March 2002 - Marovo to Gizo to Manning Strait

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We anchored back in the back adjacent to Lumalihe passage and found Anna awash with spots on her skin and Courtney and Colin also showing quite a few.  The diagnosis was German Measles.  Not serious, but enough to have the other two boats to tell us to stay away!


We stayed here for several days to tackle a job on the headsail cover.  The self adhesive on the cover was lifting and the cover was perishing badly.  The job was to glue back down the cover, replace a section with acrylic canvas, and sow it up.  Handling the big sail in the cockpit around the sewing machine was an ordeal.  We then left to head back to Gizo, going around the north coast of New Georgia..  The first leg along the New Georgia coast was about 30 miles to Pipa Passage.  This was an easy trip with little wind.  We anchored in deep water (20 metres) in a large harbour.  The snorkelling on the outside reef was reported by Tegan to be excellent but after the day's travel we couldn't raise the energy to go.  We had two men visit us who gave us some vegetables and fruit wth no expectation of something in return.  Quite a rare event in the Solomon's.

The next morning we stopped a passing motor canoe because we noticed the mound covered with plastic - a sure sign they were on their way to market.  We bought some lovely tasting bananas.  We set off again with light motor sailing winds.  This leg took us over the top of New Georgia and at the entrance to Blackett Strait.  We headed into to Jericho Harbour for the night.  This was a small bay with the village densely packed around.  Once anchored many canoes came out and we had a very busy few hours talking to the locals.  When told what vegetables we needed they then came in wave after wave with veges until we had far too much.

It was a noisy anchorage with singing and drums playing until late.  The next morning we up anchored and headed to Gizo.  This was  familiar trip now as we had been through the Blackett Strait and on to Gizo twice before.  We made good time and got there in the early afternoon.  It was the week before Easter and we wanted to do a big stock up before Good Friday, then head to the Manning Strait.  The shopping and refuelling went well.  Prices in the stores were up and down as the Solomon Island dollar was devalued 20% during our stay.  This was reversed ten days later so we don't know how much our credit card advances went through at.

The low point was finding that Telstra had changed their pricing plans for home pages and deleted our home page!

Stocked up and ready to go we headed over to Liapari.  Here we had Easter and were surprised by Courtney dressed up in a pink and purple dotted rabbit outfit with ears and white cotton tail.  This was a secret plan constructed by Janet and  Courtney.  Liz did very well making some Easter eggs and we had our fill of chocolates.  At Liapari we met MorayX who had come down from PNG with Saint Anna.  They plan to head to Vanuatu and may do this in company with Tegan.

During our stay we caught up with Noel and Rosie and also met Monty and Michelle who are the managers of the dive boat, Bilikiki.  It was getting ready to leave to go back into charter.  The Spirit of Solomons was not going anywhere as there was not enough work for both boats and the Bilikiki's future was not certain. Michelle came from Belmont, NSW, which was a surprise. They were very generous to us, giving us use of the washing machine on board and we were able to collect books from their library and also gave us a carton of orange juice and UHT milk that was just out of date.  They can't use it for the guests but it was still fine for us.



A leaking radiator hose was fixed after a days work removing bits and pieces to fit the replacement and we were ready to go again.  We left Liapari late in the afternoon bound for Manning Strait which is between Choisel and Santa Isabel Islands. It was 65 miles and best done overnight as we would arrive in the midday and find our way in OK.  It was a lovely night with light winds and a starry night. We sailed along slowly in the light winds but enjoyed the night and got a bit more ready for the doing the passages that are not that far away. We arrived at lunchtime and came up to Gibson Island where Tegan was anchored.  This was a beautiful spot.  The long thin Gibson Island on one side and a myriad of islets in a shallow lagoon on the other.  The tide raced through here but we were securely anchored in 10 metres on a sandy bottom.  It had the feeling of being in a river.  The bird life was prolific, with a large colony of red parrots roosting on a nearby islet each night .

