Solomon Islands - Bilkiki Trip Report (Detailed)

[Eau_Girl]

I had a great trip to the Solomon Islands with 2 weeks on the Bilikiki in November 2009. Sorry for the delay in getting a trip report up on the board!

It is a long report, but I have grouped by topic to make it easier to find what you might need.

I’ll start with the fish-life and then leave the nitty-gritty details for last for those who are interested.

SORRY NO UW PHOTOS FROM ME!

Under the Water
Diversity is the best way to describe what we encountered in the Solomon Islands. From pygmy seahorses & lots of macro critters to 7 different anemone species to large schools of barracuda to mantas and the occaision sharks, you will find loads of marine life. As others have pointed out, other places in the Coral Triangle may have more of a certain thing, but you’ll get a well-rounded view of things in the SI. Looking back at my dive log, I could go on and on about the things I noted. I loved the huge variety of nudibranchs and flatworms (Kellie the boat manager & I found one that she had never seen before), the pajama cardinal fish, the archer fish, the freckled face blennies, the Maori/Napoleon wrasse…….I’ll stop now!

In addition, there are some unique dive sites. White Beach has sunken remains of a US Naval base from WWI that is full of fish life. You might encounter a small salt-water croc in a shallow pond. You can also dive the Bat Cave and surface briefly to see and hear the bats flying overhead. Barracuda Point consistently delivers and is a site I could dive again and again – it’s one of two sites we dove where you could hear (and feel in your chest) an active underwater volcano!

Devil’s Highway attracts mantas in from about Sept to Dec. (they came back early in 2010 according to recent reports). We had a special encounter there with 8-10 mantas that stayed with us for over an hour and circled over us and performed in front of the reef. The dive managers had rarely seen such action at this site.

Above the Water
You’ll definitely have the opportunity to meet the Solomon Islanders! There are two village visits where you are entertained by the local people. There are several opportunities to shop and buy the local handicrafts (no pressure to buy at any of them).

Each day you’ll find floating markets appear as the local women come to sell fresh fruit & veg and flowers. The kids will come up to the boat in their canoes. One afternoon the mooring line provided entertainment for a group of 5-6 little boys – kids really do not need Wiis/Xboxes to survive!

I took loads of photos topside and actually had prints made which I sent back to the Bilikiki crew to give to the villagers who were the subjects.

I’ll stop now on this part. As you can tell, I loved this trip – so much so that I’ll be going back in 2011!

 

[Eau_Girl]

Getting There
Even though the South Pacific seems miles from most of us (well it is!), getting there is pretty straight forward.

I flew from London to LA, had an 8.5 hour layover, and then flew from LAX to Nadi on Air Pacific. They have direct flights 4-5 days per week.

Air Pacific has a weekly service on Tuesday from Nadi, Fiji to Honiara (with a stop in Vanautu (flight on recent 737). The AP flight from LAX gets to Nadi around 5:00 and the flight to Honiara leaves around 8:30am. Most of the group transited right through from the US. I had spent a week in Fiji so joined them in the airport lounge.

One word of warning, DO NOT BUY DUTY FREE ALCOHOL ON THE AIR PACIFIC FLIGHT!!! The group said the crew did not warn passengers in transit that they could not buy liquids. The issue is that you DO NOT collect your checked luggage as it is transferred to the plane and thus, you cannot put 100ml+ bottles in them. Cheeky!

Picking up duty free wine and spirits is a good idea once in the airport -- you can take them on the flight with no problem. The Bilikiki allow you to do this as well. However, when you stop over in Vanautu, leave your bottles of alcohol in the overhead compartments!! Talk to the lead flight attendant, and it will not be a problem. On the return, most of us even left suitcases on the plane. You leave the plane only to get in the security screening line that allows you into the departure gate. You can buy snacks, souvenirs at the gift shop, buy in duty free or have something at the small bar/café. Within an hour you reboard the flight.

