Solomon Islands Kayak, Snorkel & Dive Adventure

For those flying in today, you will be met on arrival and transferred to the Coral Sea Resort, Honiara. You are welcome to relax at the resort or leave your luggage there if you’d like to venture into town. For those already in Honiara, but not already staying at the resort, please make your way to the Coral Sea Resort by 5pm to meet your kayak guide for the group trip briefing. At 6pm, the group will embark the liveaboard, the Solomons Master. On boarding, you’ll meet the captain and crew who will conduct boat and safety briefings. Then it’s time to relax over a delicious dinner and settle into your comfortable cabins. The boat sets course for the Russel Islands, located northwest of Guadalcanal.

Meals: D

Wake up to the Russell Islands! This small archipelago is made up of two islands, Pavuvu and Mbanika, as well as several islets. The islands are partially covered in coconut plantations and have a copra and oil factory on Mbanika. After breakfast on board, your guide will conduct a safety briefing and gear fitting before the first kayak outing. Today’s highlight will be exploring White Beach on Hai Island, a small cove edged in mangroves that has an interesting history. Paddlers will notice pillars emerging from the water and several large rectangular-shaped wrecks. White Beach was the code name for the military base set up by the Americans during WWII. The military built a small supply base near the local village and six large wharves where ships could come into the calm waters and resupply with food, ammunition and other required supplies. At the end of the war, rather than pack up the supplies and ship them back home, the military pushed them into the water and onto the nearby reef. The pillars and metal boxes are all that is left of the original pier, however diver’s will discover a surprising array of trucks, jeeps and bulldozers on the site. Despite the chaos underneath, the water is clear and teeming with fish life. In this area, divers and paddler’s may observe archerfish hunting at the surface and spitting streams of water into the jungle canopy. They use this technique to bring down small mosquitos and other bugs to feed. After a full day of exploration, we return to the boat for leisure time.

Meals: B,L,D

We’ll explore the Russell Islands, kayaking from one small island to the next, discovering remote white-sandy beaches fringed by coconut trees. We’ll always carry our snorkel gear for encounters with the most amazing colourful reef life imaginable, accessed by either a swim from the beach or slipping into the water from our kayaks. Divers are spoilt for choice, with pristine reefs, stunning walls, pinnacles, caverns, caves and chasms alive with fish life including rays, reef sharks, barracuda and trevally. Highlights while exploring the Russell Islands include Leru Cut on Leru Island. The cut is a five metre wide crevice splitting a coral wall, with dramatic, vertical walls on both sides. The walls begin at the sandy bottom and extend 15 metres upwards until they break the surface and continue ascending into the jungle. Kayakers can explore the passage (or even snorkel) while divers can experience an ethereal light as they descend in crystal clear water with sunlight gently filtering down to the sandy bottom. Divers can descend between the walls and follow the gap in the coral for about 100 meters, then surface in a small lagoon with dense tropical rainforest overhead. Outside of Leru Cut is a fabulous wall teeming with fish life which will delight snorkellers and divers alike. We hope to visit Karamulon Island and meet the villagers for a glimpse of island life and culture. If we’re lucky, we’ll be treated to a magnificent display of dance and song. A village visit can leave a strong impression as many communities have no electricity, no internet, no running water supply, no shops and jungle pathways instead of roads. Most Solomon Islanders still observe their traditional ways of life, centred around fishing and farming of fresh produce. You can experience this when visiting a local village—or when the local village decides to visit us in their dugouts! Divers can experience Karamulon Point where the chief of the island has banned all fishing and collecting, creating a local marine protected area. It’s the perfect location to observe white-tip and black-tip reef sharks, trevally, barracuda and the occasional eagle ray making a fly-by. In the shallows, be wary of nesting titan triggerfish while you search the coral garden for nudibranchs and other small creatures. Typically, we enjoy a morning outing, be it kayaking and snorkelling or diving. Then we meet up again on the boat for lunch and relaxation before locating to another area for the afternoon activity.