We enjoyed catching up with Tegan and the serenity of the location. We had a few good snorkels drifting (or racing once it really started flowing!) We saw lots of fish but didn't have much luck fishing until Joe came out for a fish and, after finishing his speech how he never catches fish, pulled in two nice big trevally.

We stayed here for a week and then rode the current like an express train out of the 'river' and went across the top of Rob Roy Island and stopped at a small bay known in the cruising guide as Bonsai, as there are two stunted trees on the reef  fringing the entrance. Here we had a very rolly night and and while it was very pretty couldn't cope with the roll.  The next day we went further west and came to Laina Passage where there was a small reef formed bay.  It was a beautiful spot with large rainforest trees growing straight up from the waters edge as there was a steep cliff forming one side of the little bay.  Here we met three brothers Danny, Greg and Habster, who lived there alone in a house built by an Australian who had built fibreglass boats there several years ago.  The had a generator and, when it was working, made some money freezing fish and selling them.  They were nice kids and kids they were, with Danny aged 20, and the other boys in their early teens.  Habster and Greg took Joe and I looking for mud-crabs and after walking for ages in the dark on slippery rocks we came to the spot and after a short look told us the best time was not now but when the moon was out.  I think they were just being polite to take us and didn't want say no when we asked if we could go.

After two nights there we sailed a long day over the top of Wagina Island and arrived at the Arnavon Islands.  It was wonderful day with blue sky and clear waters and the two islands that make up the the group looked classically tropical.  We came in anchored with Tegan already here and also MorayX, who had sailed overnight from Kolombanggara Island.  The trolling on our trip over  was successful with a big Spanish mackerel and a King snapper or Job fish.

The Arnavon Islands are a conservation area, with four men working there who collect  research data on turtles, megapodes, and other wildlife on the islands.  We went for a walk with one of the men, Arthur, and he showed us the beach where the turtles come in to lay their eggs and every night they observe this, marking the nest site and if they can count the eggs as they are laid.  It was not the nesting season but there were still several nests and some due to hatch.  The next day was Elizabeth's birthday (April 14) so in the morning a breakfast of pancakes and presents was made for the birthday girl. Liz and the girls went ashore for a swim and a relaxing day.  While they were ashore the men on the island came in from a 'turtle rodeo'.  Each Sunday they drive around the lagoon spotting turtles.  When one is spotted they dive over the side,  grab it, then ride it to the surface.  They are then brought in for measurement and tagging.  Four Green turtles were brought in we were all were thrilled to see these creatures up close.  The girls helped to measure the turtles and we tried hard to get a photo of one in the water before swimming off.

That evening we assembled on Tegan with MorayX for a party for Elizabeth's birthday.  Joe is quite the chef and prepared Poisson Cru (marinated raw fish), Sushi then barbequed Spanish Mackerel and Job Fish with Fried Rice.  It was a wonderful meal and some saved bottles of Champagne made for a great night.

The next day we went hunting for a good snorkelling spot.  The tide was running out fast and we had a couple of fast drifts and then went over the far side for a look.  We didn't have a lot of luck but found a nice couple of bommies in the middle of the lagoon.  While swimming here I spotted a turtle and although I swam hard, I couldn't catch it.  Not much of a turtle cowboy.

After a day's rest we planned to move on but first when we went ashore so Courtney could get some copies of the data sheets they use to record their turtle observations on.  She says she'd like to be a marine biologist and this gave her a first hand experience of what the field work would be like.  Arthur told us that a turtle nest may be ready to hatch that day so we decided to stay and see.  After some school work we went ashore and walked over to the 'turtle beach', going across a large shallow lagoon.  We came to the nest site and Arthur got the girls to do everything,.  First they had to move away the top layer of sand until the little turtle heads popped up.  Then they counted the turtles as the made their way out of the nest and down to the beach and off into the water.  It was great fun and a wonderful experience seeing these tiny little things make there way, by instinct to the shore and off into the sea.  The girls counted 61 until they reached turtles that were still developing and then covered the nest back over.  This what they do all the time to ensure the maximum number of turtles make it to the sea as our presence keeps the predators away.

