Western Province

The Western Province of Solomon Islands occupies the northwestern corner of the archipelago, closest to Papua New Guinea's New Britain and Bougainville. It is the most visited province for marine tourism, driven by a combination of World War II history and reef quality that is remarkable even by Pacific standards. The provincial capital is Gizo, a small town on Ghizo Island, surrounded by a scatter of smaller islands, channels, and passages that define the hydrography of the region. The tidal regime throughout Western Province is mixed semidiurnal, with spring ranges of approximately 1.0 to 1.5 metres. The channels between the islands generate tidal currents of 1 to 3 knots at spring tides — the passages between Kolombangara, Vella Lavella, and the smaller islands funnel the tidal stream into accelerated flows that support nutrient-rich reef ecosystems on their walls and ledges. Tidal current planning is relevant for dive boats: most operators in Gizo time their reef dives to the current, targeting either the slack before the flood or the early flood when fish activity is highest. The WWII history of Western Province centres on Blackett Strait, the narrow channel between Kolombangara and New Georgia. It was here in August 1943 that the Japanese destroyer Amagiri rammed and sank PT-109, commanded by Lieutenant John F. Kennedy. Kennedy led the surviving crew members through several days of open-water swimming and island-hopping before rescue — the episode became a central part of his political biography. A memorial marker on Kennedy Island (Plum Pudding Island) marks where the crew sheltered. Marovo Lagoon, to the southeast of Gizo, is the largest saltwater lagoon in the world, enclosed by a double barrier reef that runs for approximately 100 kilometres. The lagoon is studded with inhabited islands, and the communities living there maintain traditions of canoe carving, shell inlay work, and fishing that have persisted through colonial and post-independence periods. The tidal circulation through the lagoon's reef passages drives a clear water-quality gradient: incoming Pacific water is blue and clear; outgoing lagoon water is greener and more turbid. Canoe trips within the lagoon are planned around the current through the passages.