The Maravagi Resort is situated in a picturesque bay on Mangalonga (or Mana) Island in the north west of the Florida Islands. We were picked up from the beach in front of the Solomon Kitano Mendana Hotel in Honiara and taken by outboard-powered runabout across Iron Bottom Sound to Maravagi. The trip took about 90 minutes in this ‘motor canoe’ which is the most common form of water transport in the islands. Maravagi is a charming little village-style resort where guests can enjoy complete quiet and total relaxation. Mathias and Joyce Sake and their extended family provide friendly hospitality and excellent cooking.

Accommodation at the Maravagi Resort is in four local-style bungalows by the beach and a larger building with seven rooms. We stayed in one of the bungalows which can actually accommodate up to four people. It has two bedrooms, a bathroom with toilet and cold shower. The dormitory style building provides beds for fourteen people. Two more bungalows are currently under construction. The bungalows are of local construction, built about one metre off the ground, with screened louvre windows, ceiling fans and mosquito nets over the bedding. The accommodation is basic, but clean and comfortable. Electric power is supplied by a generator.

The restaurant and bar at the Maravagi Resort has been built over the beach so that guests can look out of the front windows onto a colourful coral reef with many fish. The construction is island-style and is tastefully decorated with woven matting on the inside of the walls. There are superb views of the sheltered bay with its deep-water anchorage and the much larger Sandfly Island across the channel. Meals are substantial and include soup, fresh fish, chicken and beef with salad, vegetables and fruit. Guests can also sit on the lounge chairs around the coffee tables and read, play games or chat about the day’s activities.

The area consists of many small islands, extensive reef systems and deep passages where there is abundant marine life. Local reef dives include the following dive sites: Baby Cake, Kovuhika Island (wall dive and Pyramid), Soghonara Island (wall dive and Crayfish Cave), Passage Rock (vertical drop-off with big fish action), Rueben’s Express, Sandfly Passage (wall drift dive), and the US B24 Liberator Bomber.

Other activities at the Maravagi Resort can include fishing, swimming, snorkelling, bushwalks, beachcombing, cultural entertainment and sightseeing trips. The Maravagi Resort Reef is a great place for hours of snorkelling and easy scuba diving. There are three undercover tables and chairs along the beach near the restaurant for guests to sit and enjoy the beautiful surroundings.

We hired one of the motor canoes with a driver and guide for sightseeing trips around Sandfly Island and Buena Vista Island. We visited the local school on Sandfly Island, drove past the skull cave on Mount Panamanauvi, stopped at the half-built Roderick Bay Yacht Club with the beached wreck of the World Discoverer. We also went to picturesque Buena Vista Island with its blue waters, old coconut plantations, and the unfinished Nugu Beach Resort.