 Marovo Lagoon, Solomon Islands |
Two men in a boat bob gently out in the channel as they watch the dawn come up over the forested shores of New Georgia. We’ve been assured that an inter-island freighter will pass this way sometime soon. Sure enough, just after sun-up, a white blob appears on the horizon and the good ship Bikoi hoves into view. We scramble aboard, picking our way over sleeping bodies and sacks of copra.
Next stop, Seghe, where our ‘eco lodge’ awaits on the shores of the majestic Marovo Lagoon, shielded from the Pacific by a double island barrier and believed to be the planet’s finest. Our unadorned bungalow has been built out over the turquoise waters, populated by fearless coral fish, giant clams and even a few sleepy sharks.
Civil strife and storm damage are no longer reasons to postpone exploring this veritable tropical paradise three hours from Brisbane. With two carriers now competing, steep air fares are no longer a major deterrent. Apart from superlative diving and surfing, the attractions include coral atolls, floating villages, relics of head-hunting days - and of some of the most decisive days of the Pacific War.
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