It is also posted at our site along with the gallery, finally
As divers we all have seen the perplexed looks people get when we tell them about our next dive destination. The Solomon Islands is an exception to this due to its WWII history. All you have to say is “home to Guadalcanal” and most go “ahhhh”. You can see the remnants of this history as you sail along; green hillsides barren the wild mix of trees, vines and undergrowth due to WWII carpet bombing. Rusting hulks from the war still break the surface just giving a hint to what lies below. What lies below is an awe inspiring mix of natural reefs combined with those man made, then destroyed and now being reclaimed by Mother Nature.
Getting There
From the US West Coast it is not complicated just long. For us; Seattle-LA-Brisbane, Australia-Guadalcanal, a fun filled +25hrs. Our travel agent, Bettina at www.diversionoz.com handled all our flights and did a great job as usual. We were able to fly “straight through” on the way down and then had a one night layover in Brisbane on the way home. One note regarding Qantas; for the first time they insisted on weighing our carry-ons! Since we pack our basic DSLR and Video set-ups in each they typically are in the 30-40lbs range. So we were forced to step to the side and re-pack all our bags (for carry-ons there is no paying for extra weight). So it looks like next time we will be forced to pack a 5th bag and pay the extra cost.
The Bilikiki
This is a well reviewed operation with a decent website http://www.bilikiki.com so I will stick to the points I think relevant. One great thing with this operation is as long as they have 2 passengers they go out! Due to scheduling issues we started with only 11 divers and that dropped to 6 the last half of the trip, fantastic. The boat itself is well maintained and has a good layout for diving. The main dive deck is typical, tanks along the gunnels, camera table and wetsuits in the middle. The main saloon can get crowded if the weather is bad as one of three tables is committed to cameras. I like this feature but non-photogs might not. To be honest the boat is getting a little dated compared to many of the live-aboards out there today. The cabin was functional but storage was minimal and really no AC to speak of, in fact the door was wooden louvers.
The food was really quite good with decent variety. All meals were served buffet and I would say leaned to a Western menu. Before dinner there was a very nice appitizer plate put out and drinks for those not doing the night dive. If you have a hard liquor of choice you may want to bring your own bottle, on board prices were high but not out of line.
The Dive Routine
There are 4-5 dives per day and as typical once you set-up your gear you never touch it again. This boat had the most consistent Nitrox fills I have ever seen, 32 on the spot almost every time. The dive deck had plenty of room but again we only had 10 divers. Most of the diving is done from their comfortable hard bottom pangas. Most panga rides are just a manner of minutes. Roll in on the count of three. Then on exit you can climb the ladder gear on, or just hand it up to the crew then board, which ever you prefer. There were a few dives from the stern of the Bilikiki but less than 10%. There was a Continental breakfast set out early; than the first dive, breakfast and the typically dive, eat, sleep schedule. The night dive was after dinner so no wine for you if you want that last dive. The two dive guides where a young couple from England and Australia, they were excellent guides and fun to dive with. Both were excellent at finding the critters and for photographers were willing models.
For the Photographer
Like many boats today there is a good sized, two tiered camera table in front of the dive deck. If it was a full boat, 18 people, and all had DSLR/video systems it would be a very tight squeeze. But that is true for every live-aboard we have been on. The charging station is actually a room on the second deck. Lots of space, plenty of outlets but it always nice to have your own power strip or Squid. In addition you could store lenses or other delicate pcs here. There are also quite a few “camera” tools if you need to make a field repair. The crew is very familiar with cameras and put them on and off pangas and in rinse tanks on completion of dives.
The flora and fauna
Like many of the more remote areas of the South Pacific the Solomon’s have something to offer everyone. The occasional manta to several types of pygmy seahorses. In general the reefs were healthy and full of life. The physical reef themselves left an impression on us. Several walls that you drift dive have the largest fans we have seen. Row after row, many well over well 15’ across. So be prepared to get out in front of your dive mates if you want some photos with divers for perspective. Another amazing spot was a field of blue/purple staghorn coral. So vivid, so close to the surface you could see it from the panga 25yrds off. We spent two dives here and none of our photos do the spot credit. The corals are so incredible and unique a USA aquarium got permits to harvest some of the coral for their exhibits.
In addition there are several other interesting dives including several caves, most with holes up high that allow a little light in along with bats! Other spots where there are swim throughs where you surface in inlets with a canopy of trees above. One of our favorite spots was White Beach. It is a fairly shallow spot that during WWII the US Military had a base. At the conclusion of the war the area was to be turned over to the French. The USA military offered to sell all the trucks, bulldozers, floating docks, etc. to the French. They declined thinking “why pay for what we will get for free”. The USA military thought otherwise, they sunk the docks and drove all the equipment into the ocean. For divers it makes for a colorful and interesting set of reefs. In addition there are some “mangrove like” areas with archer and cardinal fish along the shoreline.
Another awe inspiring spot was Barracuda Point. This location lived up to it’s name! We dove it twice an on the first dive we encountered a massive school of chevron barracuda. This was one of those “sun blotting” schools that went on and on and on. Included was a very dynamic, camera friendly school of jacks. This school is high on the reef and breaks and reforms in wonderfully fluid formations. Great spot for the videographers!
While we did not encounter many sharks or other “large” critters we did see a fair number of bumphead parrot fish. Some in groups of 4-5 and other larger schools off in the distance. We had a fair amount of rain during our trip so visibility could be down in the 30-40ft range at some sites. Over all it was +50ft most days.
In The End
If you have perused other trip reports at our site you may be wondering “do these two go anywhere they don’t like?” and my response is “not yet.” So include the Solomons to the ever growing list of spots we can recommend. Excellent reefs, every type of reef fish imaginable, nice mix of WA and macro for photographers, a serviceable boat with an excellent crew. Plus if you are lucky you might be on a trip where the whole boat is there for just you and your dive buddy….