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Malaita Island Vacations and Luxury Travel Packages
Malaita, the second biggest island of the Solomons, has 80,000 inhabitants and the highest population density. A ferry shuttles from Honiara to the main town Auki. You will find a relaxed atmosphere here, hotels, banks, a market, shops and restaurants. In the shallow waters of the Langa Langa Lagoon the inhabitants of the lagoon made artificial islands out of blocks of coral and sand, initially as a defense against enemy mountain tribes. Many families still live here, although they have to go to the mainland to work on their fields. "Shark callers" perform rituals and make offerings to pacify the sharks, which, according to tradition, are hosts to the souls of the villagers' ancestors.
In the south of the lagoon is the little island of Laulasi with its big "spirit houses" (tours via Auki Lodge). The thickly forested island has several roads (often in bad condition!) on which you can travel in converted passenger trucks. There are good facilities for bathing, diving and snorkeling, for example near the friendly village of Malu'u in the north or near Atori in the east (popular with surfers). From Atori one can cross to the idyllic island of Kwai. The inhabitants are friendly and the Rest House, built out of coral blocks, offers comfortable accommodation for the night. There are dozens of little inhabited islands in the Lau Lagoon to the northeast.
The Nggela (Florida) Islands north of Guadalcanal are made up of two main islands, Nggela Sule and Nggela Pile, which have beautiful and quiet beaches. Below the Nggelas, there is the little island of Tulagi with the former capital, also of that name.
The island of Savo in Iron Bottom Sound has an active volcano with two craters and various geothermal phenomena, such as fumaroles, mudholes and geysers. The megapode, an indigenous bird (Megapodius prichardis), buries its eggs in the warm sand.
A number of hotels, restaurants and diving facilities are located in the Western Province on Uepi Island, New Georgia Island and Gizo Island.
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