Solomon Islands - Savo Island

From energetic dolphins to volcanic beaches, a four-legged hiking companion, and a festival we never expected to attend. Our visit to Savo Island turned into one of our favorite experiences in the Solomon Islands so far!

Up the Mast and Off to New Adventures

After finishing our provisioning marathon in Honiara, it was finally time to move on again. We had enjoyed our little return to civilization, but we were more than ready to escape the city and explore another remote island. Of course, Tauha had other plans.

That morning, we started lifting the dinghy back onto the boat when, all of a sudden, the winching became incredibly difficult. Luckily, the dinghy was already high enough for us to wrestle it over the edge and onto the deck. The rope, however, wouldn't move another inch. Oh no. It looked like one of the pulleys had broken. And since we needed that rope to lower the dinghy back into the water, simply ignoring the problem wasn't an option. After all, who knew what our next anchorage would look like? So, instead of setting sail, Alex sent me up the mast. Once up there, I quickly discovered the problem. The side of the pulley had broken off, allowing the rope to jump out of its groove and become firmly wedged between the pulley wheel and the broken pieces of plastic and metal. Wonderful. We tried for a while to free the rope, but without much success. And after getting tossed around in the mast for long enough that I started feeling rather unwell, I decided it was time for a different approach. We would take the entire pulley down and try to fix it later with some tools. Just another relaxing morning aboard Tauha! By the time we had everything secured, it was almost noon. But finally, we were ready to leave.

From the City to Paradise in Just a Few Hours

Our next destination was Savo Island, a volcanic island just off the main islands of the Solomon Islands. In fact, it was so close that we could already see it from Honiara. The sail was wonderfully relaxed. There wasn't much wind, and the waves were small, which made for a pleasant but rather slow journey. Around 3 p.m., we finally approached the island. And wow. Although Savo didn't look particularly big from a distance, up close it was absolutely stunning. Steep green cliffs rose above the coastline, birds were singing in the trees, and gentle waves rolled onto beautiful white-sand beaches. We slowly made our way along the coast toward our anchorage, soaking in the scenery. Just like that, within a few hours, we had gone from the busy streets of Honiara to a tropical island that felt wonderfully remote.

Anchoring was easy, and as we approached, we noticed fish jumping everywhere around us. Some of them were surprisingly large! It was no wonder that we could see villagers fishing along the coast. But the fish weren't the only ones putting on a show. Shortly after we dropped our anchor, dolphins appeared nearby. And not just a few dolphins. There were several groups, each with more than a dozen animals, making it the largest gathering of dolphins we had ever seen! Big dolphins and little dolphins alike were swimming, jumping, and performing what looked like backflips. We stood on deck watching them, completely fascinated. What a welcome to Savo Island!

Can We Trust You?

Throughout the afternoon, several canoes and motorboats passed through our anchorage. Shortly before sunset, a boat carrying three men approached us. Unlike most people we had encountered in the Solomon Islands, they didn't greet us with their usual enthusiastic waves. Instead, they immediately asked us to pay an anchoring fee. Now, we don't mind contributing something to the local communities when we visit their islands. Quite the opposite! But as sailors, you do have to be careful about whom you give money to, since not everyone collecting fees is necessarily authorized to do so. We started asking questions. One of the men explained that he was the chief's son. When we asked whether we could speak directly with the chief, he even offered to take us there by boat. That made us feel a little more comfortable, and since the requested fee was only about $10 USD, we eventually agreed to pay.

Interestingly, the atmosphere changed almost immediately afterward. The men became much more relaxed and friendly, answering our questions about the island and explaining which places we could visit. In the end, everyone seemed happy, and we were looking forward to a peaceful evening.

A Sea Full of Stars

That night, a small thunderstorm passed over our anchorage. But there was also something to celebrate! The Milwaukee Brewers, Alex's favorite baseball team from Wisconsin, had won the championship, which naturally called for a celebration beer. After all, even on a remote island in the Solomon Islands, some traditions simply have to be maintained!

