The State Of The Post-Flood Solomons

When nature hits with a force on a small country in the Pacific, it takes so much more to rebuild and restore life for the people affected than when this happens in Australia, or other larger nations.

At the beginning of April this year, a storm that built up and eventually became Tropical Cyclone Ita when it hit Queensland, devastated areas of Honiara. It caused at least 24 deaths and displaced 10,000 people.

When I was visiting Honiara at the end of May there were still 2000 people living in temporary accommodation, in school buildings and other shelters. There were discussions about relocating the cultural minority that many of these people belonged to, a long-standing battle on Guadalcanal which has caused rioting and unrest in the recent past of the nation. A potential hot pot of cultural issues, this flood has stirred up again.

The physical devastation was very visible - particularly from the vantage point of the US War Memorial, but also along the river that was hit the hardest. The ruined buildings all along the river that flooded were in complete disrepair. The local community have needed to made a makeshift crossing over the river, to temporarily replace the bridge that was washed away and now being rebuilt, to allow their daily commute to and from that side to continue in the meantime.

I was lucky enough to attend a morning tea with my friend Fi, of a group of women working hard to assist the displaced community as much as possible. They were working on support through basic needs, like blankets, nappies for babies, and women's sanitary supplies.

I have looked for an NGO still working on support, and providing assistance to those in need in Honiara and the surrounding area, to promote and add to this post. I have had confirmation from Baptist World Aid Australia that they are still taking donations and helping the people that most need it - you can drop a few dollars their way here, to help.

Village Life On Nugu

I followed the beach around from the Nugu Beach Resort where we were staying, leaving my group behind, to get a glimpse into the village just beyond. Such an isolated place to live, tucked away from the world, I wanted to see what these people were up to on a Sunday.

I had missed the church services of the morning, but as I wandered through the first cluster of homes, I could sense a quiet and a sleepy feel to the day. Not many people were seen in this first area, but soon I was to find my first companion.

He was shy at first, but seemed to determinedly tag along behind me, as if he had seen me first. He hesitated, but seeing me not worry too much about his presence, he continued.

Soon, other kids must have asked him about his walking partner out on this Sunday, and they joined us too. Before I knew it, I had a trail of very simply-clad children following along behind me, on my wander through the village.

I had acknowledged the first boy with a smile and a nod, and a couple of the other joining companions, but not made a fuss about them. My aim really was just to walk through the main path of the village, sticky-beak at life going on, not disturbing anything, and then return to the side of the island of the Resort.

But then I got to a point where I needed to cross a creek, and the first boy following along showed me a better way. This started our interactions. I asked him where his school was, and then he was proudly determined to show me.

A couple of older boys gathered around this white girl and her trail of village kids, and apparently upon hearing that we were headed for the school, ran off ahead.

I nodded greetings to people out on their basic wooden porch as I passed. To women going about the days work. I stopped at a gathering, as one man came up to introduce himself, and chat about where I was from. The kids then must have announced we were headed to the school, because he then saw me off, and I was walking once again.

I wasn't entirely sure what they were up to, as they guiding me down the path to the building at the end which they indicated was their school. The older man earlier had mentioned that there was a new teacher, and new teacher lodging just completed, and it seemed that the older boys from before came to join my little procession of kids from there.

As I reached the school building, a man appeared at the top stairs and came down to join me. He introduced himself as the new teacher, and proceeded to show me around.

He explained that some classes have been off for a few months now, but were due to recommence in the next month.

I wandered through the bottom floor classrooms, which we open, for a look at the setting and took in the lessons still on the board. Simple seating and desk, maths was the last class it appeared.

The teacher then invited me upstairs to more classrooms, and also unlocked a room to the office. He asked me to sign the visitors book, as we continued to chat about his class, and the gathering of kids from the island to attend. The high school he advised, was on the other side of the island, through the middle.

I left him to continue to enjoy his day off, and said bye to all the kids, and started my walk back through the village and back to the inlet where I was staying.

A couple of kids trailed after me for a bit, making sure I could find the way. I waved to the gathering of families sitting by the community hall and church.

A brief look into the life on the island. Simple, basic, but happy and content. Schooling and family, and a beautiful setting.

Nugu Beach Resort Getaway

We'll take a banana boat, they said. It'll be lovely and calm early in the morning, they said. I think they even told me it would be about a 40 minute trip at that hour in the morning when we planned to leave. I blindly went along with it, trusting two of my favourite people in the world who I was visiting in the Solomon Islands, and whom had been to this little island getaway they were taking me to, many times before.

The little boat was loaded with the five of us going away for the weekend, plus a puppy who was coming along too, around 8am, plus our supplies for snacking and drinking, and we were good to go. We could see islands on the horizon, and the water looked calm.....

It didn't take long for the Iron Bottom Sound off Guadalcanal to get to be open-ocean like, and choppy. The wind picked up, which bounced waves directly into the boat, and it wasn't long before I was soaked, and hanging on for dear life!

