My trip to Gizo Island
So the day had come when I had to board a ship called the Pelican Express heading for Gizo. It was due to set off on a Sunday at 7am. I woke up really early and made my way down to Honiara Warf when I was met by my diving buddy Sam. I was very surprised to see him there and I really felt special that he woke up early to come and see me off J it was time for the vessel to set sail. The ship kicked into reverse and we started making our way out the harbour. I made myself comfortable on the deck at the stern of the ship. I had never been on such a huge boat out at sea before and I was very excited! We were due to arrive in Gizo 12 hours from when we left, we eventually passed the west end of Guadalcanal and headed in the direction of the Russell Islands. 2 hours had passed when we started getting close to the Russell’s and lots of small islands started to pass us by. It was really something beautiful to see! We eventually reached the end of Russell islands when we all heard a huge BANG! I took a look towards the stern of the ship and saw a huge cloud of black smoke come out of the starboard exhaust pipe, the ship quickly reduced to half its speed and stuck on course. Half an hour had passed us by when the Capitan announced that one of the two engines had failed and that we had to turn around and make our way back to Honiara. Everyone was really disappointed, including me… it had taken us 3 and a half hours to reach that point and another 7 hours to get back to the same dock we had left from! So out of a total 12 hour trip to get to Gizo Island it took 10 hours to get back to the point where we left from… so not cool (o_0) Anyway, I got back to the house and bought a plane ticket for 2 days later J
On Tuesday Neil gave me a lift to Henderson airport domestic departures. It was the smallest terminal I had ever come across. With only about 25 seats available in the terminal and only one departure gate. My flight was shouted across this room (as there is no intercom) for us to board and everyone stood up from their seats and made their way to the only gate. I was one of the first few to make my way towards the plane. We were flying on a Dash-8 which is a small aircraft with only 24 seats on board and two propellers on the wings. We all made ourselves comfortable and taxied out to the runway. The propellers kicked into high gear and we speeded up for take-off and shortly lifted off the ground. It’s one of the smoothest take-offs I had ever experienced (much better than an international flight)! The flight was only an hour long but –WOW- the sights I had seen from the window were breath taking! Hundreds of Islands! Small ones, big ones, ones with white sandy beaches and some with dense forests, you name it – I saw it all! The landing on the other hand was a little scary. We started our descent, I looked out the window and the sea just got closer and closer, I gripped onto the armrests thinking we were going to hit the sea and DOOSH all of a sudden we landed on a sandy runway – with a sigh of relief I must add. I soon realised that when I got off the plane and Dr Alan Page had explained that the island only had a runway on it and that I needed to take a boat to Gizo Island… Gizo Island is not big enough to accommodate for a run way.
Alan and I entered his boat and made our way to a village on the other side of Gizo Island called Titiana. Where I met the people I would be staying with for the next 3 weeks. Techow (I do apologize if the spelling of his name is incorrect) and his family were the kindest people I have ever met! They welcomed me into their home like I was family! In the 3 weeks I was with them I learnt a lot about their culture and their day to day lives. Techow is an excellent fisherman that goes out fishing most days and sells his catches in the Gizo central market. He taught me how to fish and my first fish I caught was maybe just short of a meter it was an awesome experience and really tasty too! I also learnt how to drink a custom drink called Kava. Kava is made from the roots of some plant that is crushed down to a fine powder and mixed with water. We would drink this out of shells of a coconut. It tastes horrible but gives you a crazy sensation of numbness over your body. Everyone will just go silent and get lost in their heads for a while or play guitar and chess, I really enjoyed taking part.
During my stay there I did some things I never thought I would do in my life time! I went to 3 or 4 different islands were I was the only person there. You could shout at the top of your lungs and no one would hear you! Haha… I also visited Kennedy Island which is an Island named after J. F. Kennedy after WWII… J.F.K’s boat pt. 109 was sunk by the japs and he pulled his crew to shore and that’s how this Island got named after him.
