The ancestors of these Solomon Islanders
made that initial 60-mile crossing some 30,000 years ago.
Whether their ancestors paddled across in hollowed-out tree trunks like these,
or floated on giant bamboo rafts, no one knows.
And with land occasionally in sight,
they would have surely been tempted to investigate.
By the time people arrived,
the Solomons were packed with almost a quarter of the plants and animals found in New Guinea
including their old adversary, the saltwater crocodile.