Solomon Islands wild getaway: South Pacific’s largest uninhabited island is jewel of conservation and adventure
- Tetepare Island is a rugged place in the western Solomon Islands that’s cloaked in rainforest and fringed with biodiverse reefs
- It’s home to turtles, crocodiles and many endangered species. It’s also one of the last remaining nesting grounds for the giant leatherback turtle
Rain shoots into our eyes as our small fibreglass boat fights the rough sea. Thick grey clouds cover the horizon.
Being thrown around from one wave to the next doesn’t feel like the idyllic pacific family holiday we had set out on. But then again, perhaps it’s not surprising that travelling to the mystical Tetepare Island – one of the most remote in the vast chain of Solomon Islands – does not always go according to plan.
The towering local Melanesian boatman, who directs our boat through the maze of waves, radiates confidence: “Don’t worry we will be there soon.”
We finally reach a calmer bay with a small jetty. Dense, green, seemingly endless rainforest covers the shoreline. Between the trees I make out two wooden huts, the only signs of civilisation.
Tetepare is a rugged island in the western Solomon Islands that’s been nominated for Unesco World Heritage protection status. It is the largest uninhabited island in the South Pacific.
Local tribes have lived on the island for generations, but around 1860 it was abandoned in a mass exodus. The reasons are still shrouded in mystery – there are persistent speculations that the tribe, following the local customs of headhunting, had run out of people, or that a disease, caused by a bad curse, had made life unbearable.