Wilderness Lodge is unique

Incredibly diverse marine and terrestrial ecosystems and the fascinating old culture of ritual headhunting which persisted into the twentieth century are yet to be studied. 

Activities at Wilderness Lodge

Resident schools of barracuda and electric blue fusileers are a fixture on the points and walls, and the thousand-foot deep channel between Peava and MaleMale Island has a resident school of spinner dolphins.

The reef and rainforest scenery represents a photographers dream. Hornbills,eclectus parrots and megapodes coexist with frigate birds, terns, herons, and sea eagles. 

The surrounding reefs and islands have provided unique opportunities to the world's best underwater photographers and appeared in leading journals and books.

Local footpaths and old logging roads provide incredible scope for the hardcore mountainbiker - all never ridden before.

Dear Nick,
Just a note to let you know that we have received the T Shirts and think they are great. As I mentioned I was at the point of putting fingers to the keys  about
our brief trip to Wilderness Lodge when you so kindly phoned. John and I thoroughly enjoyed this week away and are so grateful it could be arranged with such short notice. It was perfect, all that we had expected and more. Wilderness Lodge is not just a tourism parcel of relaxation for the tourist to drop out of society for a week or 2; it is a learning experience of both culture and customs, or this is how we viewed it.

What did we like about the whole experience?
From the operational aspect:

Your expediency in putting together a package that suited our needs with the minimum of fuss.
The luxury of having your agent John meeting us on arrival and departure, this is a plus when you have no idea of where you are going and the requirements of differing countries to travel requirements etc.

Follow-up: your call to see if all had gone well was most appreciated.

Wilderness Lodge:
* The people:

like everyone we have been to many beautiful and scenic destinations over our life time and this would equal any, however it is the people that make your stay something special and they did this for us, both the Team at the Lodge to the villagers we met who welcomed us into their world.
* The Team at the Lodge: 

Professional in their work and attitude, polite, friendly, efficient, providing an excellent service with humor and much laughter. Violet, Joyce and Robert along with all other members of the Team were a pleasure to be with and so proud of the service they provided and the people they worked for.
* The diversity of things to do with your time,

although we only utilized the fishing aspect and John did visit the gardens with Robert for a detailed look at the subsistence aspect of the island villagers, we were aware of the spear fishing, diving, snorkeling etc available. We did visit Biche where we had a good morning,
lots of laughter, spent with both an individual guide and members of the small community.
* The fishing,

our primary focus, was all we could have asked for. Captain John, so passionate and diligent  about his responsibilities was just something special and provided many happy memories for John and myself.
* The menu: 

beyond anything we could have asked for. In fact we felt we couldn't do the menu justice with our small pickings, however, I was assured none went to waste. Once again to Joyce, Violet and team must go a hugh vote for the delicacies served to us each day. They were delicacies, mudcrab, lobster/crayfish and
fish cooked and served to perfection in a myriad of differing presentations.  It was memorable.
* Accommodation:

Basic as expected, but very comfortable. If it had been 5 star and on a golden beach we wouldn't have been there. Wilderness caters for a specific target audience and people who want extras should be reminded of this. It was clean, all our needs were attended to and hot water for a shower after a days fishing...what more could you want.
* Other aspects that are impressive
* The training of the staff at the Lodge in hospitality,

from customer service, operational aspects to catering, was impressive. It was good to see the teaching and training process which has enabled developing skills that would otherwise not have been available to these people and is to be highly commended.  I was impressed; I spent some time at the kitchen step one morning with Joyce and Tanya as she was taught how to make the morning bread. I had fun, I hope Joyce and Tanya did also.
* The giving of the fishing catch to the village people for distribution.

Great idea, you don't feel guilty for catching  and not utilizing the catch!
* Corey and Waeli

for having the foresight and vision  to develop the Lodge and involve the village people, all credit must be given. From my brief communication with the villagers and the Lodge Team, a picture of supreme confidence in Corey and Waeli emerged and it is not without credence and highly deserved.
Yes, we were spoilt in that we were the only guests at this time, however, it was certainly a memorable experience for us. Our only complaint: it wasn't long enough, so we will look at returning in the not to distant future.

