Solomon Islands Scenery and Larger Fish

August 30, 2008

Each evening after a day's diving, we gathered on the deck at 6 pm for hors d'oeuvres with beer or wine before dinner at 7 pm (no drinks for those doing the 8 pm night dive). This meant we were usually together at sunset. Here is a great red sunset from the deck of the Bilikiki showing the very high bow of the ship.

Every time we moored close to a village, out came the population in dug out canoes to greet us. The women brought fruit, flowers and vegetables to sell to the boat - keeping us well nourished. The men sometimes brought freshly caught fish (tuna, wahoo or kingfish) to sell to us by weight. The kids just came to watch us (as if we were their private TV sets). Even though the water is deep (usually over 50 feet deep), children of all ages came to meet us - as young as 3 or 4 year olds. Our gift to the children was usually balloons that were brought by our dive buddies, the Darnells.

Each island in the Solomons seems to be the "preserve" of one Christian denomination. Here is the elaborately painted alter of an Anglican church. While the alter is beautiful, the church is rudimentary, with no seats or pews. Instead, there are rows of log benches on which the congregation sits.

Off Barracuda point on Mary Island, there were large schools of jacks, chevron barracudas, yellow tail barracudas with the occasional grey reef shark and dog toothed tuna. Here Sandra goes "running" after the big eyed jack school to take their picture.

Here is our dive leader, Kellie, out in the blue photographing a school of big eyed jacks.

This spotted sweetlips was found under the stern of a wreck. The coral growth on the propeller and tiller formed the circle in which I framed the fish.

This big bumphead parrotfish fish is getting ready to "attack" the coral by biting off a big piece. [Most white sand on beaches is what emerges after parrotfish have digested the coral!]

A close up of a bumphead parrot fish (about 5 feet long and 3 feet high). That big mouth is used to bite off big sections of coral. (The beak seems big enough to bite through your arm!)

The islands in the Solomons are rife with large caves (entered through a tunnel underwater) often leading to a cut that is open to the sky above. In this one a jack is awaiting prey.

I followed this hunting rock cod as it cruised behind coral bommies looking for small prey.

Here is a juvenile (1 1/2 foot) Napoleon wrasse hunting together with a jack. The wrasse would roll on one side on the rubble bottom and then roll over on its other side while the jack waited to pick off any creature that emerged.