Arriving in Honiara
Clearing immigration and customs in Honiara is straight forward.

The Bilkiki or your group leader will send you green tags for your luggage. They are used more for identification purposes than effecting transfer (according to Bilikiki office in Canada as mine got lost in the UK postal strikes).

The customs team may challenge you about what you have in your luggage, but just stay firm on the fact that you have only dive equipment, clothing and personal items. Do not mention any gifts you might bring for the villages, etc.

The Bilikiki land manager and crew will meet you at the airport. They will take your luggage for transport to the boat. Just keep anything you really need for the next 3-5 hours and let them have the rest.

The manager takes you to a local hotel where you wait until they are ready for you to board the Bilikiki. You can use the restaurant and lounge area. The restaurant staff let people run separate tabs with no problem. They take credit cards. There is a very small beach, but probably not worth getting in the water.

The hotel gift shop has a number of handicrafts. Take a look at the type of work and the prices. This will give you an idea of what to look for later on when you think about buying crafts in the village. Plus, it gives you an idea of what emergency purchases you can make on the last day.

The hotel has internet access via PCs next to the gift shop (you can hook up your own laptop if you wish). Speeds can be slow depending on how the local telecoms service is working

Supposedly the local mobile phone company has no roaming agreements with international telecoms so you get no service. Expect to be cut off from the world while in the Solomons! (Not a bad thing!)

Once ready, the land-based manager will collect the group and take you to the beach to boat the ‘tinnies’ to get to the boat. The beach has shells/rocks so not good for bare feet. I had on leather sandals that ended up getting soaked. Had I know I would have had on my Tevas or water shoes.

You then board the Bilkiki and are greeted by the managers (Kellie an Aussie and Sam a Brit – at the time).

 

[Eau_Girl]

Boat
The Bilkiki is an older boat but very stable and comfortable overall. Once on board, the managers will do a brief welcome and explain cabin assignments and setting up gear. You are then set free to set up on the dive deck and unpack your suitcases.

The cabins: On the lower deck, the Bilikiki has 10 double cabins with a full bed on the bottom and a twin up above. There is space underneath the beds to stow collapsible bags (large suitcases can be placed in the wheelhouse). There is a space for hanging clothes, a shelf each and then a corner shelf. The head is fine – ours did not smell or back up. The shower had hot water all the time, but is not huge. There is not too much place for storage. The rooms have A/C which is controlled centrally. Each bed has a reading light and there is a fan in the room. An electrical outlet only for iPods, etc. There is a big charging room on the top deck. I found the cabin roomier from an overall perspective than several other boats I’ve been on.

The salon: This is a large room mid-ship on the main deck. This area is not air-conditioned. The only time it was an issue was the first day before we left Honiara. It was humid and there was no breeze.

It has three large tables, two of which are used for the food at meal times. The other table is used for camera storage. Between meals people use the benches and tables. There are plastic baskets for your cameras. They advise that you leave your cameras there at all times. That prevents them from fogging when you bring up from an air-conditioned cabin. You just need to be considerate of others as if you have a full boat (we did), there can be lots of cameras and laptops at times. There is a bar and library with fish books (lending library is upstairs in the wheelhouse).

In front of the salon is a covered, open-air deck where you eat. People often sat and lounged in this area between dives.

On the top deck you have a sun area where the evening snacks are served (no shade up here). It is in front of the wheelhouse. There is a charging room in the wheelhouse. There are shelves with compartments and baskets so you can keep track of your batteries and chargers. They have both 110V and 220V outlets. The 110 are for US style plugs, and the 220 for Australian. There were some tools in that room as well if people needed to work on any gear.

I’ll include the dive deck below.

