The Solomon Islands, often referred to as ‘the land where time stands still’, is an unhurried paradise where nothing much happens quickly and business hours are 9.00am to 4.30pm, with a two-hour lunch break!

As promised, a Go Tours/Surf the Earth representative greeted the Longbreak team at Henderson Field Airport on the main island of Guadalcanal and 8km from Honiara, the national capital of the Solomons. We were then briskly taxied to Point Cruz Yacht Club and a waiting boat, for our transfer to Maravagi Lodge Resort on Mangalonga (or Mana) Island in the north west of the Florida Islands. Compared with nearby Fiji, which attracts around 500,000 visitors annually, tourism in the Solomons is very much in its infancy, with less than 10,000 visitors per year to its 992 islands. For Longbreak this disparity manifested in the early realisation that this would be a genuinely ‘hands on’ travel experience, when all hands were on to push our open boat from the yacht club, down the beach and out through the surf. Guadalcanal doesn’t usually see any surf but things hadn’t completely settled down following a recent cyclone and after crashing into the first big wave we were soaked with spray.

For two bone-jarring hours the soaking continued as we breached each wave and we arrived at Maravagi Lodge shaken but not deterred. In need of a calming drink, we made a pleasant and well-timed discovery - the Solomon Islands Brewery makes a very good beer! It’s called Solbrew (SB to the locals) and someone really should import it. Maravagi Lodge sits on its own tranquil (sans cyclone!) little bay and the accommodation is modest but comfortable, with ceiling fans and mosquito nets. Longbreak’s wooden bungalow was right at the water’s edge. By night the sound of lapping waves drifted in and by day the bungalow was decorated with hibiscus flowers plucked for the purpose by local staff on their walk to work.

The resort proper is about 15 years old and was established as a dive and tank-filling location. The Solomons was a major WWII naval battleground and one of the legacies of this is the many wreckage dive sites. But by 2004, five years of civil unrest that locals refer to as ‘the tensions’ had all but killed off a struggling tourist industry. However, Maravagi Lodge is far from a ‘ghost ship’. Every weekend ex-pats escape Honiara to snorkel and relax here, while conventions attract delegates from around the Pacific and the Prime Minister of the Solomons sometimes visits.

In fact, a sense of faded grandeur is part of the attraction. But it is very hard to believe that more people don’t visit here and for the Longbreak production crew there was a feeling of a paradise re-discovered. On our travels we met more people working for AusAid, the Australian Department of Justice and Australian Federal Police than tourists.

The jewel in Maravagi’s crown is its restaurant. Built on wooden pylons over the water it offers stunning views directly onto a coral reef teeming with tropical fish and declared a marine sanctuary by locals who understand its appeal to visitors.

The snorkelling was as easy as falling off a balcony to drift in either direction and enjoy the passing parade. The coral extends around the headland to Mana’s best and most consistent wave; a long left-hander that we accessed either by a track over the hill or, most often, a paddle out from the wave’s end, being careful not to damage the coral (booties were a must). The reefs were pristine and it would be a shame to see them damaged by too many feet.

There were three distinct sections to the break. Furthest out was a nuggety little peak that broke in shallow water for a short but intense ride. The second left rolled off a bit longer and was a snappy performance wave, even throwing out the odd right for the brave (or foolhardy). The third and last section was all class as it rolled transparently across the coral and it was possible to see the occasional iridescent blue starfish passing underneath. The added bonus to this, the longest section, was the local kids learning to surf near its end.

Apparently, about four months previously, some kind soul left a few surfboards for them and now they were out there every day, swapping between the boards and a canoe, which they paddled with the natural grace possessed only by those born to a fishing village. We took to goofy arm waving and hooting, they fell about laughing. These kids were particularly stoked that their school had blown down during the last cyclone and, given the relaxed pace of life here, it may be some time before repairs are completed; every grommet’s dream come true!

Directly across the passage and visible from Maravagi’s restaurant is Indicators, a break in front of a perfect little white sand island about the size of two basketball courts; renamed Gilligan’s Island by Longbreak for its resemblance to the famous TV island. We contemplated Gilligan’s Island from a distance for a few days before paddling over in dugout canoes borrowed from the resort, to find a half-built hut started by interlopers from another area. Apparently, the local landowners convinced them that their original island was really much nicer and they should stay there. Returning the next day on boards, we caught a couple of lefts and rights peaking in the clearest water imaginable.

