Travelling in the Western Province
In mid-July, it was winter in Melbourne. I was looking for a suitable spot on this amazing planet to escape the freezing cold and go diving.
My past diving experiences were everything but glorious. Over eighteen years, I just had clocked eleven dives. Together with my late husband, Matthias, I had passed my PADI dive certification in 2001 and tried a couple of times to improve from novice to an intermediate level. Luck was not on our side. On Hamilton Island, we were both struck by whooping cough and stayed in bed instead of embarking on a seven-day live-aboard adventure. A year later on Heron, we played tennis on an asphalt tennis court and walked around the island due to a week-long storm. On many other occasions, we simply fed the fish and paid an extraordinary amount of money for getting sick on a boat on our way to the dive site. The Solomon Islands were my very last attempt to find out if diving is for me.
What was waiting for me there was an indescribable experience. It was so beautiful, that I will come back to these islands and most importantly to my first hosts at #YawanaDive.
Yawana Dive and Homestay, Vella Lavella
YawanaDive comprises of the homestay and dive operation. Andrickson (Andie) looks after the homestay, while husband Andrew operates the Dive Shop and manages communication and marketing. Thanks to Andie, Andrew, Neqo, Ronald, and Andie’s wantok for taking care of me and letting me get rid of all my fears of diving. I had the most incredible time.
Getting there
I flew Virgin from Melbourne via Brisbane to Honiara. My first glimpse of the Solomon Islands before landing in the capital, Honiara was a lush green, healthy forest.
In Honiara, I had to transfer from the international to the domestic terminal to catch a flight with Solomon Airlines. I walked in the heat and humidity which were unbearable. It took a whole ten minutes until I was totally drenched in sweat. Once I arrived at the domestic terminal one hour ahead of the scheduled departure, the guy behind the counter announced “Your flight left. Tomorrow all flights full.” Me “I booked for today” The guy took my ticket and disappeared for thirty minutes. Luckily, he handed me back my printout and the conversation continued “Bag on scales”. Me “Great. Thank you”. After another half an hour, he appeared again and called ‘Gizo, Gizo’. Gizo was my next planned destination. I was quick enough and got a window seat in the last row in the Twin Otter. This is the perfect spot for taking pictures. The view was breathtaking.
My flight was supposed to go from Honiara via Munda to Gizo. The first stop was on a patchy grass runway on a small, picturesque island. I was a little surprised thinking that Munda would be bigger. Everyone had to get out to identify their luggage before new passengers could board the plane. There was nothing left that I could have identified. The friendly, female copilot assured me that my luggage had left in the originally scheduled plane and would await me at Gizo.
The crew prepared the next flight by checking the passenger list. After lots of whispering between the airline crew, they asked the waiting crowd for something in their local Pijin language. The only words I understood were ‘volunteer, one volunteer.’ They obviously had overbooked the flight. I quickly realized that I was the “overbooked” one. A young man volunteered and stayed behind. Now a full plane took off. We were greeted “Welcome aboard on our flight from Kagau 😳 to Gizo”. My gut feeling had not let me down. Munda had been replaced by Kagau which is further north. Once I arrived in Gizo, I was the only passenger who disembarked.
Fair to say, my luggage did not arrive ahead of me.
Andrew’s email instructions were simple and clear “Andrickson will go into Gizo for last-minute supplies and then meet your flight. Look for the smiling lady with the Yawana T-shirt.” … and he was right. Here she was, Andie with her smile was welcoming me.
There was one more leg by boat to reach the final destination. The sea was calm and we still had an hour of daylight. Their boat driver, Piesie, got us home the same night in a 40 horse powerboat.
Andrew and his dog Joba were greeting us at our arrival.
My home away from home was cozy and comfortable. After my 12-hour journey, I was tired and happy that I had arrived
Diving in warm, pristine waters
There are plenty of ship and plane wrecks in that area. Many guests just come to see these wrecks. I asked Andrew to take me to the marine wildlife and not to any WWII wreck. All dive sites were exceptionally beautiful.
Andrew led the team and Niqo was the second dive guide.
After the first dive, I was a little bit befuddled when Neqo just popped up right next to me. I thought that he had staid back on the boat. Honestly, I had no idea where he was coming from as I did not notice him for longer than half an hour. The answer was a big, fat smile. Neqo would always swim behind me, shadowing each of my moves.
What could have gone wrong with Andrew taking the lead and Neqo behind me? It was the safest dive experience ever.
I hired all the diving equipment from Yawanadive. Everything was top quality.
They were getting me to somewhere between Devil Dive and Yawana Wreck (to practice all technical skills after 15 years!!!), Anne Wreck (a purposely sunken ship), Bingo Boulevard, Chez Patrick, Puff N’Stuff, Moray’s Corner, Woi, Nakaza Island, etc.