(we have pictures of the baby turtles but they ended up on a school project and didn't get scanned)

Mainly due to the fact that we had to pay to anchor at Arnavon we decided to move on.  We followed Janet and Jo to the top of Santa Isabel and found them at a tight little anchorage west of Malokobi Is.  This was very pretty, off a small island on a sand shelf just big enough to anchor on.  I went for a snorkel with Joe to look for crayfish but although we didn't find any it was a good trip and I saw many large batfish who swam around me.

Courtney, Anna and I then went for a swim near the boat and then went on a 'flying drift' through the passage between the two islands.  It was fun shooting along with the currents.  We had a squall come over during the night with the main concern being how close together the were.  The next day we moved and ended up going quite a distance up through the Kologilo Passage to the northern side of Santa Isabel..  We ran with the current of 4 knots through the passage  which was a bit hairy with whirlpools forming around us.  We went over the top of Popu Is in search of an anchorage and found MorayX anchored further along so decided to join them in the bay formed by Gaghe and Ghebira Islands.  This was a mangrove lined bay that was very well protected and with no villages around.  Once again this showed the wilderness value of this area.  Trolling in the nearby passage produced a big trevally which fought hard and tasted lovely!


We stayed there for a few days and said goodbye to MorayX who were heading east to Santa Cruz. A day we later said goodbye to Tegan.  One more great evening was spent 'Teganising' and generally we felt sad to say goodbye but both very happy with the time we had spent together.



From this anchorage we made our way back to Arnavon Islands and then back across to Vanga on Kolombanggara Island.

Feburary 2002 Solomon Islands - Marovo Lagoon

Tuesday saw us leaving Rendova harbour and bound for Mburuku which was around the top of the island only an hour or so away.  This was a very different anchorage with us anchored smack in the middle of the village with houses on all sides.  All the time we were there kids in canoes hovering around and the noise of the village a constant background.  We had visits from carvers and bought a few things and Liz picked up several things at the trade store.

Next morning the deck was almost black with dead flying ants.  Time to go.  We left early as we had a long trip to Matikuri in Nono Lagoon.  This is part of  the Marovo Lagoon area, and has a vast collection of islands in relatively shallow waters surrounding Vanguna  and New Georgia Islands.  It was dead calm so motoring was the only choice.  Ten miles out we  picked up a barracuda on the lure, with two large sharks circling while we pulled it in..  We motored on and crossed the Hele Bar into the lagoon without any dramas. Another few miles had us anchored at Matikuri Island in a very snug little bay on the North Eastern side.



There is a small leaf house ran by Jill and Benjamin here, with three huts and a main restaurant hut. All built out over the water with fabulous views and lovely orchid rich gardens along the tracks linking the huts.  They had three guests for the night and we had dinner there with them.   A lovely feed of crayfish and fish.  The guests were a lady, Kate, who was the leader of the Peace Monitoring group in Honiara, and her parents. She was very interesting to talk to about the political struggles in Honiara.

The next day was overcast and very windy.  The girls had a big day on the schoolwork and Col went trolling and returned with a big smile and a lovely coral trout and a story about his battle with a 1.5 metre black tip reef shark, being towed away as he reeled it in..

The weather set in really foul for the next week with lots of rain and wind in the 20-30 knot region. Strong winds spoilt our access to the choice snorkelling locations and sleep was broken by the chain catching and slipping on the coral. Not a perfect week in paradise.  We went for a walk along the length of the island to find that the island thinned to only a few metres wide in places.  Jill told us later that the name Matikuri means thin piece of island.

Even though the weather hadn't improved much we decided to move on to Seghe only six miles away.  In the overcast conditions we had difficulty finding a site to anchor as the bottom seemed to undulate meaning coral heads that can snag the anchor chain. Once anchored we went ashore in search of shops.  We found a small store with nothing much and after a long walk in the rain we found the main store - there are no 'Coke' signs or similar to show that a shop is a shop and not someone's house or workshop here.  We got most things we needed but not the milk powder.  No more Weet Bix for breakfast until some is sourced!

