EVERY few decades a new destination opens up for travellers. The Solomon Islands' treasure chest has been preserved pretty much intact since Alvaro de Mendana sailed into the heart of the country in 1568. He was so enchanted at finding gold that he named the islands after the legendary King Solomon.

It's Friday morning at the Yacht Club in Honiara and I am sitting with two fellow travellers planning our journey into the Western Provence.

Just down there beneath the wings of this airborne Dash-8 is a patchwork of densely forested coral cays with white sand and crystal-clear water. It looks like paradise.

As we set foot on New Georgia Island I am embraced by thick and warm tropical air and the beaming smile of our local boat driver, Mano. There are no roads here.

The wind lashes our hair as the 45hp motor cuts through a kaleidoscope of turquoise hues on the Roviana Lagoon.

It's like vandalising a Rembrandt, but this masterpiece is nature. Within thirty minutes we will be mooring at our hideaway resort,

Fatboys, and checking into traditional palm leaf thatched bungalows. The accommodation is modern and airy with comfortable queen-size beds, private verandas, ensuites and lagoon views.

The restaurant is built over the water and beneath it lives a bountiful natural aquarium. A feast of fresh seafood and local dancers eventually blend into dreams.

The sun wakes. A new adventure beckons as we cruise by dozens of forested havens and slow down to approach Skull Island. It has a timber gate and is the location of a sacred head-hunting shrine. We abandon the boat in the shallows and wade ashore with our Melanesian guide, restrained by an eerie feeling yet propelled by obstinate curiosity.

Five meters beyond the gate I realise it's too late to turn back - they have seen me. Frozen in a moment of time I am face to face with dozens of white human skulls staring out from nooks in a mound of coral.

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Discover gold with the Solomon Islands treasure chest