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The ancestors of Poruma Island (formerly known as Coconut Island) built their houses out of grass, coconut leaves and trees that floated down from the Fly River jungles of Papua New Guinea. Each island around Poruma will impress you with its own striking feature – a massive rock bar, sea turtle hatchery, bird life, giant sea clam ground, huge palms, WW2 relics or massive sand flats.
There are 19 Island communities in the Torres Strait with populations ranging from 80 to 750. The weather is more tropical than Tahiti, Fiji or the Caribbean. The wet season averages between 27°C to 32°C, the dry between 23°C and 28°C.
Accommodation on Poruma Island
The thatched guest suites cleverly combine the original Island style with modern comforts, to stunning effect. Each open-plan beach suite includes a master bedroom that leads, via a plunge pool and bath garden, to your lounge room on the edge of the beach. From here, the sunset views to the west are spectacular.
Built in the authentic Poruma style, each stunning hut is luxuriously equipped and furnished, with a king-sized bed on elevated platform. Each bedroom even has its own plunge pool, just the thing for cooling off in the midday heat.
The huts are situated on the western end of the island, the best location for beautiful sunsets. Islanders call this end ‘gaigalkuth’ which means ‘sunset end’. You can swim or fish in front of the beach suites on any tide and enjoy the reef, corals and marine life.
Poruma Island's Culture and Adventures
The Poruma Islanders are Melanesians, ethnically close to the people of Papua New Guinea. Their language, known as Kalaw Lagaw Ya or Yumiplatok, adopts many of the words and phrases from the pidgin that is the universal language of Papua New Guinea.
On Poruma Island you can explore coral buildings, churches, hand crafted artefacts and Poruma’s early trading history, or even weave your own straw hats with the locals.
The Torres Strait also has fantastic pearl diving and interesting WW2 history.
Experience seafood delights like the delicious local painted crayfish, magnificent king prawns, sashimi, mud crabs, coral trout and more. Try native foods including wongaii, arrowroot, mangoes, yams and papaya.
Each island around Poruma will impress you with its own striking feature – a huge rock bar, sea turtle hatchery, bird life, giant sea clam ground, WW2 relics or massive sand flats.
If you are lucky, the Poruma local fishermen might be available for a lesson in traditional fishing techniques – netting mullet, diving for painted crayfish and trochus shells or spearfishing.
Location of Poruma Island Resort
Poruma Island is located in the Torres Strait between mainland Australia and New Guinea. Torres Strait links the Coral Sea to the east with the Arafura sea to the west, it's reefs and sand cays make up the most tropical latitudes of the Great Barrier Reef.
The Torres Strait is named after Spanish sailor, Captain Torres who sailed through with the trade winds in 1606. Nowadays, tourists are more likely to fly to Poruma Island on a private charter from Horn Island or Cairns. Liase with reservations for the best advice on travel arrangements.
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