with a bit of current flow and a respectful distance this
is a remarkable day of diving.
MAROVO LAGOON
We did another evening steam, cruising ever farther
to the west, and woke up to the sound of the hook
dropping in the sheltered waters of
Marovo Lagoon
.
For some reason that was the place for crocodilefish: We
saw them on every dive that day, and I even captured
one in the elusive yawn posture on a particularly
scenic bit of coral at
Anemone Point
. At
Mbili
Shallows
we found large crimson sea fans occupied
by multiple longnosed hawkfish, and at
George’s Spot
the inhabitants tended more toward Indo-Pacific reef
dwellers: coral groupers, regal angelfish and, again, the
many species of butterflyfish so well adapted to this
hard-coral wonderland. This was also where we briefly
abandoned the pristine reefs and stellar water clarity
of the outer reefs to explore some of the underwater
remains of World War II in the Solomons.
WORLD WAR II ARTIFACTS
The Solomon Islands were a hotbed of conflagration
during World War II. In the first six months of 1942 the
Japanese occupied various islands, including Guadalcanal,
with the intention of building naval and airbases to stage
sorties throughout the South Pacific. The Allies needed
to defend communications and supply lines, and so the
Solomon Islands were a strategic and fiercely contested
region. Many of the ships that were sunk, which included
destroyers and even aircraft carriers, were lost far
offshore of Guadalcanal in thousands of feet of water
and are thus inaccessible to divers. But a tech-diving
community has evolved there to service those situated
beyond the normal sport-diving range.
There are some wrecks in relatively shallow water
though. We managed to dive a few, including the
Maru
#2
, a 300-foot Japanese freighter that sits upright at
80 feet. It’s in a rather turbid lagoon — visibility was
challenging — but the wreck is interesting for its brilliant,
sponge-cloaked propeller and the outrageous whip corals
that decorate the superstructure. A large wheeled cannon
remains situated on the bow, a stark reminder that
even supply ships were equipped with some defensive
capabilities, albeit meager ones. These were totally
ineffectual against the aerial onslaught that sank this one.
A few days later we visited another fascinating
WWII artifact, the
Mavis floatplane
. Resting on the
91-foot seafloor of another lagoon of marginal water
clarity, the wreck features nicely encrusted propellers.
It’s a challenge to capture the intricacies of the sponge
encrustation and the swirls of opal sweepers without
excessive backscatter, but a fisheye lens, minimal
distance and an artfully aimed strobe can minimize
(if not eliminate) the particulate. The cockpit is quite
interesting as well, but in the predive briefing the crew
asked that we not enter that area of the aircraft, which
was entirely appropriate given the fragility of a plane
that’s been on the seafloor for seven decades.
Kicha
is another one of those Solomons dives that
consistently delivers rave reviews and justifies multiple
dives during the day. The filter feeders decorating the
wall were impressive — so impressive that at that point in
the trip I consciously decided to quit photographing the
massive red sea fans. As it turned out, I gave it up in the
same way I’ve given up shooting clownfish in Indonesia
and blue-striped grunts in the Florida Keys, which is to
say not at all. It was the shallow reef that really amazed us
that day. A large resident school of batfish was for some
reason extraordinarily accessible to all, and a particularly
brazen octopus postured fearlessly atop a large boulder
coral. It was surrounded by at least six photographers who
respectfully and briefly occupied the sweet spot, taking
their photos and then gently lifting off so others could do
the same. We did three dives at Kicha to try to capture
the diversity and quality of the site.
LOCAL CULTURE
Cruises of shorter duration tend to focus on the Russell
and Florida islands. Ours also included Marovo Lagoon
farther to the west, and we revisited the Russells later
in the tour on the way back to Honiara. This included
a visit to the village on Karumalun Island. Interactions
with the local villagers are an integral part of the
Bilikiki experience. Local people in canoes visit the
ship daily, hoping to sell produce in what is a clearly
well-orchestrated symbiosis. The villages allow access
to their reefs and provide fresh produce to the ship.
The ship provides necessary commerce. Several times
during the cruise we were invited ashore to shop for
local crafts, including exquisite wood carvings, at a few
designated villages.
At Karumalan the village chief, Raymond, escorted
us to an open field where we were treated to traditional
dances and songs, accompanied by the rather
remarkable percussion sounds of various lengths of
arrayed PVC pipe being played with what appeared to
be modified flip-flops. That’s one you had to be there
for — words fail to convey the talent and creativity of
the musicians. Our group reciprocated with gifts we
brought along for the village’s schoolchildren.
Of the many outstanding dives around Marovo
Lagoon, one that really resonated was
Mbulo Caves
.
The most iconic aspect of the dive were the cathedral
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