The surf season in the Florida Island group seems to be limited to the summer months when low-pressure systems push swells down from the north. They pass between two large outer islands first, cutting the size back but cleaning it up in the process. With almost no surf at all for the remainder of the year coral grows without the disruption or destruction of wave action. Around Gilligan’s Island, we found the result to be like surfing in a giant aquarium of perfect corals and tropical fish.

Another right-hander was breaking across the next channel alongside a larger island. After watching some pearlers roll through we paddled over to investigate but a strong current pushed by an incoming tide made staying in the take off spot exhausting. After a while we drifted back to Gilligan’s Island where the now quite full tide had stopped the surf altogether. That was the tricky part about surfing here. No one really knows.

There was no internet to track swells on and no database of experience to draw on. We had good sessions on both incoming and outgoing tides but found the highest and lowest points to be a bit slack. Tidal difference was less than a metre but it did seem to make a difference. There is plenty to do when not surfing, snorkelling or just relaxing – like fishing. Deep-water possibilities include Sailfish, Marlin, Wahoo, Mahi-Mahi, and Yellowfin Tuna and fly-fishing can yield Spanish Mackerel, Dogtooth Tuna, Trevally, Amber Jack, Coral Trout and Mangrove Jack.

It’s a good idea to bring a few extra hooks and lines to leave behind for the locals, as practical implements can go a long way here; batteries or clothing items were also appreciated. Longbreak took a half-day boat trip (timed around the surf) to Sandfly Island, home to the skull caves – a charnel house for captured heads. Disembarkation is usually at the closest point to the caves but we hiked further inland to deliver a sick boy to a Nursing Station.

This took us through a number of traditional villages of thatchroofed wooden houses and vignettes of local life; an old man with a teapot, an upturned turtle awaiting its fate, a boy scampering up a coconut palm to capture a small possum that would be fattened before meeting a gastronomical end. After ascending the muddy track to inspect the skull caves we ventured to Nggela Sule Island where there lies the still visible wreck of an inter-island vessel that ran onto rocks in nearby Sandfly Passage, the captain offloading his 200 passengers directly onto the beach in front of an international yacht club – apparently to the detriment of that establishment. Back at Maravagi the swell had picked up a little, we had no idea why, it just did.

We surfed the left some more, sometimes with the local kids, but usually by ourselves. We discovered that on an incoming tide we could half paddle, half drift all the way back to the accommodation. A laid back paradise if ever there was one! Eating at Maravagi was a revelation. Our chef, Raphael of the toothless smile and infectious high pitched laugh, took a limited range of local produce and worked wonders on a daily basis. Meals came in generous proportions and the seafood was always fresh.

A favourite was the local dish Peupehu Iga, made from baitfish, grated coconut, salt, pepper and fried onions, rolled into a sausage shape and pan fried in a banana leaf. After-dinner entertainment was throwing leftover rice to the baitfish in frenzied competition for an easy meal – recycling at its finest. One morning, for breakfast, we had coconut crab mashed into a paste and spread on toast. Our waiter, John, described it as crab scrotum – but the delicious taste transcended the sensibilities!

So that’s how Longbreak passed the days; surf and snorkel, eat and rest, walk up the hill for sunset, drink a beer or two, chat with the locals. This was rustic quality rather than quantity. We can’t see the land where time stands still ever being another ‘Indo’ because it doesn’t have the swell consistency or size to attract the crowds. And maybe that’s a good thing. The smiles were genuine here. People had time to chat. The sun goes up and the sun goes down. Children played and dugout canoes drifted by.

In a world becoming filled with choices of ever increasing manufactured travel experiences this was the real thing. it is always best to check with the Australian Government Travel information websites. Go Tours has been arranging travel packages to this region for a considerable number of years and are experienced in arranging tours and supplying updated information.

Packages for Maravagi Lodge Resort can be booked through:

Go Tours
2/33 Dominions Road
Ashmore
Queensland 4214
Phone +617 5527 9855
Facsimile +617 5597 1788
Email: nick@gotours.com.au
Contact: Nick Blanche - Manager
www.gotours.com.au
www.surftheearth.com.au