Seghe has an airstrip which is the air-link for Morovo Lagoon.  The strip is huge being wide and long and apparently built by the Americans in WWII.  We stayed for a few days until the passenger ship, Tomoko, called in which meant a good vegetable market would be on the morning.  With that done we moved westward to Mbareho on the promise of a night crocodile spotting trip. We arrived on a Saturday which made for a quiet welcome as the village is Seventh Day Adventist.

After dark we had a few visitors as their Sabbath day was then finished.  We met up with Hendrick who we first met at Seghe. Hendrick organised for the local carvers to set up their wares at a hall in the village.  This happened the next day and while the number of carvers weren't that many it certainly saved us the time of having individual visits.  The next item was a meeting with John Davis the local tour guide to take us crocodile spotting that night.  We charged up our spotlight (a rechargeable spotlight is a very handy piece of equipment) and set off in Hendricks motor canoe.  This was a memorable night and with the light, the eyes of the crocodiles really light up from quite a distance.  We paddled up close to several crocs about five feet long.  John spotted a baby and hopped out of the canoe and with a quick movement had a metre long crocodile in his hands.  We made our way up a river for a while and in the half light of a cloudy moon the forest looked surreal as overhung on each side. Really great fun night.

The next day we visited the school which was very well run.  The teachers asked us to tell them of any 'modern' teaching methods as they felt they were old-fashioned. Elizabeth explained to them that there teaching methods were really no different than in an Australian or NZ school.  Their effort in their teaching was self-evident in the decoration of the classroom with the student's work.

We found a little store that was well equipped and were very happy to be able to buy milk powder (we celebrated by having Weet Bix for dinner).  Next visit was to Aldio Peter who does wood-block printing on paper made from banana leaves.     Aldio was a nice man and we quite impressed with and we came away with several prints.  His machine for pulping the leaves was impressive - a washing machine drum with sharp blades, driven by an exercise bike.

We arranged for the girls to spend the next day with Hendricks's wife Rowena while Elizabeth and I went bushwalking with John Davis.  This retraced our track for crocodile spotting and we enjoyed the trip up the same river in the daylight.  We started our walk and headed off to a hill about an hour's walk away.   On the way John pointed out the various trees and bushes and what their traditional uses are. He showed us traditional glue, soap, and bark  for clothing.  We also stopped to look at stone walls in the village remains and a sacrifice altar stone.  In headhunting days the villages were located in these foothills as this site gave a great view of the lagoon so they could see their enemies approach. on.  Interestingly he explained about the system of coast watchers the village would have to warn of approaching enemies.  This same system was used against the Japanese during WWII.  We stopped for a rest and a snack at a camp overlooking to the lagoon.  This camp is used in the Ngali nut season to collect these nuts that we term the 'pacific almond'.  At A$2 a kilo they make excellent snacks with evening drinks.



We came back quite exhausted from the effort.  As is often the case we payed for this expedition by doing a 'trade'.  This time I made a brochure for John describing the services he offered.  He was very happy with the results.  Each afternoon while we were at Mbareho the girls would go for a swim and paddle with village children.  This became a huge event with up to 50 kids playing in the water around the boat, racing each other and upsetting each other's canoe. After a few more days at Mbareho we moved on to Seghe to buy some petrol and a few things.  The next day we moved northwards to Mbuinitusu Island.  As we approached the islands canoes seemed to madly paddling towards us calling out hello.  Obviously the don't get many visitors.  We had a chat to Charles and learnt the village was SDA like Mbareho so we knew the next day (Saturday) would be quiet.  We had lots of kids in canoes circling the boat until dark.  The next morning it was clear and sunny so we decided to move on to Uepi Island.  The chart had the area marked as unsurveyed so eyeball navigation was the only tool.


