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

Hotel on Gizo (New Georgia)

Kukundu Village Stay

Kukundu mission station is accessible by air from Honiara or by motor canoe from Gizo. The village stay here is in a river-mouth location featuring mangrove labyrinths, sandy beaches and brilliant coral reef, with cool freshwater swimming upstream. Kolombangara Island is almost circular, an extinct volcanic cone with a central crater 1 km deep! Hiking up to the rim is only for hardy trekkers and involves an overnight in a mountain shack. For the less venturesome there are still great views of nearby islands from the lower slopes. You can travel by motor canoe along the coast to the small logging town of Ringgi Cove, or further afield to the various small islands off Gizo. Gizo town is only 40 minutes away by motor canoe. Transfers from Kukundu airfield: no charge (Western Pacific Airlink - Mon&Fri). Canoe transfers from Gizo airfield: S$75/A$24 (Solomon Airlines - daily).

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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