My highlights during my 10 dives included, but are not completed: Lion Fish – Bended Coral Snake – Reef Sharks – Anemone Fish (many Nemos and many others) – Flat Table Corals – Reef Walls – Grey Reef Sharks – Painted Crayfish – Leatherback Turtle (most amazing creature) – elephant ear sponges – moray eels (uhh, don’t touch) – spotted eagle ray – giant trevally (giants that are not pretty) – gorgeous gorgonian (aka sea fern) – …
Remark: YawanaDive is NOT a dive school and is for experienced divers. However, if you don’t fit into this category, please let Andrew know. He will go over the theory and practical skills with you. This is safer for both you and the dive guides. Come at least with a dive certificate. Otherwise, enjoy snorkeling.
Watching traditional Vella Lavella dances at the private UZA beach
The Duck Dance
The sunset and flares created the perfect atmosphere to listen to local songs and watch traditional dances. The ensemble came from a small nearby village,
The group performed a number of hilariously funny dances. Everyone enjoyed their time with the Duck Dance, Lizard Dance, Inconsolable Crying Child Dance, and many more.
There was a lot of laughter during the performance, and tears from laughing when the Aussies were involuntarily involved.
Thank you TAPA group!
Chatting to YawanaDive’s wantok and friends
I think there were not many female solo travelers there yet. Everyone was worried that I did not come with a friend or family. Since I had booked on short notice, none of my friends had time to come along. I explained that I have only two who are diving. One of them was hiking in Iceland, the other was on a business trip, traveling between Melbourne, the US, and Perth. The rest are mad hikers or art lovers or simply no divers.
I also reassured them that I enjoy the peace and that I am completely satisfied when I don’t have to talk. It felt good to be alone and immerse myself in the sound of the ocean. This is what I needed after sharing an office with sixty others. I have no idea if anyone other than Andrew really understood it.
Andie’s daddy came to share a coffee, the brother for a chat, the sisters to look after my clothes and candles, … I quickly became part of their wantok.
“.. The wantok system or wantokism is derived from the Solomons Pijin term for ‘one talk’, meaning from the same language, and implies giving preference to kin in the expectation of a series of reciprocal obligations being fulfilled. ..”. You can challenge your brain by trying to remember HOW the members are related to each other. I was on holiday and reduced this exercise to “daughter, mum, dad, sisters, and brothers”.
Going Fishing
Visiting a Tambu Site
A ‘Tambu‘ site is a place of importance to the history and culture of the people who have lived on the island for many generations.
Looking at Zimi, I was prepared for a casual stroll to the
Shopping at the Gizo Market
There is no real reason to go to the market. Fish is caught fresh at sea, vegetables and fruit are in the garden, the friendly aunty sends pomelos,… Nevertheless, it was a nice excursion to see the different
Zipolo Habu Resort, Lola
still to come
Eco-Lodge, Tetepare
still to come
General information
There are a number of similarities between the islands in the Western Province of the Solomon Islands.
Betel Nuts chewing
If someone is low on cash, she/he will try to sell one of the three ingredients for betel nuts chewing which “… is widespread in the Solomon Islands, usually combined with lime made from burnt shells or coral and pepper or piper leaves (Piper
“If I had done the same, then …”
OHS seems to be an absolutely foreign concept to the Solomon Islanders who like to do things, hm, how to put it, the “Solo” way.
👟🥾👟 Solomon Islanders do not need shoes 👟🥾👟
I was very impressed that most people walked barefoot on gravel, mud, rock, etc. while I was constantly slipping with my great hiking boots with their even better shoe soles. Zimi, Ronald, … went barefoot. If I had done the same, then my feet would be full of blisters and I could not walk for half a year, so I better kept my shoes ON.
🎣 🐠 🎣 Solomon Islanders do not need
fishing rods 🎣 🐠 🎣
When we went fishing, the boys hold the fishing line with their bare hands. They don’t even have a proper fishing rod. If I had done the same, then my fingers would have been cut in half.
🕶 😎 🕶 Solomon Islanders will never lose their sunglasses 🕶 😎 🕶
Sunglasses as a gift are not a great idea. They will end up somewhere in the boat to be broken by a dive bottle. A real Solomon Islander is using his hands to protect the eyes from the sun. If I had done the same, then I would be blind already.
No shoes, no fishing rod, no sunglasses, … Can I still learn this or do I have to be born as a Solomon Islander? I decided not to find out.
🔥🚬🔥 Solomon Islanders like to play with the fire 🔥🚬🔥
Having a cigarette in one hand and changing the fuel tank with the other while driving a boat is not just “Not okay”, it’s dangerous. The same applies when someone is walking with a still-burning cigarette butt into the fuel storage. These were situations throughout my journey when people like me did intervene by shouting their head off in disbelief what they were witnessing. Please, dear Solomon Islanders, don’t provoke a heart attack to any visitor by keeping your cigarettes out of the reach of fuel. If I had done the same, then … I am a non-smoker. 😉
On a final note …
You should not be too squeamish and expect to share your room with other creatures. I can reassure you that I have never felt insecure or found myself in a dangerous situation. The animals might not look pretty, but none of them will do you any harm. Again, as a girl, I’ve traveled solo and I am scared of snakes and spiders like most of us girls (sure, you might be the brave exception).
I met a number of people whose wives/girlfriends had stayed back home out of fear. Do not be afraid of all the information on the Internet and apply common sense when traveling around. Otherwise, you will miss out on so much of the great stuff.