We took up the coral reef spotting position.  Colin sitting up on the first spreaders with the handheld VHF radio and Liz at the wheel.  We headed off but not long after the clouds rolled in and the water glassed off, making reef spotting difficult because of the reflection of the clouds.  So dead slow we went, and only when the shoals were just ahead we could see them and slowly steer around them.  After a long stressful 5 miles we arrived at Uepi Island.  There is a resort with western style accommodation and known as a prime diving location. Unfortunately the anchorage is only average without much protection.  We went ashore with our snorkelling gear and introduced ourselves to Grant, the manager, and he made us very welcome.  The dining/bar area had a wonderful view, situated overlooking the passage and the lagoon's islands in the distance.

Going for a snorkel was a simple matter of walking down the steps of the jetty that fronts the passage.  We walked up to the jetty for an amazing view of hundreds of fish swimming around and lots of reef sharks cruising back and forwards.  In our snorkelling trips we often see reef sharks cruise past but the idea of stepping into the water while they were only metres away was a different concept.  We checked with the staff that the sharks were 'friendly' and away we went.  The feed the fish daily and have placed some giant clams near the jetty. Combine that with a fishing ban near the jetty and you have one of the best snorkelling amongst fish and a coral wall that drops shear for 30 metres.   The sharks moved off as we entered the water but were almost always in sight.

The next two days we had excellent snorkels and enjoyed being able to relax in on the deck of the resort in comfortable chairs and read some new books from their library.  Tegan and Toobara came down the coast and joined us and it was great to meet up with them.  It was one month since we had seen Toobara and two since we'd seen Tegan.  A few drinks on board Tegan gave us the chance to meet Patti and Gary who had flown out from Canada to spend a month with Janet and Jo.  They were great company for us over the next week.



We all went in and had dinner at the resort which was a wonderful seafood buffet and lots of talk, drink and conversation put us all in bed at midnight very tired and happy with the night.  We stayed a few more day and then had a pleasant sail down the outside of the reef to Kokoana passage and re-joined Tegan and Toobara in the anchorage behind Matui island.  This was an easy anchorage here with lots of sand in 7 metres of water.  It turned out we needed a good holding bottom as on two days we had strong squalls pass over us.  Dennis, Janet and Colin went for a scuba-dive in the passage and saw many large Hump headed Maori Wrasse, large Gorgonian Fans and a few barracuda.

We had a get together on the beach that evening and generally enjoyed each other's company. Tegan left to take Patti and Gary to Seghe to catch a plane and they sailed away into a large squall approaching from the north west.  When the squall  reached us we had 25-30 knot winds for several hours and the anchorage become very rolly.  The anchor held well in the sand and with lots of chain out.  Being a small boat (Arends 33) we could see Toobara really see-sawing in the waves.  The next morning it had calmed down and, while going ashore to burn rubbish, I noticed Toobara's dinghy wasn't there but assumed Dennis had gone fishing.  While on the beach Dennis appeared out of the water with the news the dinghy had disappeared.  The rest of the day was spent scouting round the shoreline and the passage searching for the dinghy to no avail.  The prevailing wind would have blown it into the nearby beach, so the assumption was that it was stolen.

Over the next few days Toobara went and visited as many villages as possible and alerted the local radio network and shipping lines.  All without any luck.  One of the carvers from Chemoho, Lulu Warren, was very upset when we told him of the loss.  He felt it was stolen as well. We had another night at Matiu with another night of strong winds and decided to move to a more sheltered site.  We moved to Cheke near the main island of Vangunu and stayed there for several days.  The girls enjoyed getting schoolwork done quickly so they could go and swim with the local kids.  Lulu, Dennis, Liz and I went for a great walk, first heading up a river then a short but very steep walk to an excellent lookout.  Lulu proved to be a very good guide.  He had been to NZ to learn how to run sea kayak tours. The World Heritage Fund (UNESCO funded) had sponsored him and many other people to encourage village level eco-tourism.  Many little guest houses around the lagoon were sent up by this group.



I went back up the river for a troll and came back with four mangrove jack, a barracuda and a red snapper.  It was great fun as the fish struck and tried hard to run under a log.  It was my little "A River Somewhere" experience, trolling along with overhanging branches and the rain teeming down..