Later that evening, we went outside to check that everything was secure and that our anchor was holding properly. But when we looked down into the water, we noticed something extraordinary. The ocean was glowing. Tiny sparkling lights surrounded the boat, making the water look almost like a reflection of the night sky. Bioluminescence! We have often seen bioluminescent organisms light up the water while sailing at night, especially when the boat disturbs the surface. But this was the first time we had seen so many glowing around us while sitting quietly at anchor. It was absolutely mesmerizing. What a magical end to our first day on Savo Island.

In Search of the Megapodes

The next morning, we had a mission. We wanted to find the megapodes! Now, you might be wondering: What on Earth is a megapode?

Megapodes are fascinating birds that have a rather unusual approach to parenting. Instead of sitting on their eggs to keep them warm, they bury them in the ground and let the surrounding heat do the incubating. And on a volcanic island like Savo, the naturally heated sand makes the perfect nesting ground. The birds themselves are smaller than chickens and can fly, but their eggs are surprisingly large, even bigger than chicken eggs, with an unusually high proportion of yolk. Savo Island is one of the few places where these fascinating birds can be observed, and I had heard that there were nesting grounds on the northern side of the island. Naturally, I wanted to see them.

The best time to visit is early in the morning, when the birds come down to lay their eggs before disappearing into the forest for the rest of the day. We had every intention of getting an early start. Unfortunately, there was still that broken pulley. Before we could even think about going ashore, we had to free the trapped rope. Then Alex sent me back up the mast to install a replacement pulley and get everything working again.

Only after that could we finally lower the dinghy. By the time we reached the beach, it was already around 9 a.m. So much for our early start! But we were determined to explore anyway.

A Four-Legged Hiking Companion

As we landed our dinghy on the beach, a woman and several small children came over to help us pull it out of the water. They were incredibly friendly, although most of the children were rather shy. This time, however, we were better prepared for our little visitors. We had brought some lollipops, which were met with great excitement! After thanking everyone, we set off on foot.

To our pleasant surprise, walking around Savo was actually quite easy. Just behind the first line of trees, a lovely path connected the small villages scattered along the coastline. Most villages consisted of only a handful of houses, and everyone we passed greeted us with a wave or a friendly "Good morning!" At one house, which appeared to be a small resort that only occasionally received visitors, we met someone rather special. A little dog. She seemed to be mostly blind, but that certainly didn't stop her from getting around. She came straight toward us, happily accepted some petting, and then simply decided to join our adventure. And that was that. We had a dog now. She followed us everywhere, happily trotting along the path. She didn't seem particularly interested in food or water. All she wanted was company. What a sweet little creature!

A Man With a Machete and a Lesson About Tabu

As the morning progressed, the sun climbed higher and higher, and the temperature became increasingly uncomfortable. Eventually, we decided to take a break in the shade of some trees near the beach. We had just settled down with a banana when an older man approached us. Carrying a machete. Well, hello there. He explained that someone had informed him that a white man was sitting on his lawn, so he had come to investigate. Fair enough! Luckily, he turned out to be incredibly friendly and spoke excellent English. He had previously worked as a tourist guide and was happy to tell us about life on Savo Island, the megapodes, and all sorts of other things. Unfortunately, he spoke so quietly that we could barely understand half of what he was saying. So we mostly sat there, eating our bananas, smiling, and trying our best to follow along. But he did solve one mystery for us.

Throughout our walk, we had noticed bottles mounted on sticks, each marked with a red line. We had been wondering what they meant. Apparently, these were tabu markers. They indicate areas where certain activities are forbidden under local customary rules. For example, a pair of markers might indicate that swimming is prohibited in a particular section of beach or that coconuts must not be collected from a certain area.

Good to know! After a while, we thanked the man and continued our walk.

As we passed his "front yard", we noticed a large tarp covered with split-open coconuts drying in the sun. Ah! That probably explained the machete. We later learned that leaving cracked coconuts in the sun for a few days helps the flesh separate more easily from the shell. Always something new to learn!

Ten Kids, One Dog, and a Very Hot Beach

The farther we walked, the more beautiful the coastline became. The sand turned increasingly white, and the water shifted into the most incredible shades of bright turquoise and blue. It looked like paradise. Unfortunately, paradise was also incredibly hot.

