Solomon Islands: News from the friendly Pacific Islands
I have been asked to send a copy of my Solomon Report to here.
To begin with. Solomon Islands are not a backpacker country but it is possible to live cheap if you know your way around, for an example with Couchsurfing and local hosts.
Visas for up to 3 months are free for most nationalities, especially from Western Europe, North America etc. The end of the valid date of your visa, is given according to your return/onward ticket out of the country. The immigration officer simply asked me when do you fly back and I told him the date but didn’t need to show him a ticket.
The 2 most expensive things are accommodation and traveling.
Rooms tend to start at S$ 250 / ca. USD 30 and go way up, possible cheaper in a homestay and certainly in a dormitory (but these are very rare), where you will be most likely to share your room with locals.
Flights are expensive and ferry travelling times between Honiara and Munda / Gizo doubled nearly (+20h) as the fast ferry doesn’t run anymore. If you get easy seasick, take a shorter trip.
Basic food like fish and chips, package noodles, cooked eggs and plenty of fruits are inexpensive, Water bottles are available at most places.
Money exchange and getting to/ from the airport. Generally only the 3 banks exchange foreign currency and all at very poor rates. But when coming out of the customs (and still inside the building I exchanged some money with a guy who had a small stall there, it’s the one on the RIGHT side (can’t remember the name), the left side is one of the banks with a poorer rate. I never got this rate again, once in town. A taxi costs around S$ 100 but you can walk to the main road and catch a minibus to Pt. Cruz (town center) for only S$ 3 and maybe another 3 for your luggage.
Within my time spent on the islands I stayed most of the time in Guadalcanal, in and around Honiara, where there is plenty to see and to do. See a small selection below.
In between I took a ferry (360 Discovery but there would be cheaper options) to Auki on Malaita Island and continued by public boat down to the Langa Langa Lagoon and back.
In Auki I stayed at SSEC Transit, a church-run dormitory where you get a bed for S$ 60. It is mainly used by locals, many of them who are teachers, getting to town to get their salary from far flung villages and towns. The place is very clean and friendly. It’s just behind the Anglican Church, a max. 5 Minutes’ walk from the jetty. Amy and Stephen, landline 401 81.
The freelance guide Silas is still in town, his new cell 745 82 01. He could bring you to a cave, a waterfall or somewhere else but to the waterfall you can easily go yourself. Make sure the entry fees are included in the price and count on say US 25 and up for a half or full day visit with him.
Later I spend time in the Langa Langa Lagoon and visited Alite Island, which is one of the typically man-made coral islands where the Busu Cultural Village is located. Thomas is the boss there, cell 846 00 10. His son Bernard’s cell is 750 79 06 for negotiations (boat transfer, homestay, programs). He mentioned a bed-price of S$ 200, S$ 50 more for food ( expect basic food), per person. Different tribes / clans live on the island and they seem to get along well with each other, as long as no tourist shows up. Basically that means if you want to see the other part of the island and walk through the stonewall entrance to their settlement, you are expected to pay them money, around US 12, even for a short visit. If you are not willing to pay that, just stay on Thomas’s side or the open area. There are an array of programs and shows to see at the Cultural Village but most need preparations and cost considerably money. Programs I have seen by chance (with an eccentric group of US guys who flew in to Auki by helicopter) included pan-flute and dancing groups, fire making and cooking, where the heated stones from the fire are directly put into the pot to cook the vegetables. There was a warrior dance and a group went out with slim traditional canoes. Shell money making and the demonstration of a bride price on a pretty girl are possibly the easiest things to organize plus fire making and cooking. Plenty of souvenirs and shell money will be offered to you for sale but there is no pressure at all to buy these things. Important to know is also that there are 2 more accommodation possibilities on the island but if you contact Thomas, you will likely end up in his rooms. Whatever you do, bring your own mineral water or purifier and a couple of ready-made noodles, just in case.
