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In tune with June
Uepi Island Resort - June 2009

The midyear, midday low tides with afternoon incomings, combined with mainly sunny afternoons & some nice viz has produced some great diving. We have had the lowest tides for some years, certainly a noticeably bit lower than 2008, but not as low as they were a decade ago. The incomings have been a little slow to begin with, but it is a great diving time of year when it is so easy just to get in tune with spots such as Uepi Point & enjoy such an abundance of fish, colour & variety.

Take the other day. We dropped into a current gently running along the Chara drop-off, taking us gently towards the Point. The resident school of large yellow tail barracuda closely checked us out as always. No sooner had they departed than over 100 batfish raced towards us then veered away. By now the current was pushing hard as it accelerated against the slope of the point. Now at 35m depth & moving only with the aid of the current, we swept past the 15m high vertical wall covered in gorgonian fans. Here a school of Midnight Snapper passed around us. Normally these fish reside up in the shallower waters of Uepi Point so it was very unusual to see them here; maybe some spawning was scheduled? Two eagle rays moved effortlessly into the current: How do they do that? Meanwhile the graceful whalers soared around in aqua-space, ever watchful for a snack. Far below the bottom was a picture of reef & white sand, etched on a graphic topographic canvas of the channel bottom, the curve of the 'amphitheatre' and endless deep blue. As we left the point & began to head across the channel, whitetip reef sharks rested in the sand or gently swam below us. No sooner had we finned out than the outline of Uepi Point appeared with other whalers coming out to welcome us. Then from the top of Uepi Point a shimmering silver streamer of Bigeye Trevally began to descend & wind down the wall towards us. Within a minute I was just out from the wall at Uepi Point and still they came. Looking back I could see over 50m of the streamer right down to the channel bottom at 65m and disappearing out across the white sand. Looking ahead I could seen at least 40m of streamer up the Uepi wall and onto the shallower reef top. And still they came, until at last the worried looking stragglers hurried by, seemingly frantic to keep in touch with the rest. The face at Uepi Point was really catching some nice sunlight & clear water so we hovered here, enjoying the view. Just above us was alive with blue and yellow fusiliers & other fish, all feeding energetically, darting here and there in the current. Ever wary, they dissolved and reformed schools as hungry Spanish mackerel and giant trevally patrolled around hoping for a fish that forgot, for just a critical second, to concentrate on where they were. A green turtle grazed along the reef edge. We moved through the main sandy passage up into the coral gardens. I stopped to check out a small tunnel to find it occupied by a large batfish who seemed to very much dislike me being there, becoming increasingly aggressive until after almost colliding with me a few times, he brushed past and went his own way. The sandy strip was busy with garden eels whilst the coral garden teemed with clouds of small fish that disappeared into the safety of the coral, for any reason it seemed. Other divers who had dropped in straight onto Uepi Point drifted back all the way to the Diveshop only emerging at the steps: "I come from the land down-under". We spent that time looking at the myriad of invertebrates along part of the reef edge in the channel, then lazily were retrieved by the dive boat.

Others have been lucky in June to see Dolphins underwater, continuing our good run in 2009. And the Hammers have been fairly consistent, surprising people on a variety of sites including North Log, Elbow, Elbow Caves. Of course the Elbow area is the most prolific Hammer viewing location so with this in mind last week, fresh from hearing about Hammer encounters, we decided to do a dive from the caves area to Elbow, spending the deeper part of the dive in areas we normally spend in shallower depths. Once below a slightly murky top 10m we realised just how good the vis was & having descended to cruising depth set out along the wall in beautiful, blue, clear water. We seemed to be able to see downwards forever whilst coral cliffs towered over us, "mirrors on the ceiling". I almost expected to see snow on top of the mountains. The Elbow was a mass of colour. Strangely we had hoped for Hammers, saw none, but were all elated once back in the boat. I guess that's diving. "You cant always get what you want" but "it don't matter to me".

Our neighbours, the friendly mantas, have been hanging around. This is not at all surprising as the amount of krill has been astounding and they must be scooping up tons of it every day. So the 'before breakfast Mantasizing' trips have been full of snorkelers eager to fin along with these graceful creatures: "Something in the way she moves". The breakfast talk has been full of "and it came right to me & glided past inches away" type of comments. It is easy to recognize the biggest Manta who is predominantly black, about 3m across, and always accompanied by a swarm of Remora, cleaner fish & pilot fish.

