Our village hosts tell 'custom stories' you literally won't believe! Malaita has a road system along the western and northern coasts and your hosts can take you sightseeing in bumpy but cheap public passenger trucks. From our host village at Auki you can hike across the interior to the east coast, passing through isolated bush villages where outsiders are rarely seen, and return by truck. There are no prepaid transfer charges for Auki. Pay airport shuttle bus driver on arrival (S$20 pp) for dropoff at village.
Host families are well-established members of their village communities. Most of them follow subsistence lifestyles, growing food in extensive hillside gardens, raising domestic livestock and fishing in surrounding waters. Many village stay hosts carry responsible positions in community and church leadership. All members of the host family are involved in looking after guests, undertaking various tasks such as harvesting from the gardens, fishing, cooking, and acting as interpreters and guides. Village hosts speak English, but will of course be keen to teach you a few words of Solomons Pidgin or their local language.
Accommodation at village stays is usually a guest bungalow situated next to the family home, constructed in traditional style from logs, bamboo, loya cane, sago palm leaves and rough-cut rainforest timbers. Bungalows usually have two bedrooms opening onto a verandah, and can accommodate up to six people. Bedding is supplied by the hosts (mattresses, pillows, sheets and mosquito nets). Guests are provided with a private toilet and a screened-off outdoor bathroom (where showers may involve standing under a gush of piped springwater or scooping rainwater from a drum!).
Meals are provided by village hosts, who will sit you down to three big offerings of local-style food every day, and ply you with copious amounts of tropical fruit and fresh coconut juice in between. Typical village breakfast is billy tea with home-baked bread buns and jam. Lunch often features green vegetables cooked in coconut milk, with fish, sweet potato, rice and fruit. The evening meal is usually cooked motu style under hot stones. This may include vegetables, fish, chicken or pork, all wrapped in banana leaves and cooked to perfection. Guests are welcome to bring with them any additional food items. Village drinking water comes from rainwater tanks or is collected from underground mineral springs.