I had the opportunity to do some diving in Gizo which was AMAZING! I visited a shop called Dive Gizo which is run by some Americans that have been based in Gizo for the last 25 years. I did a few reef dives, one of which I’ll never forget!! I was swimming along a reef wall when a came across this enormous turtle that was just resting on the reef. I slowly came up behind him and was able to scratch his shell which he seemed to enjoy. Took some cool pictures and video, after about 5 minutes of messing around with this guy I slowly picked him up by his shell and pointed him to my right hand side towards the deep blue. He started to swim a few meters with me hanging on to him and then he turned his head to see what was slowing him down and saw me hanging on! He then shot outa my hands in a panic and swam away. It was probably one of the coolest things I’ve ever experienced!
I also met some people my age and really got to know them well, some excellent guitarists that would be so super famous if they were discovered by someone who is willing to take them to the top but they just stuck on a paradise island in the middle of nowhere. I also met some really talented surfers! Amazing chess players that could really make it big! I had to play kids half my age and still got beaten… I’m such a sore loser :P
On my second last night there I had a “party” with the locals on the beach. We had a huge speaker linked up to a car battery and drank Totie or kasava which is a drink made from the coconut trees flower. They leave the mixture for 3days to ferment and it turns into alcohol. The thing is that one bottle might be 10% and the next might be 40% there is no telling how strong it is and I’m sure you can all imagine how wasted I got (o_0) I ended up sleeping on the beach. I woke up in the middle of the night freezing from the wind coming from sea and I decided to dig a huge hole in the drunken state that I was. I woke up again later realizing that crabs like holes and I had 4/5 in this pit that I had made. When I had found bites on my body in the morning I knew exactly where they had come from, and wow they were painful :p good night though J
There is so much to write about from a 3week trip and it’s difficult to cram 3 weeks into a short blog. I’m sorry if I’ve left anything out but I’m sure I covered all the highlights. I really hoped you enjoyed reading and I hope the pictures justify the things I had seen and experienced!
My plane... Dash-8 heading to Gizo
Boarding :D
Some shots from the window! - !!Beautiful!!
The Solomon islands has +/- 922 islands (some appear and disappear daily)
Landing @ Nusatupe Airstrip - An island with ONLY a runway and a terminal on it.
Departing the plane
The terminal with the luggage collection and waiting rooms... out side :p
Techow and his wonderful family! (the lil one *Mike* was missing - he doesn't like pic's too much) haha
First day on the beach -playing with Techow's boy
My first sunset in the west- There are a few of these (o_0) so please bare with me...
cloud reflection on and early morning fishing trip
A beautiful new hospital recently designed and built by the Japanese -with no kitchen or laundry room i might add, which is really stupid- and cannot be used until these rooms are built which will take a few years ;-(
Went to visit this lil guy everyday :D his name: Piggy Piggy (o_0)
Travelling to Fatboys resort with Alan (fat boys is on another island)
Fatboy's Resort - built 2m above the water line - visited for lunch :)
The Jetty leading to Sandbis resor, also built above sea level
The view from the upper deck of Sandbis
On August 2, 1943, Kennedy's boat, PT-109, along with PT-162 and PT-169, were ordered to continue nighttime patrol near New Georgia in the Solomon Islands,[17] when it was rammed by the Japanese destroyer Amagiri.[18] Kennedy gathered his surviving crew members together in the water around the wreckage, to vote on whether to "fight or surrender". Kennedy stated, "There's nothing in the book about a situation like this. A lot of you men have families and some of you have children. What do you want to do? I have nothing to lose." Shunning surrender, the men swam towards a small island.[19] Kennedy, despite re-injury to his back in the collision, towed a badly burned crewman through the water with a life jacket strap clenched between his teeth.[20] He towed the wounded man to the island and later to a second island from where his crew was subsequently rescued.[21] For these actions, Kennedy received the Navy and Marine Corps Medal with the following citation:For extremely heroic conduct as Commanding Officer of Motor Torpedo Boat 109 following the collision and sinking of that vessel in the Pacific War Theater on August 1–2, 1943. Unmindful of personal danger, Lieutenant (then Lieutenant, Junior Grade) Kennedy unhesitatingly braved the difficulties and hazards of darkness to direct rescue operations, swimming many hours to secure aid and food after he had succeeded in getting his crew ashore. His outstanding courage, endurance and leadership contributed to the saving of several lives and were in keeping with the highest traditions of the United States Naval Service.In October 1943, Kennedy took command of a PT boat converted into a gun boat, PT-59, which in November took part in a Marine rescue on Choiseul Island.[22] Kennedy was honorably discharged in early 1945, just prior to Japan's surrender. Kennedy's other decorations in World War II included the Purple Heart, American Defense Service Medal, American Campaign Medal, Asiatic-Pacific Campaign Medal with three bronze service stars, and the World War II Victory Medal.[1] When later asked by a reporter how he became a war hero, Kennedy joked: "It was involuntary. They sank my boat."[23]
The picture above is taken on Kennedy island - After WWII this Island was named after J.F.K and is the same island he pulled his crew to :)
Taking a swim around Kennedy Island
Glancing at the AMAZING sunsets!
