There’s Something About The Solomons

Knee deep in leaves, mud and branches, I had a sudden, but very deep appreciation for the people who create and maintain walking tracks. It’s always going to be an interesting day when you follow a barefoot man with a machete into the jungle, but this was more off-the-beaten-track than even the most well-worn of Rough Guides could prepare you for. The jungle floor was somewhat of an optical illusion: the mighty tree branches you thought would take your weight seemed to crumble at the lightest touch while the vines, thin as thread, were unbreakable as you stumbled through them.

REMOTE VILLAGE STAYS

Kolombangara is a volcanic island in the Western Provence of Solomon Islands. It gets very few tourists in the main town of Ringgi, and even fewer in the more remote village stays.

The local guide led us through the jungle along an unmarked and seemingly untrodden path with ease. I followed behind, alternating between tripping on vines and the shin-height stumps of the bushes he had just cleared. Several muddy, scrambling hours into what was supposed to be a two-hour hike we stopped for lunch, uncertain as to whether we had reached our final destination, we were lost, or if we hadn’t had a particular destination in mind to begin with.

Wherever we were going we seemed to have arrived as, after eating some village-grown fruit as we perched on a log, we set off back in the direction we came from. The machete-wielding guide leading the way. Later he told us it had been many years since any tourists had been to hike that route, which is why it had grown over or ‘gone bush’ as he described it. At the end of our walk, our guide used the bush telephone (a wolf whistle) to tell his brother to bring the boat around from the village to collect us. As someone who texts my husband to ask him to do something from the next room, this was a wake-up call that it is possible to communicate without a device in hand—even in 2024.

The village itself, set on the shore of a sandy beach, overlooked a calm bay where you could watch the villagers paddle out in their dugout canoes to fish. On arrival in the village we were given fresh flower leis and shown to our hut. Simple, but just what you need after a long boat ride. Village life involves a lot of manual labour—you can’t just pop to the shop or order takeout. But the extended families work together on farming small crops, cooking meals and maintaining their buildings. Coming from a busy western city, the quiet, slow pace of the island is uncomfortable at first, but once you let yourself relax into the hammock on your verandah you will never want to pick up your phone or open your laptop again.

WWII HISTORY

Solomon Islands is made up of 992 pristine tropical islands scattered throughout the Pacific Ocean. The main island is Guadalcanal, where the international flights arrive, and the start of your Solomons journey. The main town of Honiara is a bustling city with a fascinating past. Jump on a tour with a local guide to find out about the WWII history and the continued military presence on the island. If you are a diver, there are sunken battleships to be explored just off the coast.

SNORKELLING WITH REEF SHARKS AND PADDLEBOARDING WITH DOLPHINS

Talking of diving and snorkelling, there are not many places in the world where you can feel so far removed from your regular life and so close to nature. If you want to step off your balcony and snorkel with reef sharks this is the place to be. In most places where you can see wild dolphins, there are so many people and boats that you might only see a few, or one pod. In the Solomons, there are definitely far more animals than humans and the undisturbed waters mean that when you see a dolphin, you see 30 or 40 dolphins.

To reach your village stay, fly from Honiara to Gizo. Once in Gizo, there are a few islands dedicated to tourists which you can visit on your way to Kolombangara—Imagination Island or Fatboys Resort are great options. The word resort is slightly misleading, they are more like dreamy huts on semi-private islands surrounded by coral reefs, with the most incredible sunsets you will ever see. The food is locally caught or grown and cooked fresh by locals—a highlight of any stay is a boat trip to a private beach for a Solomons-style BBQ served on banana leaf plates. The resorts all work together and you can easily hire a boat to check out the snorkelling and lunch offerings at another island. They will also help organise your boat transfers for your village stay.

With paddleboards, kayaks, fishing trips, snorkelling and diving, you will not run out of things to do and adventures to have. This remote part of the Solomons is packed to the bamboo rafters with colourful coral, tropical sunshine, and a seemingly unending crystal-clear ocean as far as the eye can see.

GETTING THERE

Fly to Honiara with Solomon Airlines from Brisbane, Port Vila or Nadi. From there you can get a connecting flight to Gizo and then a boat to your destination.

This trip is perfect for couples or families with older kids.