Our group of intrepid travelers thoroughly enjoyed our time in the Solomon islands. Our voyage on the Bilikiki started in the Russell islands. From day one at Mirror Pond we were enthralled by snorkeling with countless chromis, anthias, butterfly fish, a school of black snapper, we said howdy to sharks and barracudas too.
The calm, shallow reefs had an abundance of healthy soft and hard corals.
A huge school of jacks and barracuda as well as a great variety of reef fish entertained us at Mary Island.
We continued west to Marovo lagoon. A highlight was the incredible hard coral gardens that greeted us in Mbulo Canyons. In Marovo Lagoon we also visited several wood carving villages. The carvings are gorgeous and we all enjoyed meeting the artists and buying lovely carvings.
One of the unique and special aspects of traveling in the Solomon’s are the interactions with villagers. Throughout the voyage locals rowed out in canoes laden with beautiful fish, fruits and vegetables so we always had fresh and healthy food on board.
Towards the end of the trip we returned to the Russel’s and spent the day at Karumolum Village.
Not only was this a fabulous snorkel spot we also had a special village visit with traditional dances preformed for us. Chief Raymond was very welcoming and inviting.
Our final stop was one of our favorites. Maravagi Bay thrilled us with it’s healthy reefs, schools of fish and an exhilarating snorkel at “Devil’s Highway” where we kicked hard to stay with schools of fish and eight mantas in a feeding station. Yahoo it was a blast!
A number of us continued on to Uepi resort. Uepi is an absolutely fantastic little eco-resort. The lush landscape is full of orchids. Wild life includes monitor lizards, parrots and horn bills and the house reef is astonishing. In our six days there we snorkeled with schools of fish, sharks, octopus and mantas.
My next trip to the Solomon’s? May 2018 and I can’t wait! Thank to the wonderful crew of the Bilikiki and my awesome traveling companions for making this a remarkable voyage!
