31 Oct 2023

Island Hopping, Rainforests and Incredible Welcomes at the Solomon Islands

After our fantastic explorations through Papua New Guinea this morning saw Heritage Adventurer arrive at the island of Kolombangara in the New Georgia group of islands in the Solomon Islands.

A beautiful sunrise greeted the birders who were taken ashore just on dawn. Transport for them and for the rest of us who left after a full breakfast to the conservation forest in the higher elevations of the island was on the back of trucks on a mainly well-graded road.

Our expedition leader Nathan Russ advised us that the transport was 'fully airconditioned' and we had the wind in our hair as we made our way up to Imbu Rano Lodge. Our drive was through forest that was a mix of old growth rainforest and plantation forest, mainly eucalyptus and mahogany.

After our arrival at the lodge we had the choice of a variety of nature walks. Our naturalist Rod led the short walk and introduced us to ant plants, a variety of orchids, insects and reptiles.

After several hours admiring the rainforest we returned to the landing site and were greeted by the locals who played music using drums and pan-like flutes all made from PVC pipes. We also had the chance to purchase local wooden handicrafts.

It was back to the Heritage Adventurer for a quick lunch and a briefing by Nathan about plans for a true expedition style afternoon. This included a Zodiac cruise through a narrow waterway into a lake system followed by a visit to a small-scale resort where we admired the many colourful butterflies. After a heavy tropical rain- shower we had the choice of visiting a local village, go snorkelling our take part in a Zodiac cruise up a river. The highlight of the Zodiac excursion was the sighting of a pod of dolphins that surfaced near our Zodiacs. By 1730 we were all safely back on board and celebrating the day's adventures raising a glass in the bar.

Images © S. Bradley, Heritage Expeditions