Things to Do in Solomon Islands in April

April seas are glassy before the southeast trade winds kick in, giving you bathtub-warm water and 30 m (98 ft) visibility over coral gardens that start 2 m (6.5 ft) from the gunwale. You'll hear parrotfish crunching coral before you see them, and the skipper usually cuts the engine near an unnamed sand cay for a drift-drift lunch on a beach that disappears at high tide.

April's mild currents mean you can penetrate the engine room of the 130 m (425 ft) transport ship USS John Penn at 27 m (88 ft) without fighting increase. Oil still weeps from the hull, rising in silver ribbons that catch your torch beam like liquid mirrors. Surreal.

Villagers restart carving after Easter. You watch women grind nautilus shell into crescent beads while kids paddle dugouts between stilt houses. The lagoon water is coffee-dark from mangrove tannins, reflecting clouds like polished obsidian. Bring cash.

April runoff turns the cascade into a thundering 25 m (82 ft) curtain you can walk behind. The trail is slick red clay, so you'll be grabbing root ropes while cicadas drill the air at 90 dB. Swim in the plunge pool and you'll feel small fish nipping dead skin off your legs.

After 5 pm the produce stalls morph into pop-up kitchens under flickering fluorescents. Smoke from charcoal-grilled kawakawa (tuna) wraps around you while vendors call out "kwekwea!"; try the fern tips in coconut cream ladled from plastic paint buckets. It tastes like asparagus kissed with ocean.

The coral-rubble path crunches underfoot as you approach the shrine where 60 head-hunting trophies still rest inside a tiny coral-walled house. April's low-angle sun hits the skulls at 4 pm, making the eye sockets glow like they're watching you back. Spooky.