by Annette KendallBe prepared to be completely jealous! Our recent diving trip with Miguel and 13 lucky Pro Dive customers was a holiday that dreams are made of. The Solomon Islands has some of the best diving the world has to offer. We enjoyed 30 degree waters, 40 metres vis, WWII plane and Japanese freighter wrecks, caves, walls, reefs, sharks, eagle rays, pink hairy squat lobsters and much much more. There were many highlights for me, and here are a couple of them. First was diving the Douglas Plane wreck (pictured right). Sitting upright in only 14 metres it made an ideal dive site for my 13 and 15 year old boys to explore. They even climbed into the cockpit for a quick photo. Another highlight was the Casi Maru, a 70 metre long Japanese freighter that was sunk in 1943 and sits at just 18 metres deep. The hold still contained WWII relics such as bullets, ammunition boxes, army boots, and bottles. The wreck has become home to a fantastic array of corals and fish and thousands of clams.
Miguel and the more experienced divers explored the Cave of the Kastom Shark. They entered the cave via a sinkhole that was a short walk inland on Ndokedoke Island. The cave drops down through a large chamber and down to 33m before rising again to an exit chamber which opens out onto a reef wall. They were also lucky enough to have dived a WWII Corsair plane wreck sitting at 55m. One of the luxuries of diving near a series of exotic island is having surface interval on several of them. With white sandy beaches, swaying palms, and plenty of food and drink, this is the only way to while away the time. My family will not forget this great holiday, not only for the diversity of the diving, but for the fishing, fantastic food, new friends we made and the friendly local people. Thanks Miguel and all my new diving buddies for sharing the holiday of a lifetime with my family.
