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Uepi island resort - the 'Hetcha' won't getcha
August 2005.

In the Marovo the SE Trade Winds are named 'Hetcha'. An early May onset began a particularly strong season of Trade Winds. The synoptic maps sometimes showed unusual highs in the SE Australian region generating huge swirls of wind that powered the south- easters all the way to Marovo. A lot of cloud cover resulted & there was considerable rain in the western Solomons.

Fortunately at Uepi Island the unique physical geography & the barrier reef topography means we always have accessible & calm dive sites & it has been non-stop diving through-out Hetcha. Our Hele Bar sites (Bapita Sinkhole, Penguin, Taiyo Boat wreck & the P38/SBD plane wrecks) have all been mostly sheltered. The barrier reef of Uepi provides perfect opportunity for lee conditions. Water temperatures have been perfect about 28C. Due to the considerable rain, mostly at night, the visibility has at times been a mix of great & poorer vis. But many of our sites are complex arrangements of topography, currents & surface conditions so our Divemasters are able to pick the best conditions and then interactively choose the best route. Local knowledge certainly counts. Other sites almost always have great vis & these are normally on the outside drop-offs of the longer barrier reef islands. Others good spots are points with moving current that despite what the conditions are like on either side consistently have good clear water & lots of action. Deku Dekuru, the spectacular shallow cave complex, stands out for great vis. Two visiting French & Chilean Dive Instructors (currently working in Thailand) just yesterday said "I have only ever seen such good vis a few times in the Red Sea" & "I have never seen such good vis ever before".

But in the last few days 'Hetcha' has broken, so we now move into a season of calmer & hotter weather. The skies & water are mirrors of cyan blue & as I write this pre breakfast, the divers are already out of bed, chaffing at their regulators to get diving. Yesterdays underwater highlights - hammerheads, a big Manta, dolphins, eagle rays, sharks hunting fish. Today the WWII wrecks & tomorrow Bapita or who knows.

It is interesting to talk with returnee divers who have previously been to Uepi over the past 25 years. In fact at any time we almost always have returnee divers with us. One recent couple insisted on diving "Inside-Inside" which we for some totally unexplained reason we tend to overlook. And what a revelation! I came out amazed that I had forgotten just how good it was, a wall of brilliant corals, rays & fish. A large pelagic fish I have never seen before passed me like a Solair Twin Otter on full throttle leaving me in turbulence: "Wonder what THAT was?".

The tourism flow has radically changed in the Solomons with a king-tide of divers now re-discovering world class diving the length of the Solomons. Advance bookings for this year are heavy, bookings for next year are already sound, so if you intend a Solomons sojourn I suggest you do your dive-plan now. Many things are improving with lower airline prices & better schedules amongst them.

The National Tourism Association of Solomon Islands (NTASI) has just been formed. Long over-over due & with strong Committee representation by dive operators (Uepi Island Resort, Tulagi Dive & Coastwatchers) we will now be able to better address the past concerns of the visiting diver. Personally I believe the major issue is to protect the environment & at times we might call on you to help pressure the decision makers. Stay tuned please.

As the aroma of Uepi pancakes & tropically ripened paw-paw wafts in ....... Leana Via from Grant & Jill & the Uepi Staff.

We sincerely wish to thank the following people for use of their photographs in our website:

Peter Lange, Peter Pinnock, Oceania Films/Matt Guest, Eric Cheng, Fred Bavendam, Andy Belcher, Manuela Kirschner, Louise Murray, Roberto Rinaldi, Mark Strickland/Oceanic Impressions, Jill Kelly, Grant Kelly, Wes Kelly and Jason Kelly.