Solomon Island Exploratory Trip??? Anyone interested?

[Pacifico]

Hello,

I traveled to the Solomon Islands on a 10-day trip aboard the M/V Solomon Star in June and I am in the process of finishing up a trip report that will subsequently be posted on Scubaboard. Very briefly though, I must state that the diving was magical and wonderful. Not a day goes by without thinking back to the sublime setting, both below and above water.

I am a young man (29 years of age) who feels he has come to understand what it is he looks for when it comes to diving and dive travel. I am interested in combining my interest in the tropical Pacific with my desire to explore and push the boundaries. I am interested in going to far flung, remote islands or island groups, and then going further. For example, I would just love to travel to Kosrae or Pohnpei and then continue even further to the atolls of Kapingamarangi or Nukoro. What about going to Kavieng on New Ireland, but instead of staying put, continuing further to Mussau Island? Flying to Alotau in Milne Bay Province and then steaming east straight to Sudest or Rossel Islands? I believe that PNG and the Solomon group are some of the few relatively large islands/island groups where this is possible.

While in the Solomons, I began to think about organizing a trip (10, 12 or perhaps 14 days) to those parts of the archipelago that have seen very little SCUBA, but that likely harbour excellent diving opportunities. More particularly, my gaze has turned to the Shortlands, parts of Choiseul Island, and parts Santa Isabel Island. My impression is that the M/V Solomon Star is at least open to considering this possibility.

So, after a long message to provide some context, I am throwing out a call to gauge the level of interest in such a trip were it to manifest itself. I am interested in organizing this but, since I have never organized a dive trip/charter, it is important to get a feel for how many people would serisouly consider joining.

I imagine this could be a 12-day trip. Most likely in November when winds are most likely to be calm. Begin in Honiara and head northwest with brief stops at Russells, Marovo, New Georgia and then onto Shortlands, looping back through southern Choiseul and then Santa Isabel. Anyone interested? I am open to advice, suggestions and criticism.

Cheers!

Jose

 

[Pacifico]

No interest at all???

 

[drrich2]

I'm not a far flung traveler, so take this with a grain of salt. Some thoughts:

1.) Far flung destinations often cost a lot of money, time & travel hassle (e.g.: multiple flights, layovers, etc...).

2.) Such trips are often 'once in a lifetime,' and sometimes bucket list.

3.) With that large investment in the trip, I suspect many people want the best chance of getting the best diving possible out of it.

4.) Customers like that might prefer hitting known excellent dive sites to wandering around hitting unknown spots hoping to get lucky.

5.) You've been to the Solomons, evidently did the routine (at least part of it), and now you're interested in exploring new territory. How large is the market for people who match that profile, and want to join a group interested in doing so? Are these people returning to the Solomons, or heading off to other destinations?

For example, I would just love to travel to Kosrae or Pohnpei and then continue even further to the atolls of Kapingamarangi or Nukoro. What about going to Kavieng on New Ireland, but instead of staying put, continuing further to Mussau Island? Flying to Alotau in Milne Bay Province and then steaming east straight to Sudest or Rossel Islands?

I never heard of any of those places. Which doesn't say much. But I wonder how many prospective customers you're interested in have?

Have you organized dive trips before? What level of organization do you propose to offer? Is this just getting like-minded people to book the same week in whenever, or do you see yourself doing some travel agent type service?

Richard.

 

[Wingy]

If you are talking nov 2016 then I would like to know more. Exploratory diving is awesome, im a big fan. Ive done a similar route so would like more info when you have firmer plans.

 

[Damselfish]

I might be interested in such a thing, but I'd have 2nd (and 3rd & 4th & 5th) thoughts about doing such a trip organized by an unknown individual who hasn't organized any sort of trip before. (I'd love to see liveaboards or established dive travel agencies arrange special itineraries more often, where they do longer than their usual charters and go to further/different places than their standard route. Yet it doesn't seem to get done all that often. I think there's a wide variety of reasons for that.)

There's something to be said for a trip with a mix of known good diving and exploratory diving. While exploratory diving is an appealing idea and you might find lots of awesome diving, you might also find a lot of nothing much. It's a big ocean, and just because you're in areas where there ought to be a lot of great stuff, actually finding the right spots to dive and see it may be far from a slam dunk. Helps if there is someone on that boat who has been to any of the places you propose or has some kind of idea where the best places would be. Or who maybe has a brother-in-law with a cousin on another island knows something. Some interesting and challenging research might be needed. (In the Solomons, don't they also need permission from local chiefs to dive some places? Which probably works easier when there is an ongoing relationship.) I'd be careful about trying to trying to cover too much territory, it's tempting but you don't want to spend too much time traveling instead of diving. Most liveaboards aren't all that fast (and sometimes don't want to burn the fuel) and don't usually cover all that much distance

I know I'd love to hit some off the beaten path islands in Micronesia. Kosrae is one on my list. Too far scattered to do a liveaboard trip hitting multiple islands though, even if there was a liveaboard that would do it.

 

[mikeycanuk]

Considering the cost of our trip to the Solomon's both aboard the Bilikiki and a week at Uepi, I don't see a huge upside to such a trip. I mean we saw some utterly pristine reefs and amazing sites. Sure there is chance of seeing something superb but there is a reason they go back to the same sites.

Our trip cost a small fortune and I got airfare from Toronto to Brisbane on points as well. Add the cost of those tickets and..yikes!

 

[Moray]

Having been to the solomons,I'd be interested,unfortunately can't in November. I was just in Kosrae and I found the diving great and would love to try newer and more remote destinations.

 

[psulion45@yahoo.com]

solomons islands nice but Philippines better, over 7,000 island and the Marine Life is breath taking, Living here in Dumaguete I dive 3 to 4 times a week and its fantastic. Whale Sharks are fantastic and you are able to either dive with them or swim with them.

 

[mikeycanuk]

Seriously?

 

[Pacifico]

Thank you all for your comments - barring psulion45 of course .

I think some good points were raised. Drrich's is right to point out that, fundamentally, it boils down to the number of people that are interested in putting down a considerable sum of money to visit a specific destination and that are keen on exploratory diving - where there is a risk of diving some or many poor/low quality sites.

From a personal standpoint, I am drawn to the allure of exploring new places, even in the face of potential let-down. Nonetheless, I think ti should be possible to select areas that show promise in order to maximize the chance of diving great areas/sites. Ultimately, I have a personal drive to explore and map out so that future groups may benefit - it must be the scientist in me. I am interested in finding like-minded people that also happen to be willing to spend $$$ to explore and discover. That number may be small, but I am sure there are people out there. I see this message as a first step in trying to put together a group at some point in the next couple of years. If only I had my own boat, a mountain of $$$ and that time that would come with the latter

I ran the idea by SIDE people when I was on board earlier this year and they mentioned that they were considering an exploratory trip to the Shortland Islands at some point in the future. I haven't heard anything else.

On a final inquisitive note, does anyone have any info on Bougainville Island diving? There does not appear to be any center on the island that could support SCUBA.

Again, thank you all for your replies,

J