The Solomons was once the world’s most dangerous place-cannibalism, head-hunting and warfare were rife, and foreign visitors were usually killed upon making landfall. Today the islanders are laid-back and friendly, and they inhabit a stunning archipelago of coral atolls, lagoons and reefs that sees almost no tourists. Ancient arts are still practiced and WWll wreckage is strewn across the country. Pristine beached give way to dense tropical jungle, while people till their village gardens the way they have for thousands of years.

July to November (the drier season)

Riding a boat across Marovo Lagoon Chillin’ on Uepi lsland for a few days and snorkeling in the lagoon Seeing Malaita’s lagoons where artificial islands support hundreds of villagers Visiting skull caves-macabre and fascinating shrines to ancestor worship Watching a shiver of reef-sharks hunting fish in a frenzy of boiling water Diving over the WWll wreckage from the famous Battle of Guadalcanal

Read Ples Bilong lumi-The Solomon lslands, the Past Four Thousand Years by Sam Alasia et al. Lightning Meets the West Wind-The Malaita Massacre by Keesing -Corris relates the story of a district officer’s killing by Kaiwo tribesmen in 1927.

Watch Terrence Malick’s The Thin Red Line, a war film based on James Jones’ 1963 novel about the WWll battle for Guadalcanal

Eat crayfish and coconuts, mangoes and other tropical fruits (the islanders were eating sweet potatoes long before it was fashionable)

Drink Honiara’s own Solbrew beer-‘lets get fresh!’

Apinun! ( good afternoon)

Spear-fishing from outrigger canoes; deep-sea fishing; snorkeling and scuba diving; fresh fish at Honiara market; tide shifts under stilt-house villages; getting around by boat; incredible friendliness

Great T-shirt, skull caves and ossuaries; blonde-haired Melanesians; the sound of falling coconuts; weird wares in trade stores; night-time coconut-carb spotting racing fliying fish in trade boast; very early morning mass; crowds gathering at grass airstrips

The notorious head-hunter lngava ruled from a coral-walled fortress on Nusa Roviana until it was destroyed in 1892. His tribe had a dog, Tiola, as its totem and worshipped at a rock carved in its likeness before going head-hunting. Remains of the Dog Rock are still there. The fortress was up to 30m wide, and 500m of the coral walls still remain. There’s a giant’s a cave nearby.