The sun was beating down on us, and every opportunity to cool my feet in the water was very welcome. As we approached the megapode nesting grounds, we came across a group of children playing in the sea. When they saw us, they immediately became curious. Where were we going?

"To see the megapodes nesting grounds!" That was apparently all they needed to hear. Within moments, they abandoned their swimming and decided to accompany us. Suddenly, we were walking toward the nesting grounds with about ten excited children and our faithful little dog. Quite the expedition!

The children walked barefoot across the scorching sand as if it were nothing, while I struggled along in my sandals. How do they do that? When we finally reached the nesting grounds, the children eagerly explained how the birds came down in the morning to lay their eggs and how the villagers later dug them out of the sand. We were standing on the fenced nesting area when another man approached us. His name was Wilfred, and he was the son of Paxton, the landowner. And he had some exciting news.

An Invitation We Couldn't Refuse

Wilfred explained that the very first organized Megapode Festival on Savo Island would take place the following day. And he wanted us to come!

We were immediately interested, but there was one small problem. We had a sailboat anchored quite far away, and after our long, hot walk, neither of us was particularly excited about repeating the entire journey the next day. "No problem!" Wilfred explained. We could simply bring Tauha around and anchor directly in front of the nesting grounds. Wait, really? That sounded perfect! He told us that they were expecting around 120 visitors, mostly local people from around Savo and Honiara. The idea was to start with a small festival and hopefully expand it in the coming years. The event was also connected to efforts to conserve the island's megapode population and raise awareness of these unusual birds. We loved the idea. So we promised Wilfried that we would move Tauha to the new anchorage later that afternoon and join the festival the next morning. He seemed genuinely excited to have us there. And we were equally excited to see what the next day would bring.

The Long Walk Back

Of course, there was still one little obstacle. We had to walk all the way back to our dinghy. And by now, it was HOT. Really hot. Our feet hurt, our legs were tired, and the sun seemed determined to cook us alive. The only member of our expedition who still had unlimited energy was our little dog. She continued trotting happily alongside us as if we had only just started. Along the way, we spotted the tail of an enormous monitor lizard disappearing into the vegetation. Unfortunately, it vanished too quickly for us to see the whole animal, but judging by the size of its tail, it must have been huge! Later, we spotted a smaller monitor lizard climbing a tree, which we managed to observe for a little longer.

Eventually, after what felt like an eternity, we finally made it back to the dinghy. The same children who had helped us that morning came over again to assist us with launching it. But then came the sad part. Our little dog wanted to come with us. She followed us right into the water and even started swimming alongside the dinghy as we pulled away. Oh no! We would have loved to take her with us, but of course, that wasn't possible. It was heartbreaking to leave our sweet little companion behind.

Back on Tauha, the first thing we did was jump straight into the water. What a relief! After cooling down and getting something to eat, we finally felt human again. And then, despite our exhaustion, it was time to move.

A New Anchorage and Some Curious Visitors

We lifted the anchor and motored around the island toward the nesting grounds. There was barely any wind, but at least the journey was significantly faster than walking! The anchorage wasn't marked on our charts, so we approached carefully, checking the bottom and looking for a suitable patch of sand. Eventually, we dropped our anchor in about 14 meters of water. Almost immediately afterward, the depth increased to just 7 meters as we drifted over the shallower shelf. Later, when Alex snorkeled down to inspect the anchor, he discovered that we had dropped it almost exactly on the edge of the underwater drop-off. Luckily, the wind was holding us in the right direction, the anchor was well set, and everything looked secure. Perfect!

By then, we had only about an hour and a half of daylight remaining. Onshore, a large group of children was playing in the water, clearly fascinated by the sailboat that had suddenly appeared in front of their village. Apparently, the last time a visiting sailboat had anchored there was about ten years ago! No wonder everyone was curious. Several children immediately started paddling and swimming toward us. And then we spotted a familiar face in one of the canoes. Wilfred! He had come out to welcome us.