Willing it to end, realising that we were well past 40 minutes travel in these conditions, and completely unsure where we were actually headed, I started to will on my fear of drowning. At least the spray whipping on my face would end then! Ha!

End it did, finally, and we reached Nugu Beach Resort, which is on Buena Vista Island, part of the Florida Island group. A beach in an inlet, with stunning blue water, a private beach, no people around. Perfect getaway from the world!

The accommodation was basic, with 4 huts available to rent. Having the place to ourselves, I had one to myself. Mosquito nets and fans (available until the power generator stops each night), shared bathroom. Simple, real, and all you really need.

We relaxed. We swam. We drank. We ate. We went snorkelling, and I even spotted Nemo and his parents swimming around, just off to the right of our beach edge set up. So easy. And so pretty - coral and fish life.

The staff were another highlight of the Resort. Around when you needed them, but otherwise we were left to ourselves. Each evening, as was our group's request, we were served a three course meal - soaps, amazing curries, and then fruits for dessert. Dining on the deck of the Resort, and all talking and drinking into the night. This was a really lovely getaway.

The couple of nights away were so tranquil and relaxing, I had all but forgotten about the horror of the trip over, to the point that I willingly got in the boat again to get back to Honiara when the time came. We even saw a whale out in the water, as well as an amazing sunrise, that morning.

I have recently heard my friends recount this experience of taking me in the banana boat, and how rough it was, and how hit with the ocean I was in the seat in the boat - it's a just a funny travel memory and story now...but make sure that ride is ok for you when you go across. I made it through ok, with not too much trauma, and had a gorgeous weekend away.


jouljet Notes:
Serious Tip: Check the weather, and just prepare yourself for the trip in the open sea - but it's an adventure, and worth it for the time on such a remote beach!
Time Spent: 2 nights, with an early morning both at either end of our weekend.
Cost: Eeek, I actually don't know! It was all organised by my friends - you can check out contact details through this page here.
Quirky Tip: Make sure you go for a wander along the ocean edge, all the way into the village. The kids showed me around, and I got a glimpse into village life - a post coming up on the blog.

Honiara's Japanese WWII Memorial

Another Pacific island nation to have some significant role in World War II because of it's position in the ocean, and thus, being in the middle of things around the Japanese assault, was the Solomon Islands.

The Japanese War Memorial is up in the hills from Honiara, on Mount Austen, and is tricky to find, but worth the attempt.

When we arrived there, after taking a few wrong turns, we found that it was closed - but managed to catch someone's attention near by, and it was opened for us to go in and have a look.

It's simple, beautiful, and commands such a feeling of peace. No war symbols, no graphic reminders of death and battle. No long list of names.

The plaque on one of the side of the marble structure in the centre speaks of the idea that the upward feature of the standing marble should assist the final journey of the spirits of those lost.

Hanging Around - Kids In Honiara

These kids were just hanging in this tree in the afternoon I happened to visit the US War Memorial in Honiara. The memorial has many marble upright slabs, telling tales and displaying the names of those lost in battles that have occurred around Guadalcanal - the main island of the Solomon Islands.

Miss Nughu On A Sunday

She followed me around with her friends, when I walked through her village on Nughu in the Solomon Islands. I went to see the village, and what the people were up to on their Sunday. She then returned to her job for the day, bringing vegetables home for the family dinner, wrapped in big banana leaves - but stopped for just a moment for a hello, and a photo. 

Island Transport

Simple, but effective. The fishing boat tied up just before the village on Nughu Island, in the Solomon Islands. From our beachside huts for the weekend, we could see convoys of these heading out in the late afternoon, in search of dinner for the evening.

Friday Night Drinks By The Sea In Honiara

One of the most beautiful settings for Friday night drinks! In the Solomon Islands, I got to spend time with Fi and Dave, and this was the setting for local beers and a couple of pizzas, as we caught up on our travel stories between seeing each other last. With the sunset, of course! Gorgeous!

Introducing A Jouljet Travel Photo Series

From the Pacific Islands to Eastern Europe, I have managed to complete some pretty cool travel in the middle portion of this year. I want to start sharing my photos with you from these travels...the little moments that have caught my eye and my heart...on a weekly basis.

Truth is, it's hard to keep a regular post schedule going with my FIFO work habits. I cringe when my blog is idle and looks neglected. And I am pretty happy with a whole bunch of photos that I have captured, and shared on Instagram, and am really keen to share them here on the blog. I want to show you some of the amazing places I have seen!

As you can maybe spot here in this collage, I have managed to get to Tonga and the Solomon Islands between work rotations, which were easy enough in my respite weeks, and a reasonable flight time from the East Coast of Australia.  Then I travelled to Eastern Europe for a month of Summer, which added Greece, and the Balkans to my country list - Montenegro, Croatia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, and Serbia.

I want to show you the views I have been lucky to capture on my travels. I hope you'll enjoy!