With the SE Trades or "Hetcha" kicking in it is a good time to dive Mongo Passage. The fish life is prolific & the scenery spectacular as you are carried, sometimes swept, inwards by a moderate current. fans abound, then a wall of beautiful golden soft coral, followed by a canvas of white soft corals in a recessed part of the wall. When the bed of white sea whips appear, its time to work your way back along the lip at about 15m to the outside wall, where an abundance of corals & fish display. A highlight of Mongo is the variety of fish that stream down the walls, sometimes almost continuously.

Recent months have seen a good deal of interest in "Kayak Solomons" sea kayaking expeditions. Most of these have been over 4 or 5 days. An initial orientation at Uepi is part of the preparation. Trips of this duration are usually restricted to central Marovo Lagoon. With a guide the 'yakkers' set out along the outer reef then head for a local Eco-lodge that evening. Lodges used include small family run lodges in several locations & Village Rest houses, providing a rich & varied experience. Matikuri Lodge is a favourite & from here you can paddle the beautiful Bapita area. Later in the year we have a much longer & more adventurous kayak expedition planned, which has attracted media interest.

During June the Help A Friend Foundation "HAFF" from USA, carried out its 2nd full visit. A medical team held clinics around the central lagoon & at Seghe Hospital. These guys did an amazing amount of work. Amongst the masses of medical problems they dealt with, at Eucalyptus School a 20 year old local woman slowly made her way up the steep path to the clinic. After patiently waiting she was interviewed. Her problem was a severe crocodile bite to the lower trunk, suffered seven days earlier. An examination of the deep wounds shocked even these experienced professionals. After being found she had been attended to by the local Nurse who had cleaned the deep wounds & sewn her up as best he could, using the major part of his medical supplies to do so. Accepting that all had been done that could be done, she was taken home by her parents & eased back into her daily routine. Fortunately the wound cleaning had been very well done but the girl was only a couple of days away from serious infection & almost certainly a most painful death. Part of the tragedy is that as a young girl she had contracted cerebral malaria & had not fully recovered. When found on the river bank her hands & arms were badly bruised from beating off what was quite a big crocodile. The medical leader Dr. Suzanne Daly returned to Uepi with the girl & her mother & we provided the fuel to take her to Seghe Hospital where her wounds were redressed, and for her transfer to the better facility of Munda Hospital the next day. There a surgeon has spent several sessions with her. Another child was recommended to be taken to a major hospital for tests but was not & died about a week later. These are just two incidents that highlighted the need for a resident Doctor at Seghe, which is the aim of HAFF & certainly ours. At the same time a 10 KVA 3 phase 240V solar system was installed & commissioned at Seghe. Uepi staff played a major part in this. This will provide a sustainable power source to be used for general use including medical equipment, as well as allow some of the existing hospital engineering facilities to operate. Uepi is also fixing up the existing diesel generator to be used as a back up. Soon after commissioning, the first baby to be born under 'solar' light arrived. Everyone was so pleased that the newly arrived boy was named 'Allan Daly' after the HAFF organiser. Needless to say the elder "Allan Daly' was astounded & thrilled. See www.marovomedicalmission.org . This coming November more "help is on the way".

Following stays by guests in June we have also received very generous support for the Patakae Secondary School, as a result of a visit to the school. Several new "Uepi Student Scholarships" have been offered & another guest is generously supporting the school operations itself. Furthermore another guest couple have provided 4 new small laptops to Patakae, having already donated previously but now seen for themselves how important such support is. The "Patakae VSAT Project" is progressing slowly but well with the Chubikopi Community in particular being pro-active. By the time you read this they will be 'on-line'.

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Today was typical Marovo magic. We after a "starry starry night" awoke to a clear blue sky with the slopes of distant Vangunu Island so clear you thought you could see ants crawling. The blue of the sky lighting up the lagoon water. Quickly a ten strong group of divers fuelled up on pancakes, bacon & eggs, tropical fruits & strong brewed coffee, eager for their 4 dives in a day trip. From the dining tables we could see snorkelers who were saying "mama rana leana" (good morning) to mantas. The mid morning dive menu boasted turtles, pygmy mantas, pygmy seahorses, bull ray, mating & egg laying cuttlefish, a large hammer, and more. And so the day went, with mirror seas & a little cooling breeze. As the evening meal was served an almost full moon radiated a highway of light across the lagoon. We love June in tune - Melanesian Melody at its best!

Leana from Grant, Jill, Josh & "olgetat daev tim bilong Uepi"

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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.