Destination unknown!
Solomon Islands
Well we knew we were flying to the Solomon’s and we knew where to point it out on the map and we knew there was great diving and that there where beautiful people with brown skin in blond hair, but that was about it!
We did not know most people in the Solomon’s had red teeth, that you can buy a really big fresh tuna at the market for 40 Solomon Dollars (4 euro), that there are salt water crocodiles, that it was hit by the coop in 2000, then by political unrest in 2006 an later the tsunami in 2007 and because of that there is little to no tourism. We also did not know there was surfing going on here, that you can buy little to no new clothes but only second hand in the Capital Honiara, that electricity and plugs are the same as in Australia. 5 days in we are a lot wiser and can tell you how it is to arrive in Honiara, to dive wrecks and to sit in an American Fighter plane (Hell Cat) at 10 meters depth.
We can tell you how hot and humid it is, how to bring your own tuna back from the market by the tail and what it feels like when a little kid from a village close to Gizo gets you a coconut from a 10 meter high coconut tree. We have seen so many smiles and friendly faces and we have snorkeled in the clearest waters and we had lunch on a deserted island.
We arrived on Friday afternoon from New Zealand via Brisbane in Australia to Honiara, the capital of the Solomon Islands. We had magnificent views from the plane! This was going to be great…we thought. We imagined ourselves on white palm fringed beaches and nice wooden bungalows on the edge of the city. Wrong!
You have to understand that you arrive in a city of a third world country. It is not the cleanest, you do not understand pidgin and although it is almost English people will not always understand you. If you go to the local market you are the attraction, everywhere you see curious eyes. And although you would think everything is cheap here, it is really not! Because it is so remote food other than bananas, Mango’s, pine apples and fish is very expensive. Also getting somewhere can be quite an expensive challenge, hotels are not up to western standards at all but still around 50 euro’s a night, or more. There is litter everywhere and there is little to no infra structure. So why go to the Solomon’s you would think.
Because if you love diving this is the destination to be. Honiara has one good dive center called Tulagi dive run by Niel an Australian guy who has been living in the Solomon’s for a long time. There are lots of wrecks just of the shore. These ships are leftovers from the shootings and bombings between the Japanese and the Americans. Next to diving there is not a lot to Honiara but Gizo is amazing! This is the main reason people come here.
A small island is between hundreds of other small Solomon islands as little as 5 by 3 meters. The town is sweet and very small, with a market where you can do your daily shopping, yes: fish, mango’s, Pineapples and bananas. On Gizo you can dive with Dive Gizo. This is run by Danny and Kerry two lovely people with a passion for Gizo and all it has to offer. Go diving on Gizo and you can expect beautiful boat rides, lunches on deserted islands, great company wrecks, planes, wall dives, stingrays, reef sharks and hundreds of species of fish, oh and the warmest sea to dive ever. The water is the Solomon’s is allegedly the warmest in the world.
So arriving on Gizo after a few days in the capital was a relief! We have found the cutest guesthouse run by a family. It had private en-suite rooms amongst other options. It had a big balcony so chill on, a huge kitchen (not very modern but that is just so unimportant) fridges, pans, pots, stove the works.
We have done 6 dives in 4 days, we have done long amazingly stunning boat rides to Lola and other islands, we have dinned in with other guests and we have had dinner at Fat Boys, a very well known and good restaurant resort on a private island 10 minutes by boat. After dinner at fat boys we went back by taxi boat and we saw so many starts and falling stars, plankton in the water..oh it was just amazing. We have made new diving friends and we learned a lot more about the culture here in the Solomon’s. Oh and we visited a beach just 5 km from town. A taxi dropped us of and picked us up 4 hours later. All we had was a bottle of water. I know not very smart but I thought, well maybe we can get a drink somewhere. And we did. After 3 hours we got hungry and thirsty and I told this little fellow who was playing on the beach with his friends and brothers and sisters. He got in the tree and made us fresh coconuts. After that there were some young kids playing guitar and with the palm trees, white sand and blue clear see it was just wonderful.
We also saw some local guys surfing. Not on shore but on reef breaks, and actually a lot of surfers come here to do just that.
We have a lot more stories to tell you. But just remember that if you wish to travel somewhere exclusive, hot, cultural where you can do some amazing diving, contact us. We set you up with accommodation, transfers, airport pick up, tips etc. So you can enjoy your time here to the max.
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