based activities during our ships’ visits, as well as the installation of many thousands of dollars worth of infrastructure, such as power, a cyclone-proof wharf, storage, shelters and watercraft.

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The main island is open to our guests and to travellers for private hire

“In the Coral Sea, there are fantastic reefs scarcely seen by other travellers, with beautiful reef slopes dropping into indigo blue water, all teeming with fish and other marine life,” Dr Andy Lewis, a noted marine biologist and ecotour guide, says. “The waters of PNG offer some of the best diving and snorkelling in the world.”

Justin Friend, an experienced PNG guide and interpreter, agrees. He’s spent much of his life scouring PNG’s seas and coastline to find suitable sites for filmmakers, including James Cameron.

“I think much of the attraction of the Conflicts is that they’ve been largely overlooked by everyone except some local fishermen,” Justin says. “The reefs, lagoons and the islands themselves have had very little human interference and look now much as they have done for thousands of years, if not longer.”

The Conflict Islands owe much of their current desirability as a cruise and relaxation destination to this fact.

In a world where the terms ‘unspoiled’ and ‘pristine’ are used to describe so many holiday destinations, the islands in the

Conflict Group come very close to the literal definition of these overused words.

Arranged around a massive, gin-clear lagoon, their rich biodiversity of both coral and fish species offer guests a glimpse of our planet in its raw, natural state, almost untouched by humans.

As part of the wider Milne Bay Province, the most easterly in all of PNG, the Conflict Islands enjoy a location within an enviable environment and ecological hotspot. Both green and hawksbill turtles regularly visit to nest, rest and feed. Migrating orca, minke, pilot and humpback whales are often sighted within the lagoon itself and the adjacent seas, along with manta rays, dolphins and sharks.

But quite apart from the splendid isolation and castaway privacy, the reason you’re reading about these islands right now, and quite possibly visiting them on your cruise, is because of one man, Ian Gowrie-Smith. This self-confessed serial entrepreneur and rich-lister bought the entire atoll and its islands over 10 years ago as a real estate investment and resort development. But there’s a catch.

TRAVEL CONFLICT ISLANDS

THE ISLANDS THEMSELVES HAVE HAD VERY LITTLE HUMAN INTERFERENCE AND LOOK NOW MUCH AS THEY HAVE DONE FOR THOUSANDS OF YEARS. Marine life is abundant and thriving

“Ideally, I’d like to just leave them as they are, preserve them, but that’s no longer an option,” he told Sydney’s Daily Telegraph. “So I’m looking for people to share in this paradise, to help me look after the fragile ecosystem and develop the islands in a sustainable and responsible way for future generations.”

Even though no one has ever lived here on a permanent basis, itinerant fisherman have been known to harvest sea turtles and sharks in the lagoon, something Ian is determined to stop. But to do that, he needs partners.

Ian has plans for a Caribbean-style private island getaway for the super rich — and, luckily for you, he’s also opened these remote islands to our ships!

We have exclusive rights to cruise to the Conflict Islands, and a number of shore experiences available to help you make the most of paradise. You can explore on foot, kayak, stand-up paddleboard, snorkel, join a glass-bottom boat tour or an outrigger canoe tour. It’s certainly a destination that comes with bragging rights, and one that’ll stay with you forever.

FIND YOUR PEACE ON SHORE During your stop on the Conflict Islands, choose between any of the four one-hourlong shore tours we offer. All are designed to be light, breezy and totally in tune with the island’s relaxed tropical atmosphere.

You can sail on a traditional outrigger canoe in the lagoon, check out the complex reef system from a glass-bottomed boat or get wet on a snorkel adventure to see the marine life up close. Or you can play castaway and explore the island on foot on a guided walking tour.

This activity demonstrates to locals and the government that the islands are a valuable asset worth protecting and can bring modest income to the few inhabitants of the area, while also deterring poachers.

See the Destinations Manager onboard for more information about the Conflict Islands and Papua New Guinea.

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Discover the little-known uses of Australian natives on a Bush Tucker & Medicine Walk

e s t a s a t ~old as~ s time itself Fraser Island is famous for sand, but for thousands of years Aboriginal people survived on its generous, flavoursome bounty.