Thanks Nick: a resounding 10 out of 10 from us and I'll wear a blindfold on arrival  and departure from"Gatokae air port" next time.
Cheers
Carol Mitchell

	The area is completely untouched and unexplored by sportfishermen.      Some suggestions...... trolling for Skipjack, Yellowfin and Bigeye Tuna, Narrow-barred Spanish Mackerel, Wahoo, several Trevally species, Barracuda, Rainbow Runner, Mahi Mahi, Red Bass, Green Jobfish, shark, Sailfish, Dogtooth tuna, Coral Trout, Blue, Black and Striped Marlin and many other species around the islands just offshore...... bluewater trolling the FADs [the closest of which is just 5 n.m. from the Lodge], Matikai ocean reef, seamounts, and Kavachi submarine volcano for Blue, Black, and Striped Marlin and big yellowfin tuna. The Solomons has the most intact tuna stocks on Earth and gamefish numbers are commensurate with this food supply...... polaroiding on the sand and coral flats in Marovo Lagoon for bonefish, tarpon, milkfish, barracuda, queenfish, GTs, blue, golden, Papuan and diamond trevally (jacks)...... hunting Spot-tail Bass and Mangrove Jack on the upper reaches of the Varea and Gevala Rivers...... bottom fishing for all kinds of reef fish...... casting lures for Blue, Lowly, and Bigeye trevally, queenfish, and coral trout off the lodge jetty. We even catch Spanish Mackerel up to 30lb live baiting from the jetty...... And who knows what else is out there. THE BOATS The lodge currently has two boats available for charter: 23 foot Haines Hunter centre console sportfisher with 225HP Honda four-stroke outboard fully setup for offshore trolling - suitable for up to 80lb standup gear. All safety gear, auxillary outboard and liferaft 19 foot Yamaha open skiff with 40hp Honda four-stroke outboard, with rodholders, rodbuckets, gaff, GPS, EPIRB,and flares, suitable for lagoon and river casting, and trolling and diving around the offshore islands - suitable for up to 50lb standup gear. We will be basing a modern 30 foot gamefishing boat at the lodge in the near future to further assess the incredible bluewater potential, looking for large blue and black marlin, giant tuna, and compiling data to establish a catch & release sportfishery in the offshore waters of the Western Province.

Deepsea Spearfishing at it's best  ...

Cory and Gideon with a nice haul		Cory and a malagori		... how easier it is
Yvonne with a nice Jobfish		Gideon and a Spanish Mackrell		Pete speared an excellent Coral Trout

Hi Nick,

Had an awesome time thanks! Speared a fair few fish and did some great freediving too. Lots of tuna caught on line as well. James grabbed a lot of photos underwater around Mbulo Island in the coral cave swim throughs. I have attached a couple for you to check out.
We only had one small hickup, the return flight was moved from Seghe and the plane bailed on us prior to its departure and had a bit of a wait while they sent another plane to pick us up! No big deal though.

All in all very fun and relaxing.

Cheers
Greg

 

Here's some activities to do at Wilderness Lodge

+ exploring Bulo Island in an outrigger canoe     + trolling for dozens of different species of fish   + night hunting coconut crabs in the rainforest with flashlight

and coconut baits   + taking in the classic tropical island scenery and atmosphere of the lodge     + learn about the unique culture and history from the village people

+ climbing Mt Mariu and Mt Vangunu    + take a motor canoe trip up the wild Gevala River    + explore ancient fortified villages deep in the rainforest

+ take part in traditional ara   and buna  [a rainforest creeper-derived stupefactant] fish drives    + BBQs at Male Male and Kicha Islands

+ visit the village gardens and learn subsistence agriculture techniques    + walk and swim the pristine Kele river

+ boat trips taking in the incredible sceney of Gatokae and Marovo Lagoon   + see the world-famous woodcarvers of Marovo at work in adjacent Peava village

+ visit Kavachi Submarine Volcano [weather permitting]

+ guided walks to the wild weather coast and remote Biche and Mbeu villages    + fishing on the beach at the lodge for breakfast or dinner

+ listen to custom stories told by village elders    + surfing unknown reefs and islands   + chasing skipjack and yellowfin tuna schools offshore

+ share some of your knowledge and experiences with the 50 primary students of Peava community school

+ see pre-Christian skull shrines , gravesites, and sacrificial altars    + daytime and nightime reefwalking    + take classes in traditional mat-weaving, basket-making, woodcarving, and dugout canoe building

+ nightdive the lodge fringing reef and the offshore islands with local divers    + birdwatching hornbills, eclectus parrots, red-knobbed fruit pigeons, and many endemics     + night trolling for barracuda

+ learn about efforts to preserve the area's biodiversity    + peruse the lodge's collection of ethnology and historical information

+ learn about Kavachi Submarine Volcano, and the tectonic forces that radically change the seabed

Conditions apply; The above prices were correct at the time of printing

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