FROM Solomon Islands TO Papua New Guinea

I plan to give a detailed description of my travel from the Solomon Islands through to Buka, AROB (Autonomous Region of Bougainville), PNG, later, when I am at a more comfortable (and faster and cheaper!) Internet café; but for now (July 27, 2010), I’ll give a synopsis of the trip. If anyone needs more details of portions of the trip quickly, ask and I’ll try to respond as quickly as I can.
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I was just yesterday officially stamped into the Autonomous Region of Bougainville, Papua New Guinea, having come up through the Solomon Islands: from Honiara to Gizo (by boat, Express Pelican; after a side trip to Malaita Island), and on to Nila Mission, via Ballalae, in Shortland Islands (by Solomon Airlines plane, after trying unsuccessfully for 10 days to get a boat going that way; the Catholic Church's boat makes the run frequently, but not while I was there, and the Bikoi seems to go on to Shortlands only maybe once a month); from there, an “OBM” (outboard motorboat) carried me to Kangu Beach on southern Bougainville Island (AROB). A local truck took me to Buin, where I stayed for a few days, trying desperately to change Solomon and/or Australian/U.S. dollars into PNG kina – very nearly without success, I warn others. (No immigration or customs in Buin, and the local police authorities, who were very welcoming as they made their notation of my arrival in my passport, also made it very clear that if I hadn’t had a valid passport and the appropriate PNG visa, I would have at least been detained and deported!) Days later, a six-hour ride (mostly) in the open back tray of a Toyota truck brought me to Kokopau, then a short banana boat ride across Buka Passage to Buka (town and island), where after a long holiday weekend, the customs office here in Buka (no immigration office here, or elsewhere on these AROB islands, either) stamped my passport to make me officially (and legally) entered. Having missed the once-a-week boat on Thursday (none of the four freighters I asked for passage would take me), and not wanting to wait until the next one, I expect to fly to Rabaul very early on Wednesday morning (the lowest price is the “Wontok” fare, in PNG kina: k291; regular fare is k485), and then continue with my travel in PNG.

Thanks for the update JoeToo. You have answered quite a regular question on this forum. Except for yachties, the last person I know who tried to cross that way got herself into all sorts of trouble with the Australian authorities, as she was an Australian trying to carry things like medical supplies into Bougainville in the 90s, and she was perceived by PNG authorities to be interfering in a big way.
The conflict has been over for 10 years, so it is good to know that an ordinary traveller has made the journey successfully, without upsetting aithorities on either side of the border.
You also highlighted the normal travel difficulties in that part of the world.

I had no idea that it is possible to travel directly from the Solomon Islands to PNG. Thank you for the useful post!

ETA: Perhaps "direct" is not the right word, but rather, without a stop through Australia or Fiji.

There is also a weekly Air Niugini flight from Honiara to Port Moresby. Much more direct than JoeToo's route, but probably less interesting.

The one thing you should note is where you got your Solomons exit stamp - if at all.
And perhaps how you got around the Solomons' onward air ticket entry requirement.
Good to hear that the police in Buin have got more easygoing.

Funny thing, I haven't been asked for an onward air ticket for a while - just how long I was planning to stay. They sometimes stamp my passport for the day before I am booked to leave, because they don't look.
They people who ask how and when you are leaving are usually the check in staff at Brisbane airport.

Yes, and they would be the ones who could cause most trouble - eg able to stop you from getting on the plane in the first place.
I guess a refundable ticket is the best solution but still somewhat risky.

Laszlo: I didn’t have an actual exit stamp, but I got permission to leave the Solomons without a stamp. An explanation: I went from Honiara directly to Gizo because somewhere I had read that Gizo was the last immigration post before entering PNG. In Gizo, however, I was told that no immigration officer had been stationed there for some time. But there was an immigration post in Munda (or was it Noro?), which I had passed by on my way to Gizo; so, I could either travel back to that post to get an exit stamp, or the official would come to Gizo if I was willing to pay the (rather high, I thought) transportation costs. While I was trying to find my own cheaper transportation to the official, I heard that he was leaving the Solomons the next day and wouldn’t be back for an unknown amount of time. It was suggested that I get him to stamp my passport as his plane picked up passengers at Gizo, but then it turned out that his flight wouldn’t stop at Gizo anyway. After speaking to pretty much everyone in town who had anything to do with foreign visitors, one person offered to call someone in Honiara on my behalf. As a result, I was given permission to leave without an actual exit stamp. Once at Nila Mission in the Shortlands (the Solomon Islands just east of Bougainville, PNG, as you know), I checked in at the nearby RAMSI post and also presented my papers to the local police, and was told all was in order to leave. The next day, I took a banana boat to the tip of Bougainville, where my papers were accepted for entry to PNG.
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The Solomons’ onward ticket matter next: I tried very hard to get permission to enter the Solomons without an onward ticket because I was trying to travel from Shortlands to Bougainville, a route without any scheduled transportation/ticket that I know of. Frustrated by having been assured that permission would be granted but waiting and still without the paper in my hand, I bought a roundtrip ticket from Brisbane to Honiara at the fare that would allow returning the unused portion of the ticket for the payment of an administrative fee: I think the fee was AUS$50. Once in Honiara, no one asked me for an onward ticket; but I think the officials were so sure that the airlines would not carry someone who didn’t have either an onward ticket or official exemption, that they didn’t bother. (It was explained to me at two airlines’ offices that if they carry someone without the onward ticket or exemption, they are fined -- I think I was told AUS$15,000 -- and they are responsible for the passenger’s return transportation and living expenses while the passenger is detained in the country. So, both Air Niugini and Our Airline wanted not only the written permission to carry me without the onward ticket, but they also insisted that their management speak with any person who authorized an exemption.) And of course… you saw this coming, didn’t you?... the day after I arrived in Honiara and got to a computer, an email was there giving me permission to enter without the onward ticket. And, yes, I did get the return portion credited to my credit card account, minus the administrative fee.
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But I ran out of time and never did get to Vanimo, PNG /Jayapura, Indonesia – without an onward ticket from PNG, of course. So, I’ll have to try all of this again… someday!

A couple of years ago, friends of mine who had been studying in Australia and were returning permanently to Solomon Islands, found it was actually cheaper to buy a return ticket than a one-way one. This can happen with specials on either Pacific Blue or Solomon Airlines. It is worth looking for these possibilities. (it may have a time limit of a week or a weekend, but no-one is going to notice if you miss the return flight). Just tell Immigration how long you really plan to stay (up to 3 months).

Sounds like you had done a lot of homework but eventually few things worked out to plan (as usual in that region) just had to go with the flow - well done anyway! ;-)

Hi!
Usuful information, we plan to do the same but from papua to solomon, do you know if we need the solomon visa before this, or is it possible to arrange it in the border? Was the transport very expensive?

Cheers

Hi JoeToo,

I know, this has been a while ago, but how did you get your permission to enter without an onward ticket? Where and with what explanation did you ask for it?
How long did it take to get the allowance?

Thx mate!