Solomon Islands to PNG crossing

Hi there...

We plan to fly from Gizo to Ballelae, the hope to take a boat on the market day(Saturday, I've been told) to cross into PNG at Buin.

I was wondering if this plan is going to work..as officially this crossing is not "legal"..so I wonder if the police in Buin would deny our entry.

The main question is if we can get visa entry stamp in Buin..or we have to go further,maybe to Arawa..to get it?
Where we should get the exit stamp from Solomon, in Gizo? I guess the visa for PNG would have to be taken there as well...?

mike

I did this over a year ago the other way around - see the PNG link in my signo line.

Police in Buin actually called me off the street into their their office to tell me that the crossing was illegal and I was not allowed to make it, so unless policies have changed, I would stay well clear of them to avoid getting sent straight back.

You could try getting a stamp in Arawa, Buka or even Rabaul/Kokopo - I believe the latter is a recognized entry point (for yachts) and mayc offer the smoothest way to get your stamp, if you can make it that far.

In any case, you'd be welcome to report back here if/once you have made the crossing - no one on this forum,has reported making it in that direction yet.

In the Solomons, getting the stamp in Gizo was painless, not sure about how it would be in the Shortlands.

In 2003 I made a crossing into Bougainville from the Shortlands. There was no immigration office on Bougainville at that time (and I doubt there is now). I only traveled as far as Buka. After 3 weeks I returned to the Solomons.

This trip was not really legal and I would not have dared to travel onwards to Rabaul or Port Moresby (and be charged with illegal entry). I had been to Bougainville - legally - a few months earlier. Some people thought I was still there or that I returned from mainland PNG again. Police on the island did not really seem to function well at that time. Ex-combattants still had a lot of control. Since I made the crossing to Bougainville with an ex-commander of the BRA, I felt quite safe.

But this was 4 years ago, so the situation is likely to have changed.

You can contact PNG immigration or a PNG embassy to ask if you can get permission to make the trip. Maybe it's possible to do it if you have a PNG visa before you arrive and/or a ticket to leave the country. You can also try the PNG embassy in the Solomons.

Instead of travelling to Ballelae, you can also fly/boat to Taro (Choiseul). Outboards to Bougainville also leave from here, though not as often as from the Shortlands. This crossing is likely to be a bit more dangerous due to less protested seas. There is no immigration office on Taro. The nearest ones are on Shortland Island (though I am not sure it is open) and Gizo.

Myself, I travelled from Taro to Kariki village on Fauro (in the Shortlands). I spend a few weeks in the village before the first outboard left to Bougainville (all the way to Arawa). Villagers from Toumoa and Samanango on the south coast of Fauro travel to Bougaiville more regulary (to Kangu Beach, near Buin). As do villagers from Shortland Island.

Returning to the Solomons, you can just show up on Kangu Beach and look for a boat (S$10-20). The name of someone in the Shortlands is helpful. I did not travel through Buin Town. Visiting the martket there, might give you a bit more lobbying time (if you don't get arrested).

Please keep us informed about your trip.

Wouter