The Last Wild Island of the South Pacific

Why This Island Refused to be Logged... 🌴 In a region where ancient forests are rapidly disappearing, one island stands alone. Welcome to Tetepare, known as the "Last Wild Island." After a challenging sail through the unpredictable winds of the Solomon Islands—accompanied by a pod of spinner dolphins—we finally arrived at this conservation miracle. Tetepare is the largest uninhabited tropical island in the Southern Hemisphere, and walking through its primary rainforest is like stepping back a thousand years. While much of the surrounding archipelago has been logged, these giant trees remain standing thanks to a community that chose preservation over profit. But being "wild" comes with a literal bite. In this episode, we trek into the jungle at midnight to find the world’s largest land-living arthropod: the Coconut Crab. The night took a tense turn when we returned to the water’s edge only to find our path blocked by salt-water crocodiles. With no other way back to the boat, we had to find a way to reclaim our kayaks and paddle through the very water where the shadows were moving. Previous Video → https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J11bGAbcaUA ⏱️ Timestamps: 00:00 | Chasing the Wind: Sailing the Unpredictable Solomons 01:00 | A Morning with Spinner Dolphins 01:50 | [Intro Sequence] 02:30 | Tetepare: The Last Wild Island 05:30 | Giants of the Rainforest: Walking Among Ancient trees 08:00 | Aerial View: Life on the Equator 09:15 | Conservations fighting chance: The Tetepare Story 11:30 | Midnight Hunt: Tracking the Giant Coconut Crab 14:25 | The Stand-off: Crocodiles in the Dark 🎥 Episode 2 – Sailing Solomon Islands Become part of the crew 💡 PATREON ☞ https://www.patreon.com/c/onceuponareef ☕ Support Our Journey ☞ https://buymeacoffee.com/onceuponareef Or 🎁 Send us a gift ☞ https://throne.com/onceuponareef 🌍 Follow us: 📸 INSTAGRAM: @onceuponareef & @wheres.poppy 🎥 Poppy's YouTube Channel ☞ https://www.youtube.com/wherespoppy 📧 BUSINESS INQUIRIES - onceuponareef@protonmail.com Hey there, we’re Ryan and Poppy, a couple of adventure junkie sailors out to explore the most amazing reefs and islands in the world. We hope by documenting everything this lifestyle encompasses, we will inspire, raise awareness and support on going research to do our part in protecting these natural life systems. Subscribe if you’re on board! 📍Location: Tetepare Island, Western Province, Solomon Islands #sailingvlog #papuanewguinea #onceuponareef#Tetepare #SolomonIslands #SailingDocumentary #RainforestConservation #CoconutCrab #WildTravel #SouthPacific