Crocodiles and Kaleko

Imagine landing in a foreign country during a peace-keeping mission. You move into a compound where your taps run dry and then the generator blows up, leaving you with no water or power. It is hot, the sort of heat you cannot imagine and you have responsibility for a $60 million aid program. This was Paula Henriksen's introduction to the Solomon Islands when she started a two-year posting for the Australian Government. Follow her funny and frustrating encounters with security guards, bank clerks and missing ferries as she started her new life in Honiara, the country's capital. Nothing was straightforward and time was an endless piece of string. Dangerous crocodiles lurked around every corner. She was tempted to run away...until she developed a guilty addiction!

The Solomon Islands took Paula far beyond her comfort zone, but offered unforeseen bounties. She returned to Australia lugging a pile of designer clothes and love for a country that had changed her forever. She hoped to return one day to swim with manta rays and meet old friends. Above all she hoped for the future of this beautiful country, in a world of economic uncertainty and climate change.