Transcript
ADAM CONSTANZA: I am here as what they call an accompanying partner so they cover my costs and give me a living allowance, and I guess coming to Bougainville I had to find a project for myself. I don't have an official assignment and I have a real passion for small scale tourism and adventures. So I have been reaching out to individuals and small tourism related businesses and guest houses, and talking to them and trying to find I guess as many of the highlights of Bougainville as I can. So last weekend I took a four day hike up Mt Balbi, which is Bougainville's highest point. It is over 20 hours of hiking and it's just an unreal place up there. There's six or seven craters, there's a vivid blue crater lake, and yeah, just something like I have never quite experienced before. And also a lot of Bougainvilleans haven't seen a lot of the things on their doorstep, as well. They are challenging to get to, they are not the easiest places. So I wanted to increase awareness around Bougainville, both to Bougainvilleans and PNG, but also wider still. And give Bougainville a bit more of an online presence, for those people planning a trip to Bougainville.
DON WISEMAN: In terms of eco-tourism you are looking specifically at what?
AC: I am looking at the more active, outdoorsy pursuits, so I am a very keen hiker, and like I say, there's the Balbi trip but I have also hiked up to Lake Billy Mitchell, which again was a three day, extremely challenging hike. And that was through a small eco-tourism organisation. yeah I have been supporting them with information and also photographs and videos and just giving them more of an online presence. But that is really my aim, around the hiking . I have also been doing a lot of island hopping, out in banana boats. So out to nearby Pok Pok Island - there is a guest house out there that has a lot of visitors. They have also been giving them more of an online presence and promoting through magazines also.
DW: Can you see tourism becoming a significant revenue earner for Bougainville?
AC: I think it will always be small scale, just by the nature of Bougainville and how challenging it is to get to Bougainville. It is still challenging to travel around Bougainville, once you get here. There's a series of PMVs, [public motor vehicles, or small buses] that travel up and down the island each day. But it's a bumpy road, it's a long trip, it can take four to five hours to get from central Bougainville up to Buka Island [in the north]. There's lots of issues in terms of pre-planning trips and that's really where I have been trying to help, just giving Bougainville more of an online presence,, so that people do know what to expect, and they can maybe plan their trip a little bit better. But I don't see it being a huge economy booster, I think it will definitely be small scale but I think that also works for Bougainville and the current situation.