Meals: B,L,D

West of the Russell Islands is Mary Island, the local name being Mborokua. The island is an extinct volcano, covered in forest, uninhabited and remote. Depending on the conditions, the boat can moor off the island and we’ll spend the day exploring above and beneath the water. Paddlers will set off and aim to circumnavigate the island. Coming ashore, we can explore the virgin rainforest, alive with birds, including hornbills and monarch flycatchers. While snorkelling, highlights include colourful Maori wrasse, bump head parrotfish and giant clams. Divers will be treated to a stunning amount of hard corals and the schools of fish are amazing here, especially when joined by sharks and turtles. On another dive site, the coral gardens are alive with sea life, often including schools of ghost pipefish. Occasionally, there have been reports of whale sightings near Mary island. Later in the afternoon, we start the overnight journey northwest to the New Georgia Islands in Western Province and Marovo Lagoon.

Meals: B,L,D

Marovo Lagoon is a double barrier reef and, at more than 100 kilometres in length, is the largest saltwater lagoon in the world. The lagoon curls around Vangunu and Gatukai islands with hundreds of islets and reefs scattered throughout. The people speak the Marovo language and live mainly by subsistence agriculture and fishing. The men from Marovo Lagoon are known to be skilled carvers, creating and designing beautiful wooden carvings made from ebony, hardwood and kerosene wood. Our time at Marovo is largely spent exploring the lagoon, where at times, sharks, dolphins and turtles often swim under our kayaks. The snorkelling here is varied with hard corals and plenty of tropical fish both inside and outside the lagoon. Mbulo Island, located near the southeastern aspect of Marovo Lagoon, is surrounded by spectacular diving on all sides with six unique dive sites and possibly the best hard coral in the world. A gently sloping wall covered in fields of hard and soft corals invites divers for a lazy drift along the bottom. We take time out from the water to visit villages, meet skilled carvers, stroll around food markets and interact with the local kids.

Meals: B,L,D

Continuing our adventure, we may pull into Wickham Harbour. The island has a long and rich history as the home to one of the original families of missionaries in the Solomons (their descendants still reside here). Additionally the area was one of the last in the country where cannibalism existed and was host to the Japanese forces during WWII. There are various possible dive sites around the island which offer something for everyone, including colourful soft corals, huge sea fans, sharks, rays and several Japanese WWII wrecks with schools of groupers. Wickham Island is known for macro diving, with pygmy seahorses, cuttlefish, crocodile fish, snake eels and many different species of anemone fish to be seen. One of our last stops on our adventure is Rendova Island. This roughly rectangular island boasts verdant hills cloaking a slumbering volcano, pristine beaches lapped by turquoise waters and coral reefs teeming with vibrant life. History buffs will find intrigue in Rendova's WWII legacy. The 1943 landings marked a pivotal moment in the Pacific campaign, leaving behind remnants of bunkers and airstrips now covered by jungle. Dive into the crystal-clear waters and discover sunken wrecks, testaments to past battles. We can trek through lush rainforests alive with birdsong to hidden waterfalls cascading into secluded pools. Kayak through mangroves alive with exotic creatures, or snorkel alongside colourful fish amidst coral gardens. Situated off the west coast of Rendova Island is the pristine Haipe reefs. Vast areas of hard corals along the reef tops play host to schools of small, colourful fish and provide a feeding ground for large numbers of bumphead parrotfish. Turtles are often seen here while deeper down for divers, soft corals, fans and sea whips are a stunning backdrop for encounters with grey reef sharks and the occasional visit from silvertip or hammerhead sharks. On our last full day, we cruise to Munda, enjoying a celebration dinner on board.

Meals: B,L,D

After breakfast and farewelling the crew, we disembark in Munda at 9am for a transfer to the airport. If staying in Munda, the recommended hotel is the Agnes Gateway Hotel. NB* The following itinerary should be seen as an approximate guide only. The program may change to take advantage of opportunities as they arise, to suit local conditions and according to the preferences of the group. Please note that the weather, tides and currents, along with logistical conditions, can cause alterations and delays to our itinerary. The itinerary involves some long-distance cruising, which will usually be overnight.

Meals: B