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Ecotourism
Melanesia’s
SOLOMON ISLANDS ECOTOURISM WELCOME PAGE
THE SOLOMON ISLANDS
The Solomons are only three hours flying time from Australia, yet receive less than 5, 000 tourists per year, many of them divers. The country has shied away from mass tourism and sprawling luxury resorts in favour of small-scale ecotourism facilities run by local operators and village communities. Ecotourism in the Solomons focuses on the unspoiled natural environment (both above and below the waterline) and the age-old Island cultures.
The people are mainly Melanesian and number around half a million. Since gaining independence from Britain in 1977, the country has been governed by a Westminster-style parliament with 50 members. Ninety percent of the people still lead subsistence lifestyles in rural villages on the dozen or so larger, mountainous islands. Hundreds of smaller islands lie uninhabited.
The capital, Honiara, is a bustling industrial town of some 50,000 residents, and serves as a jumping-off point for travellers venturing out to sample the attractions of the various island provinces. Divers tend to head for the Western Province, where reefs are pristine and plenteous and the sunken remains of WW2 ships and aircraft remain undisturbed in shallow waters. Cultural tourists are well catered for in Malaita, which still has isolated bush villages virtually unchanged since last century. Brides are still paid for with shell money and pigs, and the elders tells stories of their encounters with magic men and giants.
The island of Guadalcanal features some of the best hiking terrain in the Pacific, with mountains higher than Australia's Mt Kosciusko and myriad rainforests, river valleys, ravines and waterfalls. The Guadalcanal Plains are even today littered with the relics of WW2's bloodiest battles: beached landing barges, aircraft wrecks, rusting tanks. Overgrown fighter strips are still visible from the air.In 1998 an armed conflict erupted on Guadalcanal between indigenous Guadalcanal islanders and settlers from Malaita who have lived on Guadalcanal for generations. Thousands of Malaitan families were literally chased back to Malaita (an island which many of their children had never even visited before) and the death toll from the fighting exceeded 100. The conflict took everyone by surprise as the Solomon Islanders had hitherto enjoyed a quiet and peaceful co-existence for the past 100 years since the end of the headhunting days.
Overseas media misrepresented this localised conflict as having engulfed all 500 islands in the Solomons and tourists were scared away. Since 2000 the Solomons tourism industry has been decimated, even though everywhere outside Guadalcanal has been quiet and safe. At no time have any overseas visitors ever been endangered by the fighting on Guadalcanal - the conflict was totally internal between two opposing groups.
In July 2003 the Australian government sent an assistance mission to Honiara to help the government assert control over the militia groups on Guadalcanal. Australian police and military units have rounded up and imprisoned rebel leaders and crime gangs without firing a single shot.
Australian experts have been placed in the government finance sector to bring the country's economy back on track. Australian aid is pouring in to beef up public utilities like electricity grids and education services that were run down over the past five years.
The streets of Honiara are now safe and secure, and rural communities on Guadalcanal are beginning to rebuild their previously peaceful lives.
One industry that can be reactivated almost immediately and give the Solomons economy a real boost is tourism, especially ecotourism which brings cash directly into village communities. Your visit to Solomon Islands at this time will make a huge difference in the lives of people you buy services from, whether it be accommodation, food, handicrafts or canoe hire.
GETTING THERE
From Australia: Solomon Airlines and Air Vanuatu operate a joint service from Brisbane to Honiara three times a week (Boeing 737).
From Fiji/Vanuatu: There are two flights a week from Nadi via Port Vila.
From New Zealand: Air New Zealand and Air Pacific services from Auckland connect with Solomon Airlines at Nadi. Flying via Australia is another option.
From Papua New Guinea:Air Niugini operates from Port Moresby twice a week (Fokker F28 jet).DESTINATIONS
The Solomon Islands is an environmental wonderland, where villagers live a balanced co-existence with nature, taking just enough from the land and sea for their needs. Several sites in the Solomons have been recognised as worthy of World Heritage listing.
Lake Tenggano at the eastern end of Rennell Island supports an exotic freshwater ecosystem unlike any other in the world, almost entirely surrounded by the sea, featuring a plethora of unique bird life.
