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The superb wide angle photography is just half the story, however. For the Solomons are home to over 2,000 species of fish and a mind-numbing array of invertebrates. For those enamored of the exotic subjects, you'll find the Solomons rich in previously considered rare pygmy seahorses, for instance. Ghost pipefish of several varieties are commonly seen, along with periodic discoveries of extremely rare varieties almost never seen anywhere else. Also found here are mimic octopus, blue ringed octopus, mantis shrimp, radar shrimp, marbled shrimp, shrimp gumbo, shrimp sandwiches... (opps! wrong movie...) frogfish, oscellated lionfish, dwarf lionfish and lionfish in schools. There are hundreds of species of nudibranchs both common, uncommon, and never before photographed, plus Mandarin fish, Caledonian stingers and stonefish. In fact, there are very few species in the catalog of highly sought after exotic critters that are not found in these waters. But unlike the most notorious critter spots, the Solomons combine superb muck and critter sites with alternating world class wide angle sites. And all of this takes place from one of the most respected, reliable and well-run live aboard dive boats in the business: the Bilikiki. And this is the core of the matter. Our Solomons trips aboard Bilikiki, with two weeks of diving, are unrivaled in terms of quality and range of offerings. Pelagics to muck, wrecks to reefs, all of a world class stature, create a richly woven tapestry of experience quite unlike anywhere else. Truly, the Solomons puts it all together in a complete package the way no other destination can. |
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Yet thus far the Solomon Islands have somehow been spared the gold rush mentality that has overrun and overwhelmed so many other dive destinations. Less than a handful of very small, low key dive resorts spread far and wide can be found there, along with just two full time live aboard boats. And since these are sister ships operated by Bilikiki Cruises, we are assured we will not be interfered with by the only other live-aboard of significance. For all intents and purposes, we continue to have the Solomons all to ourselves to a degree we could never dream of in another destination offering such a profusion and range of diving and underwater photographic opportunities. It surely it will not remain thus forever. We just continue count our blessings and enjoy each uncrowded season while we can! |