Dirt road running to the far end of Gizo Island
**PLEASE SKIP THE NEXT TWO IMAGES FOR SENSITIVE VIEWERS**
(Shark Fin Fishing)
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Shark fin fishing is one of the most well paid fishing jobs to do in the Solomons - The Chinese buy 1kg of shark fins for 1000 Sol Dollars = +/-1000 South African Rand
The locals use this money for rice, fuel and other important goods
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The cutest girl in the world!! Naomi stole my heart when i was there <3
One of the biggest fish i caught :)
Our lounge area where i stayed in the village
Our daily catch :D
How we get our fuel in Gizo.
Having a beer while fishing on a rainy day :p
Was taking a walk around the island one day and came across a group of kids playing in the sea! i was dam hot and thought it would be a good idea to cool off and take a swim... they were all jumping off this HUGE dead tree that was lying in the sea (top left). i thought it would be fun to play with these lil guys and decided to jump off this log too... only problem was that it was a little shallow for me and ended cutting my foot open... haha was great fun and would do it again
the road i was walking on around the island
The view from Teripas house
A person that changed my life in a HUGE way - I'll never forget this girl... Teripa
Going for a dive with Dive Gizo on the Japanese ship wreck called the Toa Maru
In its 2010 travel guide, Diver magazine named the wreck as one of the top 20 wreck dives in the world.[3]
The boys i had a crazy night with, drinking Kasava (home brewed coconut alcohol)
Early morning sun rise - with me being an idiot :p
The first two fish I've ever caught :D
creative sunset
Coconut crab - endangered species and i ate one :-/ i stayed in a village with a guy named Karki and he caught one for me to try and had already cooked it ( i couldn't say no and he had already gone through all the effort for me)
The coconut crab, Birgus latro, is a species of terrestrial hermit crab, also known as the robber crab or palm thief. It is the largest land-living arthropod in the world, and is probably at the upper size limit of terrestrial animals with exoskeletons in today's atmosphere at a weight of up to 4.1 kg (9.0 lb). It is found on islands across the Indian Ocean and parts of the Pacific Ocean. They cannot swim, and will drown if immersed in water for long. They have developed an acute sense of smell, which has evolved convergently with that of insects, and which they use to find potential food sources. Mating occurs on dry land, but the females migrate to the sea to release their fertilised eggs as they hatch. The larvae are planktonic for 3–4 weeks, before settling to the sea floor and entering a gastropod shell. Sexual maturity is reached after about 5 years, and the total lifespan may be over 60 years.
White sandy beaches
Teens that play volleyball every afternoon to amazing sunsets like this - i choose this over X-Box any day!!
A picture is worth a thousand words! it was so breath taking that i think a simple pic just doesn't cut it!
Naomi and I playing with a camera
The Gilbertese men's hair styles- haha its sooo funny!! EPIC mullets
Foot prints
I've got the Moon in my pocket and the Sun in my hands :)
A cool setting i found on my Camera... makes the pic look like something from the lord of the rings :p
Cute smiles :P
Drinking Kava
Feeding the kids... its really cute how they all sit together
My flight back home :)
I hope you enjoyed this blog! sorry for the long wait, i had to wait until we had more Internet cap to post so many photo's... hehe i hope it was worth it :D
