Uki Ni Masi and Marau Sound

Uki Ni Masi (Ugi on the chart) was a short hop from Olu Malau and we decided to stop at Ahi'a as this anchorage looked a nicer option than the other possible anchorage at Selwyn Bay. We anchored in a sandy lagoon sheltered by a reef. Unfortunately, at a certain state of the tide things got a bit rolly but nothing too bad. Jim made friends with some of the local children and got talked into playing them a movie - this turned into 2 evenings where Jim took the computer ashore and played a movie in the village. I think the popcorn went down even better than the movie, although some of the very young kids were quite fascinated. On the first evening ashore there were fireflies flitting around which I have never seen before. We had planned to leave one evening but were put off by heavy rain so left the next day and had a very leisurely sail, come drift overnight, to Marau Sound. While we enjoyed Uki Ni Masi, we were pestered by the Chief and his son wanting a gift for the 'church' of more petrol than we carry on board.

We approached Marau Sound at dawn, here the hills with patches of mist on them were reminiscent of the Marlborough Sounds. We anchored in a small Bay formed by two islands and a shallow reef behind. When we arrived there were 2 other yachts already there and it was nice to have some company for a change. The snorkeling around here was quite good and we also enjoyed relaxing in the bar at the nearby resort. The bar had a very high, thatched roof and was lovely and cool, especially in comparison to the temperature inside Elenya. One evening we watched some dancing put on for the guests at the resort. The dancers ranged from teenagers to quite young children (with a couple of older women presumably in charge). Some of the younger ones looked a bit lost and some of the girls seemed more intent on trying to stop their leaf tops from falling apart (can't say I blame them) but overall they were enthusiastic and seemed to be enjoying themselves.

Our last stop before hitting the big smoke of Honiara was Vulekula Island which is nicely positioned to break the journey from Marau to Honiara into two easy hops. This is a small uninhabited island which used to have a resort on it. We swum ashore and walked around picking out the remains of the resort, including a tennis court. Back at the yacht some kids traded a large bunch of bananas for some instant noodles (thats what they wanted). We do wonder whether someone is now missing their bananas! From there we had another good sail to Honiara.

First Solomon Island Photos

Elenya anchored in the Reef Islands

Jim playing with the children

Much amused by our white water kayaks

Village in the Reef Islands

Reef Islands and other stuff

We are now anchored in our fourth Solomon's' anchorage. From Shaw Point we sailed out of the bay accompanied by dolphins and along the coast for an overnight stop at Byron Bay before heading out to the Reef Islands (the Solomons' version as compared to the Vanuatu Reef Islands). This is a series of low islands and underwater reef systems to the north of Ndendo. These islands are not mentioned in the main cruising guides for the Solomons so not many yachts go there but we thought we'd give it try and if we couldn't find an anchorage we would just keep going to Makira (Santa Cristobel). The weather gods did their best to keep us away, as the day was overcast with several rain squalls going through while we were on passage. As we approached the islands the rain had abated but the overcast skies made spotting the reefs more difficult. In full sunshine, the depth of water is easy to discern due to the colours of the clear water but this isn't as easy in poor light. The chart we have doesn't go into any detail so that was no help either. As it turned out it was not too difficult to negotiate our way along the reef and find a really nice anchorage. When the sun came out the next day, we discovered that we couldn't have done any better. Apparently some yachts go right into the lagoon but we were happy where we were, in what we think is Mohawk Bay (but this is not named on our chart).

The islands are quite heavily populated and we were soon visited by canoes and motor boats wanted to sell carvings and trade etc. Jim had a great time playing in our kayaks (white water play boats) and swopping boats with the local kids. They seemed to find him very amusing! The people were in general very friendly but we experienced our first thefts, which the Solomons are notorious for. We had some stuff taken from the dinghy while we were diving, our fault for leaving it in there but we are used to having a 'safety box' in the dinghy. We did manage to get this back as we had a fair idea of who had taken it (as did some of the other islanders we talked to). We also had some fruit taken from the back of the boat. So unfortunately things are a bit fort knox around here which we don't really like. On the other hand we had some nice snorkeling and some stunning diving. A wall covered as far as the eye could see in all directions with fans and soft corals. We also had lunch with Ben whose English parents had sailed to the islands in the 1950/60s and settled there. He and his siblings had grown up there in a house built and designed by his mother (not sure about the turquoise paint scheme!). We were the first yacht he had seen there this year.

From there we had a 2 day sail to Olu Malau (Three Sisters) where we are now. The passage was quick but we are really feeling the heat especially if we have to have the hatches closed if there is spray on deck. This is another beautiful spot and the locals seem well off by island standards so are not particularly interested in us. In the Reef Islands we were told there are sometimes food shortages in winter. We have been enjoying walking around the island after ascertaining that this is okay. The island is the site of an old copra plantation and some of the buildings etc are still in use. There is quite a bit of bird life and the usual skinks and large spiders. We have been told that there are no crocodiles -only at the 'other end' but we are still a little nervous when snorkeling or even swimming from the yacht!

Arrival at the Solomon Islands

We arrived at the Santa Cruz islands in the Solomons yesterday after three and a bit days at sea from Efate in Vanuatu. It was a relatively good passage with wind mostly around 15 knots, occasionally more and the odd squall, and occasionally dying away to not much, but luckily only ever for an hour or two. The temperature has jumped up a notch as we are now at about 10 degrees south. We are now anchored at Shaw Point, a small, very sheltered nook in the large Graciosa Bay. As we arrived late yesterday afternoon, it was too late to attempt going into town so today we took the dinghy across to the main town to report in. There is a wharf at Lata but it wouldn't be easy to get a yacht alongside (and to deep to anchor off) made more difficult by a half sunk fishing or trading boat at the wharf. Lata is a port of entry but there are no permanent customs or immigration officials here so we reported to the police station (who may or may not send our details on) and to quarantine. The quarantine officer was found in a small room in a prefab building that looked like it was under attack from some insects that had escaped quarantine. He had an old wooden desk and various other bits of useful equipment including an old tyre, bag of cement, panes of glass and a gas bottle. Jim reckons he saw a laptop but the most modern tool I saw was a stapler. To fill in our forms, out came the carbon paper (which is an improvement on customs in Vila, where Jim filled out one form which was then painstakingly copied twice). The quarantine officer said he may get out to see the boat but we have not seen him so far. We had a quick walk around Lata, visiting 2 markets and buying some fruit and veges. Jim was impressed by the extremely large spiders with webs strung between the power(?) lines. Luckily we had managed to get some Solomon Island dollars in Vila as the ATM wasn't working (we had been warned about this so I guess it is a recurring problem). Earlier as we had departed in the dinghy, we saw a NZ registered trimaran coming into the anchorage and we caught up with the single-hander on board later in the evening. There are also lots of local boats around including some outboard driven boats but mostly single-hulled canoes, some of which are rigged with sails. The sails range from traditional looking ones to blue tarpaulins and one that looked like an oversize multi-coloured umbrella.