We invited him and a few of the children aboard, made Wilfred a coffee, and handed out some candy to our younger visitors. We spent a lovely evening talking about the festival, the island, and Wilfred's life. He had grown up on Savo and, apart from traveling to a few other islands in the Solomons for school and work, had spent most of his life there. He told us about the volcanic soil, which made the island wonderfully fertile, and about the hot springs scattered around Savo. He also explained that rainwater was no longer sufficient for the island's needs, so people increasingly relied on fresh groundwater.

As the last daylight began to fade, Alex took the children who couldn't fit into the canoe back to shore in our dinghy. After dinner, we went to bed.

Tomorrow was going to be a special day.

Finally, the Megapodes!

The following morning, we got up early and headed ashore around 8 a.m. Wilfred was already waiting for us. And so were about ten children, who immediately helped us pull the dinghy up the beach. Some of them had even been assigned the important responsibility of looking after it throughout the day. How sweet is that?

Wilfred took us straight to the megapode nesting grounds. We didn't want to disturb the birds, so we stayed outside the fence and watched quietly. And there they were! Five megapodes were walking around in the sand! Finally! After all our efforts the previous day, we were thrilled to actually see them. Later, we watched several more birds flying back into the surrounding forest.

Wilfred showed us around and explained how the nesting grounds worked. The villagers sometimes prepared holes about half a meter deep in the sand. When a megapode found one of these holes, it could dig even deeper before depositing its egg. The warm volcanic sand then took over the job of incubation. What a fascinating adaptation!

Nuts, Coconuts, and Waiting for the Guests

After our little birdwatching session, Wilfred took us into the nearby forest, where we waited for the other festival visitors to arrive. One after another, more men from the village joined us, and soon we found ourselves having wonderful conversations about island life with about twenty new friends. They showed us different nuts growing on Savo and even picked a couple of varieties for us to try. They cracked them open, and we tasted the fresh nuts like the kata nut. Delicious! Some of them tasted almost like fresh hazelnuts. We were also treated to fresh coconut and saw our first cocoa tree with fruit growing on it.

Between the coconuts, cocoa, nuts, and all the other tropical fruits, Savo seemed to have just about everything you could wish for growing naturally around the villages. What an incredible place! We also finally learned something we had been wondering about ever since arriving in the Solomon Islands: Why does chewing betel nut turn people's mouths and teeth bright red? The men explained that betel nut is chewed together with a white powder made from burned coral or shells, which is processed into lime. When mixed with the betel nut and saliva, a chemical reaction produces that distinctive reddish color we had seen so often. Mystery solved!

The guests coming from Honiara were running late, but we didn't mind. We were having far too much fun talking to everyone. Eventually, though, we heard that the boat had arrived. Time for the festival to begin!

Alex Vs. the Megapode Egg

Back at the nesting grounds, the villagers began demonstrating how they collected megapode eggs. First, they explained how to recognize a nesting spot by looking for loose, disturbed sand. Then they showed us how to dig down to find the buried eggs. And then it was Alex's turn!

He was invited to try digging one out himself. Easy enough, right? Well, not quite.

His egg was buried particularly deep, and the hole kept collapsing as he tried to reach it. Fortunately, he had plenty of enthusiastic supporters offering advice, encouragement but also laughter. It was hilarious to watch. Dig, dig, dig. Collapse. Dig some more. Another collapse. But eventually, after a lot of effort, he managed to retrieve the egg! Success!

Everyone was excited, and we were even allowed to keep it. Not exactly the kind of souvenir you expect to collect while sailing around the world! And we were lucky enough to witness something else truly special! One of the megapode eggs that the villagers had left untouched during their egg collection had actually hatched, and we even got to see a tiny baby megapode! What an incredible surprise!

Traditional Dances and Megapode Eggs for Lunch

After the egg-digging demonstration, it was time for the cultural performances. Several villages from around Savo had prepared traditional dances for the festival. But first, food! We got some chicken, rice, and a hard-boiled megapode egg. Naturally, we had to try it. And it was delicious!