Lulu carved beautiful little orbs from sago nuts and we traded for several of these by doing a brochure and flyer for him to place in the various guest houses around the lagoon.  We then headed off to Warrita Island where Frank runs a well-stocked store and was the only place we have found that can refill gas bottles instead of exchange.  Tegan  and Toobara were there so we had another little reunion.  The next day was glorious with a clear blue sky and light wind from the north east.  Toobara went and collected Lulu and about 15 young men to go out to the islands to search for the dinghy as Lulu suspected it would be hidden in the bush, to be collected later when the coast was clear.  With no luck there, Toobara then continued on visiting villages, searching for information about the dinghy.   With Tegan, we went to Lumalihe passage and found a lovely anchorage and a great passage to snorkel in.

We then went back to Lulu's village at Chemoho, next to Cheke, to finish his brochure.  When he came out he told us how he had found out that Toobara's dinghy was hidden in a house nearby and that most likely the outboard would be in someone's house in the neighbouring village of Mbisuana.  We radioed Toobara to come over.  The next day Lulu and I went to Mbisuana and spoke to many people in the village and subtly let them know that we knew the dinghy was there and wanted it back.  Toobara arrived and we directed them to anchor off  Mbisuana, and immediately a man came out and asked for a reward for the dinghy as he had found it.  Dennis was very diplomatic but firm and at the end gave him a reward to the value of S$100.

Really this was extortion, the man's story of how he found the dinghy did not fit and Toobara was anchored there only a few days ago and he had the opportunity to return it.  With a police force of absolutely no value this was the only way to get the motor and dinghy back.

Still it was a great sight to see Toobara go past us with their dinghy behind them.

January 2002 Solomon Islands - Rendova Harbour

We left Liapari bound for Rendova Harbour.  Toobara had told us there was to be a celebration there to mark the start of the year for the Mother's Union - a support group of the church.  There was to be singing, panpipes and drums so we thought it would be worth the effort to get there.  It was a long day for us, just on 40 miles, with the pressure to arrive with plenty of daylight to find our way into an unknown harbour we motor sailed to average over 7 knots for the trip. As we approached the entrance Toobara appeared in the distance and led us into a snug little bay.  It was great to catch up with them as it was a month since we'd last met.

Edward, the local 'public relations officer', came out to visit us and gave us the run down on the weekends activities.  The next day he came back with a 3 crayfish for us and invited the girls to come and play in the village. They had a good time and Liz started preparing our own little feast.  First-up crayfish around lunchtime then roast pork and vegetables for afternoon tea and apple crumble with cream for dinner.  The only way to have a big meal in the tropics - spread it out over seven or eight hours!



 We went ashore at 7pm and went to a church service to mark the start of the weekend.  After that we had some food with the visitors that had come from Noro and the priest.

 A few songs on the drums and panpipes were played and then we settled down and watched three dramas.  These were staged in a large square marked out by newly constructed fences and gateways, decorated with flags.  Each play or drama had a biblical theme and was excellent in the effort by the players, good humour and expression.  Even without a knowledge of Pidgin we could get the general gist of the stories and enjoyed them immensely.  After this there were several dances, then pan-pipes and drums were played and a general 'dance' ensued.  We all got up and had a dance - except for Courtney & Anna who were fast asleep on a mat.  A short rain shower sent us scurrying to the nearest house and then we decided it was time to go.  We got back to the boat at 2:30am.

We slept in the next day and missed the morning service.  Edward came out to chase us up for the feast that was to start at Noon.  We got in there and found several long rows of ferns laid criss-cross to form a raised table with large fronds laid on top as a tablecloth.  Everyone was busy either spreading the food out or fanning to keep the flies away.  We sat down to a lovely meal of pig, tuna, rice and sweet potatoes.


After this we chatted away with the villagers, and then the area was cleared with the drums and pan-pipes set up. What followed reminded us of a Christmas concert of a dance academy (with a tropical flavour).  The dances were obviously the choice of each group.  There were Polynesian dances style, done by women we assume of Gilbertese descent, children doing traditional and church dances and teenage boys doing rap-style dances.  Once again the celebrations finished with drums, panpipes and dancing.







