OUR LITTLE OASIS
Us 3 boys also spend
a lot of our spare time down at ‘The Buniy.. Bunyi.. tree’?! However you spell it, it was like our
little oasis not too far from camp. A quick walk along the jungle path
overlooking the lagoon brought us to a large tree on the beach that provided a
nice patch of shade at any time of the day. The sandy bottom dropped away deeply
only a couple of meters out and you could climb the tree and jump in from a
dodgy pallet nailed there or simply off one of the limbs, it was awesome!
Then once you
were finished, you could rinse off with pure, fresh, drinkable spring water
that was pouring out of a rock onto the beach and into the ocean. We even took a few Johnny’s and beer
down there, I’m not sure there is anything that could make it more of a
tropical paradise. Something
so simple, but yet another place I would go all the way back for.
We also did a couple
of trips to see some shot down aircraft from WW2, something I had forgotten to
mention, the battles that took place here and the remnants that still exist. Nearly the whole island chain is
littered with wrecks, planes and other assorted war relics that were either
destroyed or merely left behind as the war continued.
The series ‘The
Pacific’ by Tom Hanks and Steven Spielberg is mainly based on the battles that
happened in the remote wilderness of the Solomon Islands, a place that is still
tough to survive now, let alone in those days and in the heat of battle. It is a great series and a good
history lesson. I can’t
even begin to imagine what those poor guys had to endure simply to survive
against nature, not forgetting the enemy.
Yet another
fascinating drawcard and natural wonder of the Solomon’s is Kavachi underwater
volcano, some 20 nautical miles southwest of Wilderness Lodge and something we
unfortunately missed out on due to the weather conditions. To save me explaining it, I will post
a link to the WL site and the info about the place, surely a phenomenal sight
to those lucky enough to make it out there.
Our time here is
nearly at an end, we have all landed some nice fish, plenty of new species that
we had either not caught before or not heard of, though it really mattered
little about the fish count, this was such a unique, adventurous trip so far,
we felt blessed just to be a part of it. We came for the fishing but left with
so much more and the whole experience, the good times, the people, the
isolation and the sheer natural wonder of the place is something I will never
forget, but hope to be a part of again.
