Where there’s a will, there’s a way.

For Rory and Melita Hunter, their desire to create a sustainable sanctuary of uncompromising luxury has underpinned their entire married life.

In fact, the entity behind Song Saa Private Island was born the day the couple returned to Cambodia from their honeymoon.

Since then Rory and Melita have faced mountainous personal and professional challenges, making it all the more satisfying to watch their vision take shape.

Melita has fought and beaten cancer. The couple has survived the wild ride of the global economic crisis. And they have become first-time parents to a Cambodian boy named Naryth.

And while all that was going on, they’ve been breaking new ground in Cambodia, becoming the first to develop a private island, and setting new tourism standards that match any in the world.

Melita is the creative mind behind the project, responsible for the architecture, master planning, and interior design.

But she admits she can’t lay claim to the name.

The island where guests will stay – and its partner on the other side of a narrow ribbon of turquoise sea – are known to Cambodians as Song Saa, or ‘The Sweethearts’. “We didn’t come up with the name. There’s something pretty special about it, especially when we think about what the islands have meant to us,” Melita says. “Perhaps they found us, not the other way round. Who knows, but one thing’s for sure, our futures are intrinsically linked.”

Having broken new ground in the tourism industry, with Rory at the helm of negotiations that have involved every level of government, the couple is now firmly focused on the future of their paradise found – guarding its natural assets and providing new opportunities for local communities.

With their vision almost complete – the island will open to visitors in late 2011 – Rory and Melita are already looking ahead.

“Song Saa is a very important part of our future. We plan to open another two Song Saa sanctuaries in Cambodia over the next three years, modelled on the same mix of environmental protection and social responsibility alongside world-class luxury,” Rory says.

As for Naryth, his focus is firmly on fish. “Look fish! Fish, fish, fish Papa!” he says on his trips to the islands.

Ah the simple things …