Thursday 15th November.

25 days to go.

Today is football day. The intrepid work team have repeatedly struggled to 3-2 defeats in consecutive games. They have been the better team on both occasions and also on both occasions have been sitting at 2-2 until the last few minutes of the game. Seeking to find the winner rather than settle for the draw, they have been beaten on the break both times.

Unfortunately there was no ground for us to play on. It is Solomon Cup time. All the local Provinces play off for a trophy. They have claimed all, well when I say all, I mean 3 of the grounds to train on. The other pitches that are used would not pass inspection in Oz.

More info on the Solomons

The economy is currently supported by the fishing and logging industries. There are also developing mineral industries, particularly gold and nickel. Palm Oil and copra are also exported. Recently the Solomons began to export live dolphins. Handicrafts are also produced ranging from woven baskets to carved bowls inlaid with shell. Jewellery is also made from shell.
There are over 550,000 people inhabiting the Solomons. The official language is English, however a combination of English, Pidgin and local dialects are heard. 97% of the population are Christian. The area is subject to earthquakes, volcanic eruption and tsunamis.

Tourism is on the rise in the Solomons. There is not much infrastructure and it is reminiscent of Asia in the 1970s. I went to one, called “fatboys”. They are working hard to make it a destination to enjoy. They are self contained, you can eat, sleep, swim, kayak and snorkle at fatboys. They will organise boats to take you diving and surfing. There are several other resorts to enjoy also. The land is beautiful, rugged and most commonly jungle. On arrival it looks as if some of the trees have been cleared on some hills. This is not so, for whatever reason, nature decided to include some hills that were only grass covered. There are some dangers, such as crocodiles, sea snakes, stone fish and sharks in the waters of the Solomons. If in doubt, as the locals, they will let you know if any are present in the area. There is great opportunity to snorkel and dive. Besides the wrecks from WW2 there are many reefs with many life forms. Turtles, starfish, many types of fish, coral, anemone, sea cucumbers etc are all abound in the Solomons.

There are many different bird species, several species of parrots including the Red Eclectus, to thrushes to megapodes and even hornbills. There are turtles, snakes, both pythons and poisonous types, lizards, scorpions and frogs. Some are poisonous, but they are rare and very seldom seen. There are also bats rats and a marsupial cuscus. There are coconut and mangrove trees grasses and moss. After harvesting the abundant and naturally growing Coconut, the colonists organised a genetically modified Coconut tree. This was shorter than the local one making it easier to climb and harvest. The fruit was also smaller and not as sweet. The locals referred to them as Colonial Coconuts. The indigenous ones are slowly reclaiming the land. It is now unusual to see many of the introduced trees. Cocoa trees were also planted under the coconut trees. Some of the plantations have failed and a lot of the production wasted, or farmed by small producers.