There is a public boat that runs in the afternoon around 2.30 – 4pm from the jetty in Auki to many destinations at the Langa Langa Lagoon for example to Alite and Serah’s Hideaway for just S$ 20 but the ride might take up to 2h instead of a 30 minutes direct run. The return boat goes in the morning around 7.30am. The boat ride is not guaranteed, check at the jetty or call Sam, cell. 844 95 48. No public boat on Sundays. If you arrive by public boat you might want to plan at least 2 nights, otherwise you hardly have any time as it gets early dark. On nearby but tiny Laulasi Island, they worshipped sharks and a group of ancestor- and enemy skulls can be seen in a small forest. Inquire about prices before leaving. The paddling time takes about 15 minutes from Alite Island.
If you want to spent time in luxury peace with excellent food (think barracuda, crayfish, squid or steak and are prepared to spend money - let yourself paddle over (about S$ 20 – 50) to Serah’s Hideaway, ca. S$ 500 – 600 per person per night, including food, cell +677 747 23 44. The accommodation in bungalows and a house are about S$ 250 – 300, meals go for around S$ 100 each. A new island, hand-made of course, just recently joined in and new bungalows are being produced. There is a small village nearby which you can reach by a chain of palm trunk bridges where on Saturdays and Sundays you might want to visit the church and nearby there is also a small village shop. Serah a charming local woman with a part-time present German husband is a very friendly host with plenty of knowledge about the islands and who built her islands by herself (with the help of workers). Her little paradise has plenty of orchids and in the water are plenty of fish (parrot, angler fish etc. and a couple of riff sharks which you can see while swimming, snorkeling or even from the land. If you have your own snorkeling equipment bring it along as the ones currently present are mainly broken.
There is a way from Serah to the mainland via a several kilometer long walk through the bush from where you can get to a road and ride back to Auki by bus apart from Sundays.
If you want to hire a boat to pick you up in Auki it will cost about S$ 300 from Thomas and S$ 500 from Serah, enquire when you call which is essential before you come and visit them. Sam might also be willing to help you out.
On my return trip I spent 2 nights in Tulagi. The walk around the island is nice and the town has a couple of rather expensive places to sleep, the cheapest being the Government Rest House for S$ 260 (ca. 30 Minutes walk from the jetty, others are much closer but cost S$ 350 and upwards .
In Honiara and around there are plenty of places to visit and I generally hitch-hiked to all destinations which was really easy. But there are also public busses along the main road. That way I went up to Visale which has a catholic church and a bit further, say 3km there is a basic new homestay “Welcome to Kalupa Beach” from a catholic father in Honiara. S$ 100 per night, bring / buy your own food. Currently there is only one room available with 2 beds and mosquito nets. A nearby shop sells very basic stuff like package noodles. Around lunch time the fishermen come back from the sea and would like to sell you their day’s catch. To be sure, bring your own water or purifier. The place is a couple of hundred meters on your right hand side, after the black / tar road ends, look for the small sign. Just before Visale which is about 42 km out of Honiara, there are 2 more homestays at the beach with small shops attached.
The Vilu Open Air Museum now charges S$ 100 per adult, which I think is way too much. No negotiations with the grumpy owner. I just said good-bye.
The White River settlement on the outskirts of Honiara has quite a big population of Gilbertese / Kiribati / Polynesian settlers, which are much lighter in skin color and have straight hair.
Towards the other side I went to see the 30 plus rosty amtracks (amphibian vehicles) from the WW ll near Tetere beach, entry is S$ 50. At KG6 at the outskirts of Honiara there is the Betikama Mission and school complex which also has some WW ll relicts and a big souvenir shop. Over the bridge you are in Lunga (end station of the KG6 bus. Watch the kids washing the cars in the river below, go and talk to Jay, the friendly owner of the tiny red painted shop who sells basic food, soft drinks, beer and coconuts (left side of the road as you exit town at the little roadside market) and walk about 2-3 km along a road with plenty of friendly locals to the Lunga beach where you can spot a rosty shipwreck, not even 20m from the shore and have a swim. Be Aware that the area around Hell's Point, where the japanese War Memorial sits is an area where theft is frequent evenafter you have paid the S$ 20 kastom fee. Do never leave your car unattended.
Enjoy the Solomons,
Roger
