Desert island castaway: Discovering two beguiling - and very isolated - African gems 

  • The Mail on Sunday's Wendy Driver toured Sao Tome and neighbouring Principe
  • Located on the west coast of Africa, the islands are both sparsely populated
  • She relished both the beach and forest at the luxurious Bom Bom Island Resort

I’m not used to being treated like a VIP, so I was surprised to see the red carpet laid out on the tarmac as we touched down in Sao Tome.

For a split second I wondered if it was for me, one of the few Brits ever to visit this former Portuguese colony right on the Equator. 

But it turned out that the warm welcome was intended for the island’s president and his entourage, who were also aboard the flight.

Castaway: Tourism is virtually unknown  but the islands of Sao Tome and neighbouring Principe, pictured, boast mountains shrouded in rainforest and secluded beaches galore

Castaway: Tourism is virtually unknown but the islands of Sao Tome and neighbouring Principe, pictured, boast mountains shrouded in rainforest and secluded beaches galore

No one seems to have heard of Sao Tome and neighbouring Principe – the two islands resemble a couple of ink spots just off the west coast of Africa.

Tourism is virtually unknown but the islands are beautiful, with mountains shrouded in rainforest, and secluded beaches fringed with coconut groves. 

The best way of getting there is a direct flight from Lisbon. It is a 12-hour journey, but as the islands are due south of the UK, they share the same time zone so jet-lag is not a factor. 

Principe, which is the smaller of the two, is about half the size of the Isle of Wight. It’s a 35-minute flight from Sao Tome and I felt like a castaway on my own desert island as I stepped off the plane.

There is one small hotel right on the beach – the luxury Bom Bom Island Resort is set between two long ribbons of sand in the midst of the jungle. The 20 or so bamboo villas with verandas are hidden on the hillside or else surrounded by gardens close to the shore.

A wooden footbridge leads across the water to Bom Bom Island, a tiny spit of land with an open-sided bar and a restaurant built out over the sea. 

Step on: A wooden footbridge from the luxurious Bom Bom Island Resort leads across the water to its own island, pictured

Step on: A wooden footbridge from the luxurious Bom Bom Island Resort leads across the water to its own island, pictured

Ruben, the activity manager, would pass among the tables to tell us about excursions, with Chaplin, an African grey parrot, perched on his shoulder.

Local fishermen stopped off with their catch at first light so we were served fresh fish every day, along with home-grown vegetables and herbs from Roca Paciencia, an old plantation nearby. 

Colonial-era estates are scattered across the island, some dating back 500 years. They resemble small villages, with workers’ homes, schools and hospitals built around a courtyard, but most are derelict, with trees growing through the rafters.

Colonial-era estates are scattered across the island, some dating back 500 years 

However, one or two are being converted into hotels with half a dozen rooms. 

The few roads on Principe are mostly dirt tracks leading through villages of wooden shacks built on stilts, and a large chunk of the island is a Unesco biosphere reserve and completely inaccessible, so the only way to explore is by boat.

One afternoon we sailed down the west coast to Baia das Agulhas. There was nothing to see except mile upon mile of impenetrable jungle, but suddenly, high above us, the clouds dispersed to reveal monolithic peaks of black rock and sugarloaf mountains rising from the forest floor. 

Service with a smile: A waiter serving crisp cold beer at the sunny Bom Bom Island Resort

Service with a smile: A waiter serving crisp cold beer at the sunny Bom Bom Island Resort

I went paddle-boarding along the shore in gin-clear water. The silence was broken only by the occasional sound of birds shrieking or hooting in the treetops. 

Birdwatchers need only take a few paces beyond the resort entrance to be surrounded by golden weavers, cobalt blue kingfishers and tiny sunbirds weaving their fragile nests with what looked like silver thread. 

A two-hour hike through the rainforest takes you to the ruins of the former capital Ribeira Ize in the next bay.

‘Slowly, slowly,’ advised my guide David, as I scrambled over fallen tree trunks and stumbled on sprawling roots. 

He split open cocoa pods for me to taste the milky pulp and handed me leaves from trailing vines that purportedly cured infections. A 400-year-old church is pretty much all that remains of this ancient city. 

Birdwatcher's paradise: The kingfisher, just one of Principe's many exotic inhabitants

Birdwatcher's paradise: The kingfisher, just one of Principe's many exotic inhabitants

On my last evening I sat quietly with Ruben on the beach at Praia Grande in the inky darkness. Just a few feet away, a green turtle was flicking sand over my face as she dug a deep hole to lay her eggs. 

It seemed to take hours, but once she had finished we knelt beside her while rangers tagged and measured her by torchlight.

‘She is a new mother,’ they told me. ‘She will lay another 400 eggs over the coming weeks but only one hatchling will survive to adulthood.’ 

Eventually she started her slow trek back to the sea, stopping to rest every few minutes, and leaving a trail in the sand before disappearing into the surf. She will now return to the same spot every year. 

Maybe I’ll come back some day too – even if next time I don’t get the red carpet.

GETTING THERE 

TAP Portugal (0345 6010932) flies from Heathrow to Sao Tome via Lisbon four times a week, with return fares starting at £718. 

Rainbow Tours (020 7666 1266) offers an 11-day trip to Sao Tome and Principe from £2,745pp. 

This includes four nights’ B&B at Omali Lodge on Sao Tome, six nights’ half-board at Bom Bom Island Resort, Principe, return flights with TAP Portugal, inter-island flights and transfers.

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