Indeed, island time just is a bit slower than what we are used to… one of the reasons why my last post was more than a month ago… another reason is the not so reliable and fast internet connection in most places… but let’s leave these technicalities away.

Arriving at Solomon Islands, we were informed that our onwards flight to Tavanipupu Resort in the Eastern part of Guadacanal was cancelled due to technical reasons… Solomon Airways handled it quite well and we were transferred to the best hotel in town for the night, standing in traffic on the way (probably due to election propaganda) and even enjoying a nice Japanese Dinner at the restaurant there – all curtesy of the airline. Transport next morning was not as expected organized at 5.15am from the hotel, but we made it to the airport nevertheless, sharing a taxi with one of the many election observers from Australia.

After a pleasant flight in a small airplane to Marau airstrip (yes, a grassy one), and a short boat trip, we were greeted by the friendly staff at Tavanipupu, our own beautiful, private island for then next 7 days (after all, this is the one where supposedly Prince George was conceived…) We lazed away with swimming, snorkeling, jumping from the piers and enjoying the excellent food cooked for us every meal.

Flying back to Honiara two days after election day made me feel a bit uneasy but all went well and we incurred no issues on the transport to our next stop, west of the capital, where unfortunately the bungalow’s private bathroom was not quite finished yet, so we had to deal with the cubicles outside for shower and toilet, which was especially at night in the rain not all too pleasant. However, snorkeling was great and the war museum in walking distance with planes and weapons from WW2 (even a Wildcat with one of the wings still foldable, which the keeper demonstrated proudly) on display in the jungle, surrounded by beautiful flowers, was quite interesting.

Onwards we went to Vanuatu, to find a home near a nice coral reef again, though snorkeling would not work during low tide but there was a small saltwater pool on site and a zoo with baby turtles next door. Lucky, the dog, also kept the boys happy!

Next stop was Tanna island with its fire-spitting, lava-boiling volcano! We could not only enjoy this view from our bungalow a few kilometers away up an almost non-existent dirt path, only tackable with a very good 4WD and an experienced driver but we also ventured up to the crater rim, where we could stare down into the crater, right into the boiling mass, explosions going on very close in high frequency. An unforgettable, scary experience!

After a few more days on Efate, the main island of Vanuatu, relaxing, swimming, snorkeling some more (seeing turtles and Nemo city as well as a collection of giant clams), we hopped on the next plane to reach Fiji, leaving Melanesia and people much darker than we had imagined, behind us.

First night in the Grand Melanesia Hotel was a bit of a disappointment as the room was smelly and not very grand, but we settled in the second option they gave us (at least not smelly and with a working aircon). Next morning, to our surprise, our luggage was picked up on time to take an earlier flight to the Yasawa Islands while we were picked up 90 minutes later (also on time) to take the ‘next’ plane across the ocean, all the way up to Turtle Island. As it indeed was a tiny plane, Roland became co-pilot and the boys and me occupied the remaining 4 seats for the short but scenic flight.

A short boat ride across a choppy bay brought us to Safe Landing Resort, our home for the next few days. A nice bungalow just behind the beach, a beautiful place and warm water to enjoy for a few days. A snorkeling trip to THE blue lagoon (even beautiful with a cruise ship anchored; we should not have gone on a Tuesday) and even more impressive the trip to the cave where only Roland dared to dive through the dark into the adjoining smaller cave filled our days and we soon transferred to an even more beautiful lagoon, to spend a few days at Long Beach Backpacker Resort, learning how to weave a basked from palm leaves, open a coconut by hand (important survival skill, should we ever become stranded on a deserted island), crafting finger rings from coconut shells and learning to dance the Bula dance. I even got into playing volley ball with the staff and other tourists and thanks to the boys, we only lifted the average age of the guests by a few years… 🙂

The way back was on the Yasawa Flyer, a fast and reliable catamaran, which stopped along most of the resorts in the Yasawa group. One more night in Nadi and off we were again on a plane to Samoa.

Bula and Talofa, more about this beautiful country (my favourite in the Pacific so far) next time!