Tucking in: Roderick Eime

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hen you start telling someone about a visit to Fraser Island, you can bet they’re expecting to hear about your heroic exploits in a 4WD on the dunes or driving along the beach highway, but Queensland’s UNESCO-listed sand island has much more to say.

Often overlooked by the jet ski and kayak crowd is the island’s relationship with its traditional owners, the Butchulla people. They named Fraser Island ‘K’gari’ after the beautiful spirit who helped Yindingie, messenger of the great god Beeral, create the land.

As a reward to K’gari for her help, Beeral changed her into an island lush with trees, flowers and lakes. Beeral then put birds, animals and people on the island to keep her company.

The Butchulla learned to live with the land and respect it for its bounty. But not all visitors to K’gari felt the same way; logging and rough agricultural practices upset the balance of nature on Fraser Island right up until the early 1990s, long after the last of the Butchulla had left.

Now with its UNESCO World Heritage listing, Fraser Island is returning to the paradisal land once enjoyed by the Butchulla people. Our special shore tours will have you tasting, smelling and learning about the best of it!

Kingfisher Bay Resort, located on the island, has carefully crafted a bush tucker experience that’s sure to get you salivating. You can sample freshly cooked

FOOD

WHET YOUR APPETITE

FRASER ISLAND

Just some of the bush foods you can see and taste on your Fraser Island shore tour include:

1

BUNYA NUT (Araucaria bidwillii) High in protein and with a sweet, nutty taste, bunya nuts are often used as a substitute for meat.

2

LEMON MYRTLE (Backhousia citriodora) A native rainforest tree, this dense shrub or compact evergreen tree has dark green elliptical leaves to 10cm in length that give off a strong lemon scent when crushed.

3

BUSH TOMATO (Solanum centrale) Also known as ‘desert raisin’ or ‘kutjera’, this small berry is collected by Aboriginal people living in the Central Desert Region of Australia. It’s related to the tomato family and tastes like tamarillo and caramel.

4

DESERT QUANDONG (Satalum acuminatum) Also called ‘desert peach’, this fruit is high in vitamin C and has a tart apricot-and-peach flavour. It’s most common in South Australia and arid areas of Australia.

crocodile, kangaroo and emu, while one of the resort’s chefs demonstrates how to add native ingredients into your own cooking at home.

“The demonstration is really informative,” Sous Chef Nathan Roberts says. “It never fails — everyone is completely blown away by the amazing tastes and offerings of Australian bush tucker.”

sample rich bush tomatoes from the desert, quandongs from South Australia and Kakadu plums.

“People can try all the ingredients in their natural state and then taste them incorporated into some dishes like we cook at Seabelle,” Nathan says.

A guided bush tucker and medicine plant walking tour is the perfect way to learn

WATTLE SEEDS ARE ADDED TO JUS, BUSH SPICES ARE MIXED WITH COUSCOUS AND BARRAMUNDI IS BAKED TO PERFECTION IN NATIVE PAPERBARK. Nathan and the team use native ingredients to great effect in the resort’s award-winning restaurant, Seabelle.

Plates are garnished with nasturtiums, wattle seeds are added to jus, bush spices are mixed with couscous and barramundi is baked to perfection in native paperbark. Along with ingredients native to Fraser Island, you can also

more about the variety of useful plants that grow naturally in the region, including the headache-helping Snake Vine.

The gardeners at Kingfisher Bay Resort cultivate lemon myrtle in a small native garden, traditionally used both in cuisine and as a healing plant, just as Aboriginal people have done on the mainland for thousands of years.

Did you know?

ON FRASER ISLAND, YOU CAN FIND OVER 1,000 SPECIES OF PLANTS FROM MORE THAN 150 FAMILIES.

If you’re arriving in August or September, you’ll see the delightful wedding bush (Ricinocarpus pinifolius) covered in a profusion of small, fivepetalled, white flowers. But there are a number of wildflowers on display in other seasons, including pea flowers (Fabaceae family) and number of smallleaved heaths (Epacridaceae family).

