Gizo Village Stay, Basic Hotel Resort on Gizo in the Solomon Islands

Hotel on Gizo (New Georgia)

Gizo Village Stay

Gizo is one and a half hour's direct flight from Honiara. However the alternative 'milk-run' flight which drops in at 3 or 4 other airstrips along the way is an absolute must: exhilarating scenery from only 1000 ft for much of the way. Gizo town is the Western Province capital, gateway to the region's great scenery, diving, fishing, and prized ebony wood carvings. A 30 minute canoe ride from town brings you to the other side of Gizo Island, where our village stay hosts live in a small seaside village. The palm-fringed beach goes on for miles, the sea is warm and calm with great snorkelling and the sun sets behind Ranongga Island every evening. The coast road to Gizo town is an easy three-hour walk for those keen on trekking. Your hosts can organise day trips to nearby islands, including famous Kennedy Island. Scuba diving can be arranged through Adventure Sports Gizo. Airfield motor canoe transfers: S$75/A$24.

About Village Stays
Village stay is a warts-and-all travel experience particularly suited to the Solomons, where villages are safe and friendly, and the traditional lifestyle is still widely practised. Village stay gives visitors the opportunity to experience the local culture first hand by actually staying in a village-style house, trying out traditional foods and observing or joining in on day to day village activities. Village hosts also accompany their guests on excursions away from the village for sightseeing or recreation. Who better to show you the local attractions than the people who live there? Naturally the standard of accommodation and facilities in villages cannot compete with resort hotels: some aspects of comfort and convenience are traded for authenticity. But only a village stay can offer visitors a real insight into the culture and lifestyle of the Solomon Islanders. 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.

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