21 Oct 2017

A Warm Welcome to Honiara

Day 1: Honiara

It was an early start for our dedicated birding group, setting off at 5am to see what species Guadalcanal would reveal.  And the island did not disappoint with sightings of 22 species including the Woodfords Rail, Yellow-bibbed Lory and Ultramarine Kingfisher.
For the rest of us it was a more leisurely start to the day with some visiting the busy central markets while others took the opportunity to have a sleep in or last minute repack.

Afetr lunch the two groups met up for a tour of Honiara city visiting China Town, the Solomon Islands Parliament building and the War Memorial – a stark reminder of the bloody battles that rocked these otherwise peaceful islands during WWII.
Late afternoon we boarded the zodiacs for a quick ride across the bay where our ship sat waiting for us.
After settling into our cabins our Expedition Leader, Nathan, called us to the lecture room for a briefing and introduction to our home for the next 10 days.

We met the expedition staff and Captain Max, and slowly began to acquaint ourselves with the ships nooks and crannies – the place we would come to know well during our voyage.
Matt and Connor, our chefs, cooked up a delight for our welcome dinner onboard – a delicious choice of New Zealand Lamb or fresh salmon, one thing we know is that we will be spoilt on this expedition for sure!

Fortunately there are plenty of activities ahead to make sure we won’t pile on those kilos.  With full bellies most of us took advantage of an early night, rocked to sleep by the gentle motion of the ship as she made her way towards San Jorge Island.

Written By Kris Madden