The Solomons

The Solomons

An amazing group of islands. 500 miles long (750 if you include St Christobel  Island). 83 different languages and less than 600,000 inhabitants whose ancestors have lived here for over 50,000 years. Yet, very primitive in a western sense, but as the Prime Minister of the Solomons said to me, they are as developed as they need to be. This is not much. The GNP per head of population is about 80 US cents a day!...But what do they want money for? They have a fantastic growing climate, plenty of heat and rain , plenty of fish, minerals timber and gold..the locals don’t need cars as they all have dug-outs and just paddle about.  They do not have very many tourists, and those that do come are pestered to buy their carvings. I think everyone in the Solomons is a carver! The predominant past time seems to be chewing beetle nut. They all (or most, even the youth have red teeth and spit.) Filthy!

These huge lagoons are said to be the biggest in the world. Very beautiful, averaging 20 metres deep with sheltered waters and villages along the shores, it seemed idyllic...until we were told that the logging companies had poisoned the lagoons and not to swim or eat any fish from them. They said even some of the crocodiles were being found dead!

Having visited another village we picked up carver Paul who wanted to visit his wife and 6 month old child at Viru Harbour on the Western side of New Georgia Island which was on our way to Ghizo. We went in the gap in the reef at sun-down, and anchored downstream from the village before taking Paul ashore. We meet his wife, brother-in-law and Jo his son. We found that the sister in law had died a few months before of pneumonia, and we now find that both Paul’s son and wife also apparently have pneumonia! They say they have a clinic! There was nothing there. God help them. Perhaps he will for most of the village were at church (it was Friday night, and they are all Seven Day Adventists). There were no roads, only watercourses for paths, great gardens and flower beds..and what seems like a lot of young men who could have been gainfully employed building, repairing or rebuilding the local wharf, the landing..man..they need a leader!

We got out of there early next morning and headed up the western side of New Georgia to Ghizo arriving at sundown on Saturday 18 June. Man, what a surprise. Looked like a scrap metal yard! We went ashore and visited PT109 café and bar..nothing doing for us, as there was a private function going on. So we walked along the main (only) street to the Ghizo Hotel for drink, to find that the prime minister of the Solomons was there and I enjoyed a chat with him about the Islands. He has a big job ahead of him! There was a dance troupe from the hotel about to perform...so we stayed for dinner. All pretty nice relative to everything else in Ghizo!  Too much filth in the water in Ghizo Harbour to swim..so we took the dinghy between then reefs a few miles to Fatboys Resort for a swim, a dive and lunch. The lunch was OK, and probably the dive would have been, but too windy to swim. It was all very interesting but I did find Anna lost interest pretty quickly..! So Monday 20^th was spent getting the boat shipshape ready for Anna to leave early next day. I was sad to see her go, but that was the plan..and I know as sad as I was, she was as pleased to be going home! So I had a day before the crew to sail to Darwin arrived so I spent all that Day fixing the dinghy we tore at Oyster Island as the running repair we did there has a slow leak. Had dinner at the hotel with John Dale on Desire, a steel 34 foot sloop from Bluff..John being a diary farmer from Southland. Amazing where he had been and was going in that vessel!