Overall the boat is great – very stable and comfortable. However, it was designed many years ago, pre-digital photography, etc. Having cameras in the salon and on the dive deck and the charging room upstairs is not ideal, but you quickly learn to adapt and deal with it. Clearly if you were to redesign the layout would change things around. Having A/C only in the cabins was not a problem for most. One woman had some health issues and did not dive for several days. I know she went a bit stir crazy by the end. There were nice breezes on most days and plenty of places to stretch out for naps or reading a book. There is a hammock on the covered deck.

Food/Meals
The food was very good throughout. It is not gourmet/haute cuisine, but it was varied, well-prepared and tasty. There was always more than enough for everyone. Sam, one of the current manager, does the menu planning and over his four years on the boat has worked with the cooks on tweaking things such as the Thai dishes. He’s a vegetarian so herbivores should be pleased. The kitchen staff will do what they can to please and accommodate. Any unusual dietary issues should be discussed with the booking office in Canada in advance.

The fresh fruit was incredible – pineapples, bananas (which I hate), papaya and melons were always available. You would be amazed at the variety of produce the villagers sell to the boat each day. The crew will buy some unusual fruit and veg throughout the trip – ask if you want to try something. Lettuce is the one thing they have to buy in bulk in Honiara and hope it lasts the whole trip.

All meals are served buffet style from the salon. The tables are set up on the covered, open-air deck in front of the salon.

Breakfast: Fresh fruit, cereal and bread for toast is put out by 6:00. However, it seemed to be there even earlier most days. Hot breakfast started about 6:30. It included eggs in some form, bacon or sausage (UK/Australian style, not American style) and sometimes pancakes or homemade biscuits (more like plain scone not ‘cookies’ for the Brits). A variety of breads were available for toast.

Morning Snack: Fresh baked cookie of the day and popcorn.

Lunch: The food was varied so hard to give real picture. There was usually a freshly made soup of the day, a salad of some sort and the main dish. Fruit will also be available. We had pizza a couple of time. Taco day was popular. Thai/Asian dishes were offered.

Afternoon Snack: Fresh fruit and popcorn

Each evening at 18:00 a nibbles/snack tray was put out on the top deck. A variety of things including cheese and olives that much cost a fortune as they are imported! Everyone starts to gather and those who are not night diving have a drink.

Dinner: As with lunch, there was a good variety – chicken, beef and fish were rotated through the menus. In other boats I’ve been on, there seems to be a set menu rota (if it’s Wed. it’s beef, if it’s Thurs, it’s Thanksgiving dinner, etc.). I did not have that feeling here. We were on for 2 weeks and there were few repeats aside from breakfast. There was desert each night as well.

Drinks: Water, iced tea, lime-water, tea and coffee were free and available 24/7. You do not get a sports water bottle so you might want to bring one along. I bought a bottle of water and reused it for the trip.

Soft drinks ($2), beer ($4), wine ($6 or a variety of bottles) and spirits (??) are available for purchase (Approximate prices in US$). If you bring or buy a bottle it will be labeled so others do not drink it. They do not mind if you bring your own on board. We had a one couple that brought an entire suitcase of wine which the crew stored for them.

If you need chocolate or other sweets/candy, bring some along. Other guests on our trips brought fun-sized candy bar, Tootsie Pops and chips/crisps for everyone.

 

[Eau_Girl]

Dive Deck
The dive deck can accommodate 20 passengers plus the 2 dive managers. You will be assigned a tank station which has a basket underneath for your things. You set things up at the station. The crew will then move your tanks to the tinnies.

They offer nitrox (our entire group used it) 32% I think. It’s US$20 day or $10 dive. If you sit out a day, they will not charge you for that day. It worked out to $260 for the full 2 weeks. I thought that was comparable to other boats I have done, but others in the group thought it was too expensive.

They do have DIN tanks so you do not need an adaptor. However, they might run out if too many people showed up with DIN regs so bring the adaptor to be safe. The tanks were standard 12L/80s. If you need a bigger tank, request in advance and they will get it for you.

