Not all is doom and gloom for Solomon Islands. Founder and publisher of the award winning Get Lost Magazine, a 140+ page glossy magazine focusing on unique boutique experiential travel has good things to say about Solomon Islands.
‘I love the Solomon’s. It has a very special place in my heart’, says Justin Jamieson.
Jamieson first visited Solomon Islands in 2005. This was after a competition he ran for his magazine calling for submissions for ‘the ultimate beach hut’.
‘And a gentleman sent me this ramshackle old house on a tiny little island in the middle of nowhere on this perfect blue lagoon. And i thought ‘well that looks interesting’. And we picked him as the winner and I told my now wife, we should go and see this place. It’s the Solomon’s. Don’t know much about this place, so let’s go’.
It turned out that the winning image was of Oravae Cottage in the Western Solomons. Oravae is a 20 minute boat ride from the Western Provincial Capital, Gizo.
In 2007, Oravae Cottage suffered a loss from the 7.8 magnitude earthquake that generated a tsunami causing deaths and damages in the Western province. Jamieson said following the earthquake and tsunami, he then went on to support Oravae Cottage in their rebuilding process. As part of his passion for the Solomon’s, he also helped Oravae Cottage in establishing their website and supported them in their marketing strategy.
Jamieson, whose company now publishes the Solomon Airlines inflight magazine, says Solomon Islands has so much potential in the tourism sector.
“We are keen to get local writers for the local feel. Culture is a big part of what we want to showcase. Cos i think the Solomon Islands culture is a wonderful aspect of travelling here and there’s so many islands, nearly a thousand islands and so many different cultures on each set of regions which is a really exciting thing we can bring forward’.
Solomon Islands has 992 islands scattered across 1800 kilometers from Shortland Islands in the West to Tikopia and Anuta in the East. Most that is reported of the Solomon Islands are in Honiara, the capital city.
