There's Not much of a wait to check-in at Nusatupe Airstrip Terminal. Photo / Stu Freeman
Stu Freeman flies aboard IE802 Solomon Airlines Honiara to Giza (Nusatupe Island) via Munda.
The plane: A De Havilland Canada Dash 8-100.
Class: Only one — two seats either side of the aisle.
Price: About $700 return but you can get it cheaper as part of a package.
Flight time: 55 minutes to Munda, people get off, new passengers get on, then one of the shortest flights you'll ever have (just over 10 minutes) to Giza.
My seat: 3C on my boarding pass and by luck that's where I sat — but it was actually free seating once we got on the plane. At Munda I moved into a window seat.
Fellow passengers: An extended family on a mission (their matching T-shirts proclaimed that healings and miracles still happen), locals heading home for the weekend, a few divers and fishermen. The guy sitting next to me was picking up his yacht — he and his wife had been sailing the world since 2005.
How full: No spare seats.
Entertainment: The view out of the window is spectacular, otherwise read a book or close your eyes and relax.
The service: One friendly crew member who turned out to be the brother of the van driver who took me to the airport.
Food and drink: A glass of water or juice and some peanut butter-flavoured crackers.
The toilets: One at the front — no one used it on the short flight.
Luggage: 16kg checked in and 5kg hand luggage.
The airport experience: Honiara's domestic airport is a big shed; wooden bench seats, a small snack shop. Not much of a wait at the check-in counter. You need to produce a printed ticket.
The bottom line: If you are in the Solomons you'll want to explore beyond Honiara, and the Western Province is spectacular. This is really the only practical way to get there.
When there's nothing as far as the eye can see, you may appreciate the company.