Retro reports: A Pacific adventure

[GarrettM]

I've been reading a bit lately about the (relatively) unheralded Battle of Guadalcanal in 1942 in which the 1st Marine Division captured and then held Henderson Field despite fierce bombardment from Japanese forces on the ground, and from the sea and air.
Fans of The Pacific TV series may be familiar with aspects of the story. I recommend Robert Leckie's Challenge for the Pacific; Guadalcanal, the turning point of the war for those interested. His accounts were the basis for the television production.

In any case, my reading has resolved me finally to share some of our experiences in the Solomon Islands. The wife convinced me to up stumps and move there to take on volunteer work in 2010, mere months after we had started going out. I guess I thought she was a keeper since I decided to do it.

This look back will focus more on our return holiday to the Solomons at the end of 2013, with most of the pics coming from that trip.
But I'll probably intersperse that with some thoughts and photos picked up during that earlier six month sojourn. I know some AFF members have also spent time there so curious to see what others made of the place.

 

[casanovawa]

Good stuff...

The American's tend to think the Battle of Midway, when the Japanese lost 4 carriers to 1 US carrier is the turning point of the war, where as I have read that the Japanese considered Guadalcanal one of the turning points as it was the first time their permimeter stopped expanding and started to be pushed back with defeat later following defeat...

 

[GarrettM]

I think the Japanese were right. It was undoubtedly the turning point.

"Guadalcanal is no longer merely a name of an island in Japanese military history. It is the name of the graveyard of the Japanese army." Maj. Gen. Kiyotake Kawaguchi, 35th Infantry Brigade.

 

[Boca68]

The Battle of Guadalcanal or as the Solomon Islanders call it, 'The big death'....

As to it being relatively unheralded.... in American WWII history , its up there with Iwo Jima and Midway for sure. It was the USA's first land victory in the Pacific.

But, that aside, be fascinated to see this. I've always wanted to see Guadalcanal, Bouganville, Shortlands etc for the military history.

 

[OATEK]

My late Mum spent some time in the Solomons back in the 80s, so I will also be reading this with some interest.

 

[Major]

Certainly an interesting time in Australian military history as well.

Australian forces were fighting the Japanese across the Kokoda Trail from July to Dec 42

 

[GarrettM]

It's taking me a little longer than I had hoped to get find time to sort out all my pics and notes of this one.
Just about there.
Here's a bit of a taste though.

 

[GarrettM]

Fri Dec 6. BRI – HIR. Solomon Airlines IE701, A320-100.

Just the two options for getting into Honiara. Virgin and Solomon Airlines. We had done Virgin previously but chose IE for this one. Can’t quite remember if there was a specific reason but it seems unlikely on reflection. IE has a knack for failing to deliver.... but more on that later.

Arriving in Honiara in the early afternoon and given a very quick reminder of how humid it can be. Jump in one of the city’s ubiquitous taxis and off to the King Solomon Hotel. Solomon Islands Accommodation- The Best Honiara Hotel & Resort

Hotels in Honiara tend to run the range from meh to... slightly above meh. The KSH is actually not too bad. It’s got a nice islander feel to it. The rooms are comfortable and spacious enough, and it has a cool funicular to get you up and down the multi-levelled complex.

It’s also right across the road from the Australian High Commission, a short walk to the Lime Lounge ( an expat favourite) and The Hot Bread Kitchen, which sells the most delicious cream buns. They tend to run out of them in the mornings so it’s important not to be tardy.

Some general pics of Honiara.

 

[GarrettM]

Food is generally pretty simple. Fruit and veg from the central market, fish from the Kukum fish market. Meat from a few stores, usually one at Point Cruz and one on Kukum Highway.

And the options are there for road food as well. A lot of families set up little shops on the side of the road, with an upturned drum over a fire, topped with oil and some sausages or halved chooks thrown on.

Bloody delicious really.


There are several restaurants around town that mostly cater to expats and the Chinese population that owns almost everything in the city.
One interesting place is called Club Havana at the Honiara Hotel. It's run by a French chef who's been in the country for a few year. Excellent Swan profiteroles among other dishes.

