He wanted to start a kayak tour company in the Solomon Islands and needed an experienced operator to show him how to do it. He had the connections, he said. So the Solomons it was. We found that there was a lot to explore in the Solomons. The whole country is a vast conglomerate of large and small islands.
Remote atolls dot the map everywhere.
Marovo Lagoon on New Georgia Island is the world's largest saltwater lagoon. But the Solomon Islands' main claim to fame is as a World War II battleground. It was the furthest the Japanese advanced. The Allies needed to stop the Japanese establishing an airbase that could threaten Australia. Through a lot of luck, intense naval battles, heroic commando operations and thousands dead, the Americans and Aussies managed to secure the air field at Guadalcanal.