Wandering the island in search of plants is a little bit like stepping back in time, and the purebred dingoes you may be lucky enough to see were almost certainly brought over by the Butchulla more than 5,000 years ago. Embrace the connection.

GETTING THERE See the Destinations Manager onboard for more information about Fraser Island and our unique shore experiences.

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~get~

t i f e s i u cr There’s no need to interrupt your daily fitness regime for your cruise holiday, as there’s plenty you can do to stay healthy onboard.

Staying active: Roderick Eime

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here’s a pervasive myth going around that cruise life is simply about lazing around on the ship all day.

But we reckon those who believe such myths are clinging to an outdated stereotype and likely haven’t taken a modern cruise of late, especially not one in Australia.

As you know, Aussies are renowned for their love of activity and the outdoors, which is just one of the reasons why cruising has become a top holiday pick.

If you want to spend your cruise alternating from deck chair to lounge, well, no one’s going to stop you — but there’s no need to interrupt your daily fitness regime 40 Pacific. Issue 12 2017

on your cruise holiday. There’s a whole new way of healthy living and exercise onboard, as well as plenty of things you can do from ship to shore to keep a balance on your slice (or slices) of indulgence.

Here are our top picks!

ONE GIANT STEP How many decks are there on your ship?

And how often are you taking the lift?

Hmm, well there’s an opportunity to get some natural cardio straight away! Don’t press that lift button — use the stairs instead and make your way up to the sundeck via the power of your own legs.

Try to set your limit to just one or two lift

rides per day and you’ll get extra exercise without even realising.

PROMENADE KING AND QUEEN Walking around the decks of your cruise ship is a perfectly agreeable thing to do.

All ships will have a complete circuit around one of the decks where you can power walk in your lycra (headband optional) or just enjoy a casual stroll in the early morning or as the sun goes down.

FOOD FOR THOUGHT The ship’s dining options allow you to eat pretty much whatever you want, so the choice is yours. But why not take the

ACTIVITY FITNESS

THERE’S AN OPPORTUNITY TO GET SOME NATURAL CARDIO STRAIGHT AWAY! DON’T PRESS THAT LIFT BUTTON — USE THE STAIRS INSTEAD. healthy option? Eating breakfast is an important start for the day, and we’ve got your favourite healthy breakfast foods onboard. Uncle Tobys’ cereals plus fresh fruit and juices are nutritious options that will help you power through your cruise day.

YIELD AT YOGA Yes, there is a reason that your yogi friends are always smiling and it’s not because of their funny pants. Yoga is excellent exercise for the body and an equally good timeout for the mind. Join a class or request a yoga mat for your

cabin, so you can bend and stretch whenever the mood strikes.

MIND AND BODY You’ll be surprised what you and the kids can learn about food during our onboard nutritional classes. Sure, it’s a bit cruel when there are pastries and jams right next to the grapefruit, but at least you’ll know what happens when you put both in your tummy. Knowledge is strength and perhaps you can take these lessons home.

SHORE THINGS When you’re scanning the activities menu for shore excursions, why not choose one Pacific. Issue 12 2017 41

ACTIVITY FITNESS

Did you know?

WALKING SIDEWAYS OR BACKWARDS WILL BURN MORE KILOJOULES, AND IT’S EASIER ON YOUR KNEES TOO.

that gets you stretching your legs? Check out the fitness level for each excursion and go half a notch up, instead of taking the easiest option. An active excursion is a rewarding one and often delivers a more enriching experience than seeing the world through a window. We’ve got some great walks available on shore, as well as kayaking, snorkelling, canoeing and jet skiing adventures.

SWEAT IT OUT Our onboard Fitness Centre features weight equipment, aerobic conditioning equipment and professional staff that will keep you working hard. We offer classes in yoga, Pilates, indoor cycling and boot camp, but you’re welcome to just enjoy some gentle stretches or easy workouts on any of the machines. With a bit of discipline, you can go every day and feel the better for it.

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You can take part in kayaking adventures at many of our ports of call

Now s er ved in our c afĂŠs on bo ard

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