Kevster
Contributor
Bilikiki, Gizo, Munda trip report – Aug 2011
Overnight flight from Perth to Brisbane, then onward to Honiara with Virgin Australia.
I had 22 Kgs check in luggage, 11 Kgs carry on and had no problems on any of the flights in Oz & the domestic flights in the Solomons.
Bilikiki- 7 day trip
On arrival at Honiara I was transferred to a nearby hotel to kill a couple of hours before I was picked up to board the Bilikiki. Was surprised to find out that I was the only diver on board who had travelled for the trip. Luckily a few local expats based in Honiara decided to join the trip. All up there were 8 divers, including 3 guides!
The Ship- The Bilikiki. An older style boat but very comfortable. Cabins did not have individual A/c control, but was not an issue. One of the two tables in the lounge was for cameras. Lots of space in the lounge/dive deck, especially with so few guests. The food was very good. Overall I was very comfortable during the trip.
Weather- Weather was poor. Really poor. Overcast skies, rain, lots of wind & large seas during the crossings. Maybe 4 hrs of sunshine all week. The weather impacted the selection of dive sites. We could not dive some of the better spots like twin tunnels. The crossing between Guadalcanal, the Russells, Marys & the Floridas were rough. The average crossing between Russells & Floridas is 6 hrs, our crossing took 9 hours.
Diving – Diving available at 8.00,11.00,14.00,17.00 & a night dive after dinner. Water temp was 28-29 C, with average viss at most sites (10-20m). Had strong current at 1 dive site, all other dives gentle/no current. I was on Nitrox all week, no problems with deco or depths (my max depth was 30m). Most of the dives are shallow with lots to see above 15 m. The diving was very easy. You could surface anywhere and the tinny driver would be whisking you back to the mother ship in a jiffy.
Dive Day 1- Russell Islands (Falao island, Ann wreck , White beach x2)
Some nice reef diving as a check out dive. Huge sponge, corals, fans. Ok wreck with nice growth then some WWII “junk “ at white beach.
Dive Day 2- Marys Island (Barracuda point x3)
Great diving. Best viss all week ,+20m. Big shoals of Jacks & Barracuda, few sharks. Fantastic hard coral. Dive site reminded me of Castle rock in Komodo.
[video=youtube;W_aqaTIr-Fo]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W_aqaTIr-Fo[/video]
Dive Day 3- Russell Islands (Mirror pond, Leru cut, Bat cave)
Great days diving in various caves & cuts with amazing hard coral. Really fantastic underwater landscapes. SALTWATER CROCODILE in cave!! Was pleasantly surprised with the village visit in the afternoon.
Dive Day 4 – Florida Islands (Mavis sea plane, Tanavula point, Devils creek, Maravagi bay) Ok diving. No mantas at Devils creek (no current). A few sharks, was in macro mode.
Dive Day 5- Florida Islands (Patricks point, Passage rocks, Nembelau rocks, Velvia). Some nice dives, sharks, mobula rays, barracuda. Patricks point was the stand out. Unfortunately we could not repeat dive here due to the weather.
Dive Day 6 – Florida Islands (Anuha, Anuha beach)
Ok dives on white sand. Macro.
Overall the diving was very good. Did not find a heap of critters/small stuff but the reef diving/corals & general underwater landscape was 1st class. There is no doubt the weather impact the quality of the diving.
Summary
I really enjoyed the Bilikiki. One of the most enjoyable live-aboard experiences I have had. With the ease of travel to Honiara (from Oz), the strong Aussie dollar making the Bilikiki very good value and the easy liveaboard style diving at great sites make the Bilikiki a very good dive trip. I will definitely return and will book a longer cruise, the 7 days cruise was too short, the 10 day cruise would be perfect.
Overnight flight from Perth to Brisbane, then onward to Honiara with Virgin Australia.
I had 22 Kgs check in luggage, 11 Kgs carry on and had no problems on any of the flights in Oz & the domestic flights in the Solomons.
Bilikiki- 7 day trip
On arrival at Honiara I was transferred to a nearby hotel to kill a couple of hours before I was picked up to board the Bilikiki. Was surprised to find out that I was the only diver on board who had travelled for the trip. Luckily a few local expats based in Honiara decided to join the trip. All up there were 8 divers, including 3 guides!
The Ship- The Bilikiki. An older style boat but very comfortable. Cabins did not have individual A/c control, but was not an issue. One of the two tables in the lounge was for cameras. Lots of space in the lounge/dive deck, especially with so few guests. The food was very good. Overall I was very comfortable during the trip.
Weather- Weather was poor. Really poor. Overcast skies, rain, lots of wind & large seas during the crossings. Maybe 4 hrs of sunshine all week. The weather impacted the selection of dive sites. We could not dive some of the better spots like twin tunnels. The crossing between Guadalcanal, the Russells, Marys & the Floridas were rough. The average crossing between Russells & Floridas is 6 hrs, our crossing took 9 hours.
Diving – Diving available at 8.00,11.00,14.00,17.00 & a night dive after dinner. Water temp was 28-29 C, with average viss at most sites (10-20m). Had strong current at 1 dive site, all other dives gentle/no current. I was on Nitrox all week, no problems with deco or depths (my max depth was 30m). Most of the dives are shallow with lots to see above 15 m. The diving was very easy. You could surface anywhere and the tinny driver would be whisking you back to the mother ship in a jiffy.
Dive Day 1- Russell Islands (Falao island, Ann wreck , White beach x2)
Some nice reef diving as a check out dive. Huge sponge, corals, fans. Ok wreck with nice growth then some WWII “junk “ at white beach.
Dive Day 2- Marys Island (Barracuda point x3)
Great diving. Best viss all week ,+20m. Big shoals of Jacks & Barracuda, few sharks. Fantastic hard coral. Dive site reminded me of Castle rock in Komodo.
[video=youtube;W_aqaTIr-Fo]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W_aqaTIr-Fo[/video]
Dive Day 3- Russell Islands (Mirror pond, Leru cut, Bat cave)
Great days diving in various caves & cuts with amazing hard coral. Really fantastic underwater landscapes. SALTWATER CROCODILE in cave!! Was pleasantly surprised with the village visit in the afternoon.
Dive Day 4 – Florida Islands (Mavis sea plane, Tanavula point, Devils creek, Maravagi bay) Ok diving. No mantas at Devils creek (no current). A few sharks, was in macro mode.
Dive Day 5- Florida Islands (Patricks point, Passage rocks, Nembelau rocks, Velvia). Some nice dives, sharks, mobula rays, barracuda. Patricks point was the stand out. Unfortunately we could not repeat dive here due to the weather.
Dive Day 6 – Florida Islands (Anuha, Anuha beach)
Ok dives on white sand. Macro.
Overall the diving was very good. Did not find a heap of critters/small stuff but the reef diving/corals & general underwater landscape was 1st class. There is no doubt the weather impact the quality of the diving.
Summary
I really enjoyed the Bilikiki. One of the most enjoyable live-aboard experiences I have had. With the ease of travel to Honiara (from Oz), the strong Aussie dollar making the Bilikiki very good value and the easy liveaboard style diving at great sites make the Bilikiki a very good dive trip. I will definitely return and will book a longer cruise, the 7 days cruise was too short, the 10 day cruise would be perfect.
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