Malaita

Most boats still seem to be avoiding Malaita, but we had a great time in Lau Lagoon and in Bitaama.  In fact, I’d say they were some of our most interesting cultural experiences anywhere in the Pacific, and we found friendly folks who were delighted to have us, and we’re hoping more yachts would start coming back to their villages.

Malaita – Lau Lagoon

We stayed for two nights in Lau Lagoon, anchored just in front of the village of Gelaulu.  The pass into Lau Lagoon was well marked.  We came in just before dark, and dropped the hook in the first sandy spot we found at:   8⁰18.238’S, 160⁰45.216’E in about 10 feet of water.  We used fore and aft anchors to make sure we didn’t go dry, but the holding was excellent and we had no problems.  The locals told us you could anchor in deeper water (60-70 feet) in the channel, which might be a better option during low tide events.  There are other places to anchor further in the lagoon, but we’d suggest starting in Gelaulu and talking to Chief Paul Tuita right away.  Also note that, when we stopped here this year (2013), Gelaulu had recently established a marine conservation area very near the spot we anchored.  They are serious about the conservation area, and there are fines for even passing through it (fines go to a community fund).  You’ll see a couple of buoys on your left as you enter the lagoon.  We set our stern anchor right next to one of them, not realizing what it was.  Be sure you do not anchor within the conservation area!

We came to Lau Lagoon to look for dugongs (we saw one, but they are still eating them in the lagoon, so there aren’t many of them anymore), but found it was the locals that made the trip worthwhile.  They hadn’t had a boat there in many years.  When we went to shore in the morning to bring a gift to the chief and ask permission to anchor (note, he really likes tea), we were greeted by a really excited village.  The old folks were out, tattooed head to toe, with betel-nut stained teeth, and when we pulled out photos from home, everyone gathered around to take a look.  A young man, in the category you might think was up to no good, smiled broadly and scurried up a tree to grab us some coconuts.

Later, the chief came out to the boat to “story” with us about the area.   We learned a lot.  Chief Paul said he’d arranged to have a canoe come paddle around our boat all night for security, but it was too windy out, so he offered to sleep on deck instead.  We declined, and said we’d keep a careful watch ourselves instead, but we had no trouble.  We did have one visitor in the middle of the night our first night there, before we’d been in to visit the chief, but we think he actually just came to leave us some fish.  The chief assured us he’d made sure his village understood daytime visits are okay, but not nighttime.  He also chatted with us for a long time about local customs, tabu sites, the artificial islands, troubles in Malaita (from “time befoa” and today), and all sorts of other things.  It was all quite interesting, and worth the visit.  Note that the chief did lament that men and women wear the same clothes these days—he strongly believes that women should wear skirts or dresses, not pants, so it’s not a good spot to push the boundaries.

Malaita – Bitaama Harbour

From Lau Lagoon, we sailed back around to Bitaama Harbor.  Bitaama is an excellent anchorage with protection from any direction.  We anchored in two different spots and both were great.  The first time, we tucked into the small cove on the right as you head in.  The second time, we anchored at the southern head of the bay.  A couple of locals did tell us that if you go in too far toward the head of the bay, you’ll get to the coral.  We were in about 40 feet and did not get tangled on anything.  They told us they used to get boats here, but haven’t had any in a few years, and they desperately want the boats back.

We anchored just as the school bell rang and had kids full of canoes out at the boat pretty much constantly.  But, they were all very polite, and when we told them we needed to do something, they would leave (until a new batch came out).  The chief, Derek, told us not to let anyone on the boat, so we told the kids no one was allowed on board, and they didn’t push back.  Although, as far as we could tell, there are really no security issues here, the chief paddled his canoe around our boat, fishing, most of the first night to be sure we were safe.  When we came ashore, he appointed one of his sons to watch the boat for us.  We had absolutely no trouble.  The whole bay is the same village, and the chief is determined to make sure it’s safe for yachts.

In Bitaama, there are lots of cultural sites you can see if you stick around for a bit.  They have traditionally done a dolphin hunt in the bay—they call dolphins through a traditional kastom, and then kill them.  They eat the meat and use the teeth for brideprice.  They have just recently worked with a conservation group and agreed to stop the dolphin hunt.  Instead, they are going to try to turn live dolphins into tourist dollars and share their kastom with visitors.  We met the “last old man,” a 109-year old man who is the last man who knows how to call the dolphins through the traditional ceremony.  He also fought as a scout in WWII, and he has quite a story to tell and some scars to show you.  There’s much to tell from Bitaama, but these are their stories and it’s best to let the people of Bitaama tell them.

Isabel

We made a couple of short stops in southern Isabel after Malaita.

