Across the water they paddle, their timber dugout canoes swaying slightly, little hands clinging to the sides as their children keep balance.

The various villages from which these women hail lie on islands dotted all over the Solomons' unspoilt Western Province.

But every day they travel to the commercial hub of Munda, on New Georgia, to sell their produce.

At the market near the jetty, coconuts, papayas and betel nuts are lined up in orderly piles beside newly rooted sweet potatoes and a bounty of fresh fish.

The women, some with gloriously large bottoms, sit smiling and chatting on upturned crates. "Halo oloketa," one says, greeting me in Pijin.

You'll be lucky to spot a tourist here.

With nearly 1000 tropical islands (only about 350 are inhabited), the palm-fringed beaches, azure waters and volcanic islands of this archipelago nation are some of the least explored of the South West Pacific.

Life runs on Solomons time, an unwinding pace that will gradually alter an outsider's physiological make-up.

But scratch the surface of the laid-back lifestyle and rich cultural diversity, and you'll discover some fascinating wartime history.

During World War II, the Solomon Islands and neighbouring Papua New Guinea formed a critical corridor for the Japanese in their 1942 offensive to take Australia.

See the rest here:

Hidden WWII wonders of the Solomon Islands