Ontong Java Atoll

Ontong Java lies far north of the main Solomons chain, one of the largest atolls in the world by lagoon area, with over a hundred islets around a vast enclosed water and a Polynesian population living on two of them. Copra is the trade now; beche-de-mer, long the main income, was banned in 2005. The atoll is very low, very remote and reached only by an irregular ship from Honiara that takes several days. It is administered as part of Malaita province despite lying hundreds of kilometres away across open sea.

History

Polynesians settled the atoll about 2000 years ago. The Spanish expedition of Álvaro de Mendaña probably sighted it on 1 February 1568, Abel Tasman named it Ontong Java in 1643, and Europeans first landed in 1791, when John Hunter named it Lord Howe Atoll; Germany annexed the islands in 1893 and ceded them to Great Britain in 1899 (Wikipedia, Ontong Java Atoll).

Highlights

• The lagoon - among the largest enclosed atoll waters anywhere.
• The islet ring - over a hundred motus around the rim.
• The Polynesian community - people living on two of the islands.
• The isolation - days of open ocean from the main chain.

When to go

May to October is the drier season. The ship runs irregularly, every few weeks at best. Trips take weeks rather than days.

Before you go

There is no air service and the only access is an irregular ship taking days each way. Visitors stay with families. Getting stranded is normal and should be planned for.

Nearby

Malaita is far south, and Honiara is far southwest.

Key facts