The egg had a wonderfully rich, creamy texture, thanks to its unusually large yolk. With our stomachs full, we settled down to watch the performances.

By now, we had made another new friend, Jermana, who helped explain some of the dances and their meanings. Paxton, the landowner, had also gotten hold of a microphone and was enthusiastically sharing explanations with the crowd. The performances were wonderfully varied. One dance told the story of women sharing beer and becoming rather drunk. Another portrayed the megapodes coming down to lay their eggs.

And then there were traditional warrior dances, once performed in connection with deciding whether to go to war, including rituals intended to drive away or challenge spirits. The costumes were just as varied as the performances. Some dancers wore elaborate body paint, others beautiful jewelry, traditional skirts, or very little clothing at all. It was fascinating to see the different traditions represented.

The children were equally enthusiastic, sitting among the crowd, watching the dances, and snacking on popcorn and dry instant noodles. And speaking of popcorn, we discovered another local specialty. Popcorn seasoned with the spice packets from instant ramen noodles! Who would have thought?

It was such a joyful atmosphere, with people laughing, dancing, eating, and enjoying the celebration together. And there we were, two sailors who had only arrived on the island the day before, somehow right in the middle of it all.

Conversations About Island Life

After the performances, Jermana invited us to walk farther through the village. We eventually ended up at his uncle's house, where we spent another wonderful hour talking. He told us about making coconut oil, about his son who was studying in Australia on a scholarship, and about life on Savo Island. Our conversation also turned to politics, education, and how people receive information about what is happening in the wider world. Although many people on the island have mobile phones, and there is even a Starlink connection, internet access isn't something everyone uses constantly. Electricity is also limited, meaning appliances such as refrigerators don't exist on the island.

It was interesting to hear about the challenges and opportunities of island life directly from someone who had spent so many years there. Our host was incredibly kind and seemed genuinely delighted to have visitors interested in his stories. We could have stayed much longer. But after two very full days of exploring, walking, meeting people, and celebrating, we were exhausted. Eventually, we decided it was time to head back to Tauha. And since the water was so inviting, we decided to swim alongside the dinghy for part of the way to cool down. The perfect end to a wonderful day.

One of Our Favorite Experiences So Far

Looking back, our time on Savo Island was one of the most memorable experiences of our journey through the Pacific. We had arrived expecting a quiet anchorage, perhaps a walk to see some unusual birds, and a little bit of island exploration. Instead, we found ourselves surrounded by dancing dolphins, glowing water, curious children, a loyal little dog, fascinating wildlife, and some of the friendliest people we have met. And somehow, completely by chance, we had been invited to take part in the island's very first Megapode Festival. What made the experience so special wasn't just the birds or the beautiful scenery. It was the people. And especially the children made our stay unforgettable! Whether they were helping us pull our dinghy onto the beach, proudly showing us around their village, or simply following us wherever we went, they were always full of curiosity and excitement. Even the simplest things could turn into a little attraction. At one point, Alex was putting on sunscreen, and suddenly he had an entire audience of fascinated children watching his every move. Apparently, watching a white guy cover himself in sunscreen was quite the entertainment! We had so much fun laughing with them. Sometimes we didn't even need to speak the same language to have a wonderful time together. Wilfred, Paxton, Jermana, the children, and everyone else who welcomed us so warmly made us feel like part of their community, even if only for a day.

We also loved seeing the excitement surrounding the festival and the local efforts to protect the megapodes for future generations. Hopefully, the festival will continue to grow and bring more visitors to this beautiful island, while helping preserve its unique wildlife. So, while much of the world was celebrating Halloween, we were celebrating something entirely different. Happy Megapode Day!

What's Next?

The following morning, it was already time to lift the anchor and continue our journey. Our next destination? The Russell Islands! And I can already give you a little spoiler: we found ourselves in an absolutely beautiful lagoon with crystal-clear blue water. But more about that next week!

For now, we are leaving Savo Island with wonderful memories, new friendships, and a renewed appreciation for the unexpected adventures that make sailing around the world so special. After all, sometimes the best experiences are the ones you never planned.

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