Tikitouring in a fabulous part of the world: Page 4

 

Richard Moore's article continues ...

It was a hot day so we thought we would take a bit of a dip in the warm 28C waters and so joined in with a group of kids jumping off the beach pier.

At first they were somewhat surprised but soon splashed around us. You could almost hear them thinking “these are very strange people.”

A couple of examples of mega-bombs from yours truly had them in fits of laughter and the simplicity of the moments were among the highlights of the Solomons.

In fact that’s one of the great selling points of the islands – getting out and meeting local people.

They are really, really cool encounters.

It could be swimming with kids, popping into a kindy class in a remote village, chatting with kids while their mums sell betelnuts or playing soccer while waiting for a plane.

Memorable moments that make travel so rewarding.

On the boat trip back to Gizo we stopped in at Oravae Cottage, an away-from-it-all place where you can enjoy staying in comfort on your own little island.

We were treated to lunch there by the owners Naomi and Patson Baea and I have to say it is a perfect getaway spot if you want to leave the world behind.

Oravae Cottage offers the chance to have fun snorkeling and scuba diving, fishing, hiking the volcanic island of Kolombangara or ... doing nothing at all.

Back at a sweltering Gizo there was time to turn on the air-conditioner and drop the temperature to 16C before heading out into the oppressive heat to visit the fish market.

On display were masses of yellow-fin tuna caught by the fishermen in their dugout canoes.

That night we were not only treated to a spectacular thunder-and-lightning storm, but were treated to an interesting dance night at the Gizo Hotel as a group of teenagers from one of the villages entertained us with traditional dance moves set to nightclubby music.

Strange to start with but once you got into it the performance was very cool.

Continued ...