Bilikiki Liveaboard
Getting here is not too bad. We flew to Brisbane from LA, stayed a couple of days, and then flew non-stop to Honiara which is only about a 3.5 hour flight away. We didn’t stay on land, but several people did. If you have an interest in WWII wrecks, there is plenty to see. Just be ready for Malaria protection as this is one of the worst places in the world for malaria.
The Bilikiki is a nice boat but not spectacular. We had a very unusual situation in that because of a group cancellation, there were only four of us on board. It was kind of fun to have a room all to ourself and we kind of designed each day as the four of us wanted to have it happen. The host and hostess were both dive masters and that was who led the four of us into battle. As could be expected, we were given total flexibility in our dive profile. I have remained friends with the other 2 divers for almost a decade now.
The boat had a great relationship with the natives. They would sell us vegetables and fish on many of our stops. We did 3 village stops during our 11 days and they were very authentic and lots of fun. We were likely the only outside civilization that they would see for a month. The welcome was always warm and sincere.
The food was consistently good, but not as good as some other boats I have been on. The breakfasts were nice, but the dinners were a little boring after a while.
The Solomons have a number of very lovely dive sites. My personal favorite was Custom Cave which is a long tunnel that ends in a large open cavern with an opening to the sun at the top. When the sun goes under a cloud, it gets dark and when the sun comes out, a light switch goes on and a beam comes from the ceiling. Very cool. Leru Cut is similar and is more famous. The shimmering light is very unusual.
Mary’s Island has diving similar to Sipadan. The premier dive site is Barracuda Point which attracts gray sharks and large schools of fish. It is quite deep and the best action is well below 100 feet.
Only the longer itineraries go to the Morovo Lagoon and the very best diving is definitely there. If you are going half way around the world, it is good to get to these dive sites. They are classic atoll dives with the best dives along cuts into the center of the lagoon. Amazing sea fans on several of the sites.
Back in the Russell Islands, a series of sites hover over the giant garbage dumps left by the U.S. after the battle of Guadacanal. Lots of critters here
Throughout the Solomons, the seas were warm and the clarity was very high. We found a very nice Mandarin Fish site here that was as good as any one that I have seen anywhere.
The overall impression of diving in the Solomons is variety. Nice WWII wrecks. Schools of fish at Morovo Lagoon and Mary’s Island. Some very nice critter sites. Leru and Custom Cave are highly unusual as well.
We were on the boat for 11 days and did 50 dives. It was a very good experience.