The center of the deck has the rails where you hang you wetsuits. The camera rinse tank was there as well, and people were good about only putting camera in it. The crew change the water regularly.

There are 2 freshwater showers (with hot water) on the dive deck. There was a rinse tank with disinfectant to rinse boots and wetsuits. As an aside, most of the people on our trip peed in their suits and became very ripe so that soap was needed! I stopped using that tank and rinsed my suit in the shower.

We had 20 people on our trip. The dive deck was busy, but there was enough room to get ready. I’ve been on boats that were more crowded. Once you learn the habits of your neighbors you can time your prep so that you do not bang into each other.

Crew
The Bilkiki had a crew of 13. They always have a couple that act as the managers/cruise directors. Kellie & Sam were finishing up their fourth year with company (they started the Spirit of the Solomons). They will be back on the Bilikiki in the second half of 2010. They complement each other and work well together. They split the diving and one or the other will be in on each dive.

The remainder of the crew members are Solomon Islanders. Most of them have been crew on the boat for many years. They all speak English – some better than others depending on how much they interact with guests. The Solomon Islanders are shyer type people compared to the exuberant Fijians I had encountered the week before. However, if you take the time to talk to them they are really friendly. The guys who work the dive deck and the ones who drive the tinnies will get to know each of the divers’ habits and help you out. The crew seem to get along with each other (I’ve been on a boat where there was in-fighting that impacted the guests) and enjoy their jobs.

None of the local crew are dive masters or instructors (at the time of our trip). A handful of them do dive and will dive on occasion, but they do not typically serve as guides.

 

[Eau_Girl]

Diving Practices
Most days 4 day dives were done. Most nights a night dive could be done.

Dive 1: 8:00; Dive 2: 11:00; Dive 3: 14:00; Dive 4: 17:00ish; Night dives most nights

Night dive after dinner
You need to be ready by dive time (analyze nitrox, get camera ready, etc.). There is a board with pegs and plastic tags with you name. You move your tag to ‘Diving’ before getting on the tinny.

There are 2 chalkboards on the dive deck. One will have info on the island group you are in. The second is the dive site map. The first time at each site, there was a detailed briefing. The map listed critters to look for that dive. If we dove a site again, there would be a shorter briefing unless we were significantly modifying something about the dive plan.

There are two aluminum skiffs (the tinnies) from which most of the diving was done. The divers were split into three groups. The crew load your tank onto the tinny. You take your weights, masks & fins and board the tinny from the exit which is portside. The crew get to know the cameras within a day or so and will load your camera onto the correct tinny. For the most part it was 5 minutes or less to the site.

On most dives we all went to the same site. The first group left, followed very shortly by the second. The guide was typically with group 1. The third group had a slight delay as they needed the first tinny to return for them. You could probably rotate the order if you agree with the crew. Our group didn’t and based it on people’s experience and air consumption (the best on air in group 1, etc.). The tinnies wait on the surface and ferry people back to the main boat; there is almost always a second tinny there when you surface. They don’t split up the group on different sites because they want a boat near the group at all times. The tinny has a sturdy ladder. The crew will take your kit from you before you get back on and they help you climb on.

There are very limited restrictions on you as a diver. They will not police people going off on their own (many experience photographers on most trips). They do not require a solo cert or a pony bottle. You can dive your own profile and to your own limits. They only limited dive times on a couple of dives due to the day’s schedule. In our group we had a number of hard core, experience photographers who were ‘same ocean’ buddies and the crew did not mind that. I prefer closer communication with a buddy so I made sure co-ordinate with whoever I was diving with.

There are a number of drift dives ranging from gentle to screaming currents. Some sites were protected, but if you moved out of the suggested dive areas you could hit currents. At a couple of locations, the back platform of the Bilkiki was down and you could dive right from the boat. There was usually a tinny on watch if someone needed help getting back.

