Savo Island's megapode fields run along the northern coast, close to the village of Panueli
Island Hopping Through Oceania - Savo Island
It was dark by the time we cleared customs, collected our bags, and climbed into a taxi bound for the city. After sleepy Port Vila, Honiara (capital of the Solomon Islands) seemed hectic, almost like an actual city. That is, from what we could see through our cab’s insanely dark tinted windows, which let in only the faintest impression of the outside world.
Boats to Savo Island leave from Honiara’s Point Cruz Yacht Club
The following morning, as we sweated our way to Point Cruz Yacht Club to see about a boat to Savo Island, we realised Honiara was just a dusty one-street town. The main street was strung along the bay, the ramshackle market, reeking of fish, at one end, and the yacht club towards the other. In between, the potholed two-lane road and crumbling pavements threw up a constant cloud of dust. Pedestrians shielded their faces with cloths, and we squinted our eyes to keep out the worst.
Halos, the dinghy that would carry us the 40km or so across the open ocean to Savo Island, being unloaded of trash before departure
The public boats to Savo Island depart from a dusty yard beside the yacht club. The yard was packed with foot-high fibreglass dinghies, strewn with litter and stained red with the ubiquitous betel nut juice (everyone chewed betel nut in the Solomons, their teeth all a reddish shade of brown). Despite the chaos, we quickly found Londsdale and John, who were departing for Savo at 2:30 pm.
Patience is critical when travelling to Savo Island
When we returned at the allotted time, Lonsdale informed us that because of the weather (windy, white-capped waves out to sea), we would wait for the other boats heading to Savo and travel in convoy. He assured us, however, that it was still safe to travel. Savo is roughly 40km from Honiara, so it’s not a journey to be undertaken in rough seas, especially in a foot-high dinghy.
Reassured, we loaded our bags into Halos, our ride to Savo, and walked back into town to get some supplies. Upon our return, Halos (and our bags) were nowhere to be seen. Lonsdale assured us the boat would return shortly, and our departure time slipped back to 3:30, “no later than four”.
Halos did briefly return, laden with rubbish – our bags just visible through the polystyrene boxes – and then quickly sped off again. The departure time slipped back as Halos continued ferrying detritus from a ship anchored offshore, and the sun dipped further in the sky.
By 5 pm, the boat was finally done ferrying trash, and we waded into the filthy bay to climb into the waiting vessel. Laden down with bags of rice and cement, seven other people and their luggage, we motored out of the harbour and into the open ocean.
Fearing for our lives on the way to Savo Island
The one other boat that had waited to convoy with us soon left us in its wake. Our tiny boat bobbed like a toy in the building swell. By the time we were halfway across, the waves were towering over our boat as we sped through the troughs and crested the peaks of the waves, zigzagging as we went to avoid the breaking white caps.
At times, we surfed the waves, sitting higher than I ever imagined possible in the ocean; at other times, the waves broke over the sides. All the while, the skipper drank his beers, hollered, and laughed with glee, as our hands went numb from gripping the rope so tightly and our eyes reddened from the relentless salt spray.
Grinning through our fear on the journey to Savo Island
By the time we approached the island, the only illumination was the odd solar light on shore—there’s no power or roads on Savo—and we had a warped feeling of relief at not having to watch the giant waves bearing down on us anymore. As we finally jumped out into the shallows in front of Sunset Lodge, we congratulated ourselves on our survival and vowed not to repeat the journey in such bad conditions.
Climbing a volcano on Savo Island
Traumatised, and with bruised bums from slamming through the waves for two hours on a wooden bench, we spent our first morning on Savo Island recovering mentally and physically from the night before. The hammocks on the verandah at Sunset Lodge were hard to leave, but we didn’t brave the raging ocean just to sit around.
The verandah at Sunset Lodge was a great place to relax
So, after lunch, we set off with John or Tom – he seemed to have interchangeable names – to climb ‘the volcano’. It began with a boat ride, happily much smoother than the night before. The hike itself started where a baked-dry stream bed met the ocean, and we began hiking up into Savo’s precipitous hills.
The wide, dusty stream bed gradually narrowed and dampened until we were hopscotching up a babbling stream between sheer fern-covered rock walls. The heat only built as we climbed, the stream water turning from refreshingly cool to scaldingly hot as we approached the volcano. We navigated steaming waterfalls using handmade ladders and teetered our way across scorching pools on precariously placed logs.
Our guide, Tom/John, led us up a steaming stream to Savo Island's volcano
It was only once we reached the sulphurous crater of steaming vents and bubbling earth that Tom/John felt it prudent to recommend we ‘walk fast’, as water literally boiled out of the ground under our feet. Thankfully, our shoes didn’t melt, and we made it back down the hot stream without poaching our feet.
Savo Island’s megapodes
The following morning, we got up early for a 6 am breakfast and prompt departure at 7 am to see Savo Island’s megapodes. As we waited, breakfast at 6 am became breakfast at 7:15, and it was close to 8 am by the time we set off with our faithful guide, Tom/John. Island time is all good, but the birds wouldn’t wait.
Savo Island’s megapodes are chicken-sized birds that live in the tropical forest. They come down from the trees in the early morning to lay their eggs in the volcanically heated sand on the coast next to Panueli village. The incubation period lasts about 50 days, and once hatched the young megapodes are fully formed and able to fly within a few hours.
The skittish megapodes of Savo Island
If the eggs aren’t snatched first. As we arrived at Panueli, the local men were gathering in the forest adjacent to the megapode fields. They were waiting for 9 am, the designated time to enter the fields. Savo Island’s megapode fields are carefully tended. Coconut palm fences keep local dogs out, weeds and fallen leaves are fastidiously cleared away, and hundreds of foot-deep holes are pre-dug by hand to get the birds started.
When the birds arrive, they extend these holes up to 1.5 metres deep, digging with their large feet before filling the holes in again. We had to wait until 8:50 before we were allowed a quick sneak peek of these nervous birds through the palm fence. As the diggers arrived at 9 am, the birds squawked off into the forest, and the job of undoing all the birds’ hard work began.
The diggers fanned out, looking for the flat areas of disturbed sand that are the telltale sign an egg lies beneath. Once located, they began digging with an oval-shaped wooden digging board. As they got closer to the egg, the board was discarded, and the diggers’ torsos disappeared as they gently scraped by hand until the egg was finally uncovered.
Villagers digging for megapode eggs on Savo Island
Ruben Tinoni is a master digger and quickly had three megapode eggs uncovered
Play Video about Solomon Islands Savo Island Megapode Laying Ground
The daily ritual at Savo Island's megapode fields
Sadly, megapode numbers are decreasing, and the only eggs not harvested are those that are missed. There are no conservation practices in the village, and there are concerns that the birds may go extinct locally if this unsustainable harvest continues. Unfortunately, the promise of a few dollars today outweighs the long-term viability of the resource for the villagers—an issue that’s sadly not unique to Savo Island.
This Leg
Days: 4
Flights: 1
Boats: 3
Islands: 2
Countries & Territories: 1
Total
Days: 22
Flights: 7
Boats: 11
Islands: 11
Countries & Territories: 4