The Marovo Lagoon in the Western Province is the earth's largest tropical coastal lagoon. Its deep, calm waters are pinioned between the maternal coastlines of New Georgia and Vangunu Islands on one side, and protected from the open ocean on the other side by a chain of reefs and islets. Dotted throughout the lagoon are the small islands on which the Marovo people live, their dugout canoes criss-crossing the water hundreds of times a day.
Although distinguished by its size, the Marovo Lagoon is relatively similar in type to other coastal lagoons found in the Solomons, such as the Roviana Lagoon (near Munda), Maringe Lagoon (Santa Isabel Island), Marau Sound (Guadalcanal) and the Langa Langa, Lau and Are Are Lagoons of Malaita Island. Village communities in these and other areas across the Solomons face a common dilemma: whether to allow their old-growth forests to be cleared by logging companies for quick cash, or to persevere with ecotourism which yields lesser returns and appears - to the islanders - to be taking forever to develop.ECOTOURISM ACCOMMODATION
Scuba diving has been the mainstay of the Solomons tourism industry for the past forty years, and much of the tourism infrastructure has been built to service the needs of divers. The larger hotels and resorts are all located in Honiara, Gizo and Munda which are the major diving destinations. Prior to the 1990s there has been very little bookable tourist accommodation available in other parts of the country and intrepid travellers have often had to rely on friendly locals to take them in. However more recently the increasing number of global travellers seeking to get off the beaten track - particularly sites of geophysical, biological or cultural interest - has created demand for low-cost, "village style" accommodation facilities for those travellers who are more interested in culture and environment than luxury rooms with cable TV. You will not find these places listed in glossy travel brochures.
Village homestays are the "top-level" ecotourism experience in the Solomons. A village homestay is the closest that visitors can get to Solomon Islands culture and lifestyle without undergoing tribal initiation! As a village homestay guest you are accommodated in your own village-style bungalow next to the home of your host family. Your hosts will treat you more like a relative visiting from another village rather than a foreign tourist, and you will be able to observe and participate in village life at very close quarters. In addition your hosts will accompany you in your exploration of local attractions. Village homestays only accept one booking at a time so you will be free to "go native" without other tourists peering down their noses at you.
Village guest houses or village lodges are generally situated outside the main village area. This may offer more privacy from wide-eyed village children but you may have to share your experience with other visitors. Most village guest houses offer a choice of self-catering or local-style meals provided. Excursions into the nearby village have to be arranged in advance and are therefore rather contrived.
Nature lodges or "eco" lodges are situated in areas with particularly bountiful plant and animal life. Operators offer interpretive tours of the local flora and fauna and cultural tours of villages and "tabu" sites. Most eco lodges are situated in the Marovo Lagoon (some built with assistance from the World Heritage Project), and Savo Island near Honiara (an active volcano). Village stays, village guest houses and nature lodges all offer a similar standard of accommodation: bush-material buildings, clean bedding, sitting furniture, fresh running water and proper toilets. Meals are deliciously cooked in local style using mainly fresh seafood, chicken, green vegetables and tubers. Recommended eco lodges in the Marovo Lagoon include Lagoon Lodge, Sunset Lodge and Ragosakena Eco Lodge.
"Resorts" in the Solomons are not Club Med-style facilities with swimming pools, nightclubs and jet skis. The term "resort" in Solomon Islands generally refers to a rustic getaway with more facilities than village accommodation offers - but not too much more. Local-style resorts are places where visitors can relax, walk on a private beach, swim and snorkel, go fishing, visit a few local attractions and enjoy some cultural entertainment from the local village, while enjoying the relative privacy of their own bungalow and a few creature comforts such as a bar, a small restaurant and perhaps even electricity. Rustic resorts operating in 2003 include Zipolo Habu Resort near Munda (game fishing and diving), Tavanipupu Island Resort on southeast Guadalcanal, and Maravagi Resort in the Ngela group of islands. In the Marovo Lagoon you will find Charapoana Island Resort, Matikuri Resort, Vanua Rapita Eco Resort and The Wilderness Lodge on Gatokae Island.
ECOTOURISM MELANESIA invites visitors to "island-hop" through the Solomons, experiencing the country from the village perspective. We can help you design an itinerary to suit your whims and your budget. Our local knowledge is unbeatable and we can book you in to all the smaller places that other travel agents don't want to know about.
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This site updated November 2003