The visitors left with a huge cheery farewell. We then retired to the boat for a good rest. A truly memorable weekend!

During the week we went for a snorkel on the outer reef with Dennis & Barbara on a lovely coral patch. On another day we went for a walk to the nearby river where the villagers wash and clean.  It was a long walk along a road formed recently by a logging bulldozer and then along a path into their gardens which looked excellent and the soil very rich.  The river was more of a fast flowing creek but the water was deep and cool and very enjoyable to swim in. On the way back we stopped to visit the women who were downstream washing the vegetable collected from the gardens.



On Saturday we were organised by Edward to take a group of boys to an island in the harbour, clean the hull of the boat, and and have a picnic. I was unsure about this because the number of people was unclear,  how safe the anchorage was and generally felt as if we were being manipulated.  We came alongside the jetty used for copra loading and there they stood, pretty well the whole village.  With a decision that once the cabin top was full of people we would take no more we loaded up.  Only the boys from the village came aboard and with just over 30 aboard we moved away.  The island was a lovely little sand island and we found a sand patch close to the shore and deep enough.  We ferried  everyone ashore and the youngest ones played, while the older ones set off either spear fishing or setting up the picnic.  Courtney and Anna swam with the boys while some of the older ones set to with brushes and sponges and cleaned the waterline and top sides of the boat.  The little ones 'attacked' the little boat and in a fashion it ended up cleaner than before with kids having a ball.

The spear fisherman had caught about forty little reef fish.  These were placed on a pile of stones that had been laid on a hot fire.  The fish were cooked whole this way.  Another fire had sweet potato and cassava on the boil.  Once it all was ready we had a meal laid out the same way as the feast last weekend. After this we loaded everyone back on and made our way to the village and then re-anchored in the bay.




Sunday started with Liz and I going to the church service and then in the midday sun we went for a snorkel to find the WWII plane that was in the entrance bay that we were anchored in.  We couldn't see the plane from the surface, but once guided to the spot and duck diving down a few metres we could see it.  It was a two seat Dauntless bomber (apparently) and was intact.  It was in 12 metres of water and so it was too deep to free-dive to.  Liz and I were able to dive down just above it and see it very clearly.

On Monday Liz went to the village to show the ladies how to make shorts.  Hand driven sewing machines are common but patterns are not available.  They just use the machines  make very basic items.  She copied a pattern on to heavy paper and then took this in.  The ladies were shy at first but thanks to the enthusiasm of an older lady, Georgina, all had turns at copying the pattern onto newspaper, pinned it onto the material and cut it out.  They then sewed up two pairs and hopefully they have been left with enough knowledge to continue on.

January 2002 - Solomon Islands - Gizo & Liapari

This page starts with us at Gizo (again!) and it's two days til Courtney's Birthday (Jan 11).   The  plan was to move on to Liapari for her birthday but then we found that traditional dancing to be held at the Gizo Hotel.  She made to the decision for us to stay an extra day and then sail to Liapari on her birthday, with a cake to follow the next day.  Sailing or moving the boat on birthdays is generally not accepted practice.

Instead of sitting in Gizo harbour for the day we went out and anchored at Nusa Mbaruku at the end of the airport.  We went down the side of the island in the dinghy and visited the ICALM research  centre.  This centre looks at developing technologies for Pacific islanders that utilises the resources in their waters in a sustainable way.  Projects like clam farming, fish farming, collecting small fish for aquariums are undertaken.  We went for a snorkel in one of the clam enclosures - quite a sight with hundreds of large clams on the bottom.

We then had a long drift snorkel back to the boat and then made our way back to Gizo to go see the dancing

This was a great choice.  The dancing was done by a Gilbertese group from the village across Gizo harbour.  The Gilbertese are Polynesian and are descendants of people who came from the Gilbert Islands (Kiribati) during the sixties.  Their dancing was great with the youngest starting out doing simple forms of their dances.  Progressively older children had their turn and the show finished with the older ones going really fast and really dancing up a storm!.  For a birthday treat they made Courtney a headdress, and sung ten bars of happy birthday.- one for each year.  We very much enjoyed the evening.