Isabel – Valavu

We stopped first in Valavu, another spot where they don’t get many boats.  This was a good anchorage (better than it looked on the chart), as there is a reef giving you pretty decent protection.  Lots of excited kids came out to visit us here.  One of the kids, a 12-year-old, asked me, “What’s wrong with your nose?”  I had to ask my partner, as I wasn’t aware there was anything wrong with it.  He looked at me, then laughed and said, “She’s white!  It’s sunburned.”

If you stop here, be sure you see the chief, and make sure you’re clear on how long you are going to stay and what you want to do (i.e., snorkeling, diving, taking pictures).  We had a good stop, and some really interesting conversations about some resource development issues the village is facing.  They are eager for tourists to help them fend off the logging and mining proposals, but the chief seemed to prefer that boats only stay for a couple of days.  Plenty of info in the Dirk Seiling guide for this area.  A village nearby put on a festival at the end of September this year, but it didn’t work out for our timing.

Tetepare Island

After all the well-known stops in the western province, we made our way to Tetepare Island, which was probably our favorite stop in the Solomons.  We had trouble finding much information about anchoring, so thought we’d share some GPS waypoints.

Tetepare is the largest conservation area in the Solomons, and it seems to be effective.  The snorkeling was fantastic—maybe even better than the hot spots in Marovo Lagoon.  It’s run by the Tetepare Descendants Association, and they seem to be doing a good job.  It has its problems, of course, but the rangers working there are pretty excited about what they’re doing.  There is a research station and a lodge, and when the lodge makes money, they use it to provide scholarships for school fees for some of the villages that are involved.

Tetepare – Entry Anchorage

There are a number of anchorages on the island, but the Rangers would like you to start with the anchorage in front of the lodge, so that you can pay your conservation fee and they can tell you the rules for the area.  The lodge is in the lagoon on the far southwest side of the island, just around the western corner from Waugh Bay.  The pass into the lagoon is not super-obvious until you know where it is, though it can be seen on Google Earth.  If you circle at the entrance for a bit, the rangers may come out and guide you in (they led us in and showed us where they wanted us to anchor).  The entrance to the pass is at 8⁰43.187’S, 157⁰26.125’E.  You’ll see a barrel (actually, it’s just a mesh bag full of Styrofoam) ahead of you.  As you enter keep the barrel to your right.  The channel then is narrow, but it’s plenty deep and pretty clear.  It’s pretty obvious where it starts to get shallow.  You will pass between two large bommies, and then you get to a shallow, sandy patch.   That’s where you anchor.  There is a strong current in the lagoon (and it’s always going out), and it’s a relatively small spot, so we set a stern anchor to keep from running into coral heads.  It was about 10 feet deep, but a consistent depth in the sandy area.  Our position was: 8⁰43.227’S, 157⁰26.398’E.  It is exposed to the southeast winds, but the reef breaks the waves—we were there in fairly light winds, and it was great.   Awesome snorkeling right off the boat.   If the wind picked up and got too strong, you could move over to Waugh Bay.  It’s an easy walk from Waugh Bay to the lodge (and Waugh Bay also has great snorkeling).

The fees, in 2013, were $100 SBD per person for a conservation fee, and $250 SBD for a mooring fee (though I’m not certain the mooring fee is the same for every boat).  It’s a one-time fee, and you can stay as long as you want.  If there are no people staying at the lodge, there will be a couple of rangers, but you otherwise pretty much get the island to yourself.  There are some trails, and the Rangers will take you for a guided hike.  If there are guests around, or research projects going on, you may be able to tag along on some of the turtle monitoring or other projects.  Unfortunately, the leatherbacks were not yet nesting while we were there, so we didn’t get to see leatherbacks.  There are sometimes dugongs, but they have lost a lot of seagrass in recent years (they’re not sure why), and the dugongs have not been around as much lately.  But, we saw lots of birds, had a great time just having the chance to walk among the big trees, fabulous snorkeling, and we saw a bunch of monitor lizards and a cuscus—the first non-bird land animals we’ve seen in ages!

Tetepare – Waugh Bay

Once you’ve paid your fees, you can also go anchor elsewhere around the island, and are free to wander there, which we very much enjoyed.  We anchored in Waugh Bay, in front of the sandy beach at 8⁰42.408’S, 157⁰26.904’E.  We used fore and aft anchors to keep us from sliding down the steep slope.  Saw a few crocodiles, but still had great snorkeling.  Tons of bumphead parrotfish and great visibility.  Nice walk to the crocodile lake.

The rangers can tell you about some other spots you can anchor as well.  We loved Tetepare, and would highly recommend it.  If you go to the islands nearby, make sure you tell them how much you liked Tetepare so they know it’s bringing people in their direction (there seems to be some contention among the descendants b/c it’s not possible to give all of them jobs or scholarships, so they don’t all see the tangible benefits they want to see—it’s good to let them hear you’re interested in the leatherbacks and the standing trees).

Kate Glover