As there is only one guide in the water each dive, I do not recommend this trip for divers requiring extra support or assistance. The guides focus on spotting critters, making sure people do not get turned around underwater. Unlike some other boats I have been on, they will not be able hold the hand of an inexperienced diver. Given the price and remote location, the Bilikiki tends to attract experienced divers. Kellie & Sam are both experienced instructors and great UW. Of course they will help anyone with a problem. As my buddy sat out many dives due ear problems, I often dove with one or the other.



Other Tips/Things to Do Differently
Bring Cash with You!! -- The Bilikiki run a bank on board (many of the crew put part of the money into it and make money off of the foreign exchange that is slight better than interest rates). The managers will change US$/Euros/GBP and other currencies into Solomon Dollars. This will allow you to purchase items in the villages. You do not really need cash for anything else. However, since this is the crew’s money and not the company’s money, they cannot just add this to your tab which can go on a credit card. A few of us had been told we could put things on our tab at the end. To do this they would have had to add the credit card charges on top. In the end I was able to go to the ATM/cashpoint on the final morning and withdraw cash to settle up. The Bilikiki sometimes has to dock further away from the center of town, and you do not have easy access to an ATM, but could take a taxi to get there.

Laundry -- On a two-week trip they will do laundry for you. Due to limits on fresh water, everyone’s things will be combined together washed, dried and folded. If you are picky or have delicates, do not put your clothes in. They did laundry twice during our charter.

Travel light and if you are not too picky take advantage of using toiletries. Leave bug spray and sunscreen at home. The crew has an overstock of both as most people leave both of these essentials behind.

Take an instant/Polaroid camera so you can give photos to the people as you meet them.

 

[Luko]

Great report, with plenty of useful tips.
Although I don't do liveaboards, I wish I could dive the Solomons sometimes and also travel overland. It's a place -along with PNG- I have always dreamt of when I was living in Vanuatu, but never had the opportunity to go... Do you know what's the weather and sea like in march and august? (I suppose they're high up and out of the cyclone belt)

You did well notice the western melanesian people look shy, like they were paralyzed with the idea of doing wrong. I can guarantee though they're as friendly and trustworthy as their eastern fijian cousins.
Probably it's an advantage of speaking pidgin, that's why it only took me minutes to befriend with any nivan last time i visited Vanuatu in 09... That's also why I would like to visit Solomons : the language is very similar... sem pidsin olsem bislama blong Vanuatu...

 

[alijtaylor]

Hi Eau Girl. Good to see your post and know that you had a good time.

Luko, there are good shore based options in Solomons. Uepi is the resort amongst them and I thoroughly enjoyed my time there - do a search on the board and you'll find quite a bit of comment. Dive Munda and Solomon Dive adventures both have a good reputation too.

Re climate - March is cyclone season but they are uncommon, the edge of a storm caught the southern Solomons in 2010 but all the resorts listed above are further north. August is trade wind season and that can make shore entries a little bit more challenging but generally the diving is great all year around.

Alison

 

[Eau_Girl]

Hi Alison,

How much longer are you going to be in Honiara? Have you done of the weekend trips on the Bilikiki recently? I see that the mantas came back early to Devils Highway!

EG

 

[alijtaylor]

Hi Alison,

How much longer are you going to be in Honiara? Have you done of the weekend trips on the Bilikiki recently? I see that the mantas came back early to Devils Highway!

EG

Hi EC
I expect to be here till end June 2011. I have had 4 Bilikiki weekend trips this year, the last mid Spetember. had good Mobula action on one of them:

I don't think the Mantas are reliably back at Devils highway yet but I had a good encounter there in February.

If anyone wants Solomon Island underwater photos I have two albums up. This is current
ScubaBoard Gallery - Solomons 2009 -10 and this has Uepi, Gizo and Bilikiki images from 2008 ScubaBoard Gallery - Solomon Islands

Cheers

Alison

 

[bubbles09]

if anyone was planning a trip to the solomons, what dive sites would you recommend - your top 5 say?