 

[GarrettM]

Couple more pics from around town.
A lot of people come in from the islands to sell their wares to the expats. Handmade hammocks, bags, and the like. I bought a hammock for the wife for her birthday during our stay. SBD800 and worth every cent. We brought it back with us but sold it recently as we had nowhere to use it. Pity.


Bit of a random Aussie mural in an area we knew as Chinatown. But everything in Honiara is owned by the Chinese so the name means bugger all.


And because OH&S is not a thing in this part of the world, here's some blokes pushing a drum of fuel. One of them enjoying a cigarette while he works.

 

[GarrettM]

Ok let's get into this.
Sat Dec 7. HIR-MUA. IE844 Dash 8
Tetapare Ecolodge.

Off to Henderson Field to board our chariot to the Western Province.

Megapodes are flightless birds that inhabit the volcanic island of Savo. They lay their eggs deep in the warm sands of the island shoreline. The local villagers spend a lot of time digging up those eggs as they are considered pretty fine fare. We stayed on Savo for a couple of days previously in 2011. Not a lot to do there to be honest. A bit of a theme in large parts of the Solomons.
Anyway I have no recollection of the flight, but as you can see we landed.

There is not much to Munda. But they had upgraded the airstrip by now. It's intended to be a second international airport for the country, so people can visit the popular Western Province destinations without having to go to Honiara. Not sure how advanced they are with that plan. It makes sense though.

On a previous trip we had done a guided walk of some the area around the village of Munda. Plenty of old WW2 stuff as there is all over. I can't remember what this was sadly. But it was pretty big.

 

[GarrettM]

A very short boat ride from Munda brings you to Kundu Hite Island, otherwise known as Skull Island.
It's where the Roviana tribe's warriors kept the trophy heads of other tribal chiefs they had killed on their cannibal hunts.


Anyway on to Tetepare. You can see our water chariot here.

No not the yellow one. And not the big one with the two outboards. Squint and you'll see the blue longboat on the other side of the dock. That was us. Bags thrown in the front. Bums on the fibreglass bench seats, and try to get comfy for the next hour or so as we motor through the Blanche Channel.

At least the weather was decent. Not so much fun in the rain I suspect.

Not everyone sits in the boat.

 

[GarrettM]

Tetepare Island — Go Tours Travel is a conservation project that apparently attracts people from all over the world to take part in all sort of environment and marine monitoring programs. Turtle hatching, bird watching/counting, and other things. It is for all intents and purposes totally undeveloped.

We went because the missus was interested in checking it out. What are ya gonna do.

There's no power. Light comes from a couple of kerosene lanterns provided when you arrive. There's minimal running water. Enough for quick showers and toileting. All other water is bottled.
Here is the glamorous accommodation.


And on the inside...

Romance appeared to be out of the question.

 

[GarrettM]

We were the only "guests" at the time. The field station is manned by some "locals" from Rendova.
Meals are very simple and prepared with local ingredients and served in an open aired hall.
Activities are few. Lucky I had plenty of books in my trusty tablet.
And the hammocks overlooking the point came in handy.


The lodge sits at the western end of Tetepare and only accessable through a narrow and shallow channel in the surrounding lagoon.
The lagoon and island are important breeding grounds for the leatherback turtle. Once considered a staple of the local diet, tribes in the region have more recently agreed to stop hunting the turtle, and now work together to help boost numbers.
Inside the lagoon there are heaps of different species of fish and other marine animals. The missus did some snorkelling - not my thing really - and got some good vision with her GoPro. But it sadly died not long after and all that stuff was lost.
We would sit on the little beach under the lodge and count the juvenile black tip reef sharks cruising the shallows. There were half a dozen or so all about 2-3 feet long and they would swim in knee deep water as we waded. They didn't seem at all bothered by us and came quite close, but weren't at all threatening. We would see bigger sharks later in the trip.

 

[RooFlyer]

Excellent so far!

 

[GarrettM]

Wed Dec 11. MUA-HIR IE801 Dash 8
Once our stay on Tetepare had come to an end it was time to head back to Honiara for a couple days before visiting another part of the country. A longboat ride back to Munda and then hop on the Dash 8 for the 80 minute odd flight to the capital.
We spent the night at the Honiara Hotel. It's not really as “glamorous” as the King Solomon, but it has a pretty nice pool and they don’t need you to be an actual guest to use it. We took advantage of that during our previous stay.