We left the next day for Liapari.  This is a small privately owned island .  Noel and Rosie have a business here making aluminium boats and general engineering  workshop. We anchored in the lagoon after crossing through the small gap in the reef created during the war.  It is only 15 metres wide and 3 metres deep and as we passed the narrow section the tendency was to stand up straight and hold your breath to help the boat through.  Here we also met Richard, his wife Christine and their  ten year old daughter, Anne-Maree.   Richard was overseeing a re-fit on two live aboard dive boats - the Spirit of Solomons and Bilikiki.  These boats are truly up-market compared to our way of life.  The Bilikiki has 10 cabins with ensuites and is air-conditioned with nice lounges areas, decks, and a specially fitted out diving area on the stern.  They do a 14 day cruise out of Honiara and is largely booked out by American dive operators. They charge US$300 per person per day and include all meals and dives.  They do slide developing on board as many of the passengers are professional photographers or keen amateurs.

We had dinner aboard one night and had a lovely feed of roast pork and the girls were especially thrilled with the double  chocolate ice cream.  Over dinner Richard enthralled us  with his stories of his involvement in the Bougainville war.  Apparently NZ's 60 Minutes did a story on him entitled 'Kiwi Rambo'.  During our visits to the boats we were able to stock up on a few books to read as the boats both have overloaded libraries of books left behind by passengers.  We were also able to borrow some videos and 'help Richard out' by taking some gourmet cheeses that were about to go out of date.

With Noel's workshop, Liapari is the place to get things fixed.  The top bearing of our anchor winch had collapsed and Noel and Richard were able to help me get the bearing out and then replaced, with the new bearing eventually coming from Australia.  Noel is real speed freak, and in his shed he has a jet ski and a speed boat that looked like a dish with a massive motor in it.  Rosie's niece Debbie who runs the office took Courtney for a spin on the jet ski.

There are roads around the small island and the girls have been able to get their bikes out and go bike riding.  Some the local kids have bikes and they have been having a ball riding around, swimming and fishing. A huge school of herring sat under the jetty or in the shade of the dive boats.  They drop a treble hook (no bait) into the school and then a quick jerk and a fish is hooked.  One afternoon from the deck of the dive boats we watched some large trevally charging into the school to catch a fish. Really impressive!

Courtney's birthday went well and a Gameboy game of Harry Potter was a hit.  A close second was Care of the Australian Horse and Pony - a book we picked up in a second hand store in Gizo.  There was a horse there on  Liapari, and Courtney and Anna have enjoyed giving it a biscuit and a pat each day.

After a week we went back to Gizo (after struggling to lift the anchor up by hand!) to do a refresher dive course.  Liz and I hadn't been diving for over 13 years and we wanted to do some dives here, so we thought a refresher course would be a good idea.  Kathy (Dive Solomon Charters, in the Gizo Hotel) took us out to Kennedy Island, and in the shallows  we went through all the basics and emergency procedures.  We both coped well and then in the afternoon we went for a dive along the drop off wall of the island.  We swam along the wall at around 20 metres and marvelled at the huge coral fans that protrude out and the hundreds of fish around us. We now look forward to more dives but have to watch the budget as this is not a cheap activity.

We lined up to do a night dive in Gizo Harbour but the rain set in for a few days which made this impractical.  We sat out some strong winds in Gizo for a few more days before heading back to Liapari.  When anchoring in Gizo we tied a line with a buoy to the anchor and this made pulling up the anchor and chain up much easier - but still too much like hard work.  We arrived in Liapari after a smooth trip and anchored just in time as a nasty squall blew over.  One of the men who worked there, Johnson, wanted to buy Courtney's bicycle for his son.  After agreement with Courtney, a deal was done and the bike was sold. Nice to off-load something for once.  The anchor winch and bearing went in OK and we were on our way again.