Savo

Introducing Savo

If you’re a reality-TV show producer, rejoice: Savo has the ideal setting for your next shooting of Survivor, with a laid-back tempo, a couple of welcoming accommodation options and yes, wild, wild scenery. Though lying just 14km north of Guadalcanal, Savo is a world away from the capital, which will seem like a bustling metropolis once you’ve made it here. It’s an active volcano with a pair of dormant but potentially dangerous craters, one enclosing the other. Much of the island is fringed by coconut groves and a narrow strip of grey-sand beach.

The island has a number of hot springs and thermal areas containing boiling mud pools. The most easily accessible are Reoka hot springs, which can be reached after a one-hour walk following the course of the Kolika River upstream – a very scenic walk in a tropical setting. The final stretch is a bit tricky; you’ll have to clamber in parts. The water bubbling up is hot enough to poach an egg.

Make sure you see the megapode field which extends for around 400m along the beach, to the northwest of Savo. During the night, hundreds of female birds come to the field and dig down to about 90cm, where the temperature is ideal to incubate their eggs. Come very early as the birds fly off once the villagers come to harvest the eggs, which are considered a local delicacy.

Savo is one of the most dependable locations in the Solomons to spot pods of dolphins, which usually congregate off the west coast and can be seen frolicking around boats: a magical experience.

Last updated: Feb 17, 2009