19 Oct 2014

Circular Kolombangara

By any description Kolombangara is an impressive island. On the charts it is nearly perfectly round and it was most impressive this morning when the sun rose, lighting up the 1,700m eastern flanks of the island. As is customary, the birders were first ashore in the pre-dawn light in search of endemic species and the rest followed at the more respectable hour of 0745. Once ashore the group climbed aboard trucks for the drive through plantation forestry to the conservation lodge located 400m up the mountain side. Here we were immersed in a forest of mature trees that was teeming with birdlife.

Walkers headed either up or down the mountain side to enjoy the environment while others chose to just sit on the deck of the lodge and watch the birds fly by. After lunch our action packed day continued with an opportunity to snorkel in a small coral conservation reserve. This proved to be excellent for viewing not only coral but also Anemone Fish and clams. Then, just because we hadn't already fitted enough into the penultimate day of our expedition, the Zodiacs headed off in search of an old Japanese hospital from WWII. In Solomon Islands time what was supposed to be a 5 minute boat ride was actually 15 minutes and the 5 minute walk was, you guessed it, 15 minutes as well. We did eventually reach the hospital, but decided this was not a place to need urgent medical attention!