It’s also a short walk to the Solomon Star newspaper, which is where MrsGM had spent her time in our previous stay.
I was at the time posted to one of the local commercial radio stations, PAOA FM, which was also owned by the boss of the Star, the (now) late John Lamani.
This was the view from the office front at Panatina Plaza. Enjoyed many a good roti here while checking out the fishing boats, or marvelling at the ridiculous rain.

 

[GarrettM]

Friday December 13. 360 Discovery to Auki.
We were off to Malaita where we would spend the next few days at Serah's Hideaway Destinations, a group of artificial islands turned into tourist accommodation.

To get there you must first take the Discovery 360 ferry. The 360 is the “fast boat” between Honiara and Auki. The twin hull ferry takes about four hours to do the roughly 70 nautical mile journey. It’s by no means luxurious. There’s some booths on the sides of both inner decks, and rows of plastic seats in the middle. And if you happen to suffer from seasickness like MrsGM there’s nowhere on board that’s helpful.
They chuck all the cargo in the hulls, along with fuel and supplies to be delivered to Auki. People bring their other luggage on board, including bags of betel nut and other miscellany.

There’s a small food bar on board, and I have to say the smell of 2-minute noodles takes no time at all to overpower an enclosed space. Awful stench it is. And those that eat them tend to throw the cups right over the side along with other rubbish they wish to dispose of. Environmental considerations aren’t high on the list of priorities for most Solomon Islanders, who have more pressing things to worry about. Even so it’s hard not to let my pampered Western ideals stop me from judging.
Anyway the trip was uneventful enough, but since we both came off the boat a little green we decided we would fly back rather than do the 360 again.

We met our next host, Serah Kei on the dock at Auki, and she helped us head into town where we booked seats on the IE Auki-HIR flight in a couple of days. Even better it was a case of pay us when you get to the airfield on the day. Much happier. For now.

Then it was back to the dock where our gear was quickly thrown into the bow of the long-boat and away we go to Lunga Lunga Lagoon.

 

[drron]

This is certainly taking me back in time.I spent the last 6 weeks of 1969 in the Solomons.The majority of the time on a medical boat around the Islands.My last visit though was to Auki.The fast ferry was a lot slower then and like you I flew back but on a Solair Beech Baron.The pilot came over and looked at his passengers and said right,you are the co-pilot today.After takeoff I had a worried look on my face.The pilot said-I guess you are looking at the fuel gauges-why yes.They are on empty.dont worry they haven't been working for 3 months.That really reassured me.But a memorable flight when he said-have you seen coral reefs from 300 feet above the water?Why no.So we did.

In Auki as with everywhere I went it was the Government Rest House where I stayed-the only guest.The resident manager and cook was a chief of one of the Malaitan tribes.Although headhunting died out in the 30s he knew quite a bit about the custom-where the best meat came from etc.At night I would go to the Auki club-taken back to the days of Somerset Maugham.Even punka wallahs.

I was there for Christmas.Lunch was at the hospital with a traditional feast washed down with the traditional drink-xx_X.

Met the local Government Medical officer-an alcoholic Scot.He had a Saab Sport.Nowhere really to drive it so we went out to the airport.His aim was to reach 100mph before we ended up on the coral reef.We did and we didn't.

 

[GarrettM]

I bet it was some sort of place in the late 60s. They still have xx_X and some other imported beers, but mostly at the hotels and more expensive places. The locals all drink Solbrew, and I did the same. Better than xx_X by a long way.

 

[GarrettM]

Been a long week for various reasons, so struggling to find time to update this report. But here goes...
The boat ride from Auki to Lunga Lunga was flat as a tack. Passed a few villages along the coast as well as a few other artificial islands.

One thing about the Solomon Islands - you see a lot of pretty amazing cloud formations. Certainly more interesting than anything in Perth. Presume that's an equatorial thing? No doubt someone here would know the science.

A first view of our accommodation. From memory we were in the second bungalow. An upgrade on Tetepare in that here we have power. For a little while at least.