Tripping around Choisuel

Holy Mary Mother of god, That was UNREAL!!

I will be relying on my videos and pictures to tell the story, because words cant describe! As part of working in Education in Infrastructure in Solomon Islands we spend time visiting schools all over the country. And the country has alot of sea between it.. and not alot of roads.




So I traveled all the way around Choisuel Island in a Bananna boat, and it wasn't always smooth sailing!

We gathered the gang, an education officer with a fantastic white go-t, the lovely Frances, and her two wontok including her uncle and cousin. The biscuits were bought, some tuna (standard), noodles and rice, spam, H20 and we hit the sea. The weather was already playing up about 10 minutes into the trip, but we journey on. Annnnnnnnd on.. for about 3 hours, in heavy rain, banging seas and big yellow rain coats that didnt work even a little bit. But man I was smiling! Work.. THIS is work, I was delighted with myself! And then came the lightening storm. I'm trusting enough really and mother nature has never really picked on my too much but when you can see lightening crack onto water about a km from where you are, that 1 in a million chance of being struck by lightening become 1 in 5 people very quickly! We ducked low and kept going, you really do feel alive though when your that close to be that statistic. But don't worry Kitty Kat (my mother) I wont be seeking the adrenaline rush of that one again any time soon!

Soaking and craving suger we landed in a logging camp, one of many to add to my list, but my first at the time. I don't know how the locals do it, stay clean that is.. when you are walking around in red clay soil. Frances, a Choisuel local was spotless not even a splash on her leg after walking up a slippy hill in the rain with no road. And I, well.. I have got a lot to learn. And white was a bad choice will be my explanation of that one, with a herd of women helping me clean myself when we reached the bottom again! I love the work that we did especially at this school, advising principles and boards on the new school locations risks for disasters, basic plans on how to reduce their risk and general school planning. Simple things like planting trees to protect the exposed area from wind and to reduce the risk of landslide. You really don't know what you know, until its coming out of your mouth!

After a long 6 hours on the boat that day, we settled down for the night with some instant tea (ADDICTIVE)!! And a hot meanl of noodles and rice... again.... NOODLES and RICE (full stop). How spoilt we are really, I learnt that thats the main meal for boarding school students in the country. Which I cant say shocked me, but makes your head hurt a little to think of how hard that must be for student to concentrate on a diet like that!

The trip continued in much the same way getting up with the sun at about 6am some rick/noddles for breakfast and away in the boat for the day visiting on average 2 schools a day and travelling on the boat for about 6-8 hours. Here are some of the pictures of the schools that I visited and assessed throughout the trip. 

Some more amazing photos and videos from the trip below.. 

Stopping off to use the rest room on our way around the island we just pulled into an uninhabited paradise island and did our thing! 

As we returned from a 6 day trip on the boat back to Taro, I was happy to be in the smooth straight home. The sea had been really rough for a lot of our journey at time it felt like we would fall out of the boat coming over some of the waves. There was little shelter for most of the journey as we were in the open sea. The driver was so unbelievably skilful at nativating those big waves that bucked through the boat to eject you out of your seat. When your mail form of transport it the sea its so natural to the tribes from Choisuel. 

When we returned from our big trip around the island Frances and her family took me to the waterfall on another island. We travelled again by banana boat up a river this time to get to the waterfall. Frances sister in law and uncle are in the video below walking up the waterfall.  I on the other hand was at this point holding onto a twig of a branch trying to balance on an average enough bit of land beside the waterfall. And I think I must have spent too long focusing on health and safety in New Zealand because I was genuinely shocked that they were not wearing helmets doing this! I didn't dare to step foot on the rocks (wearing my specially designed trail runners (what a loser)) because I could picture the second step being a summersault down the river. 

On our way to the waterfall up the river

Flying First Class

One of the best parts about working in civil engineering is the travel, you get to go and see amazing things, amazing places and meet amazing people. Part of my role during my assignment in the Solomons is to assist as an infrastructure Advisor in implementing the Education Infrastructure plan for 2015. So of we went to implement at the end of May 2015.

I have been so lucky to have been able to travel with work and travelling has been an experience in itself. My trips have been Choisuel, Western, Seghe.

Flying to Choisuel

Myself and my co-worker made the flight from Honiara to Gizo, and then a shuttle flight from Gizo on to Choisuel. An the flight was really a pacific experience ! A false start on Sunday with a tropial cyclone hovering over our intended destination had us waiting in the airport for 6 hours before cutting our losses heading the following day. You really get into the island attitude, 6 hours was filled with pretty much reading the Solomon Star and chatting away to the security guard at the airport. A great character who was so delighted that we were going to visit his home village that he took our numbers and informed us the next day of our flight details!

When your actually on the flight, with all your western security and safety senses heightened- well you really just have to get over it and think if you can put your legs straight out in front of you on a plan and have a view of the cockpit.. thats a first class trip to me! I cant say I'd do a long haul 32 hours of it, but flying in Solomon Islands has been a real experience in itself. This is me on my way to another part of the country, heading to Seghe with another co-worker for much the same work.

When your finally in the air, I have really come to love internal flights, they are a little present to yourself when you would otherwise be driving or in the case of the Solomons taking a 24-36 hour boat. Waiting for our shuttle at Gizo, I watched the aircraft we were about to get onto be refueled. I thought of the little old airports I visited in Ireland- Sligo, Donegal even Kerry and except for the heat I could have been there! Check out this little clip I couldn't help taking of the emptied aircraft barrel rolling toward the seating area of the airport. And I know what your thinking... airplane fuel? Heat? gravel surface? Friction? Fire?... Explosion???

Outdoor War Musuem

Photos and Videos say it all! 

I'm not going to pretend to give a brief history of role the Solomon Islands had in WWII, for those of my friends who haven't a clue. Well it had a big affect on the way and there are lots of ships, planes, helmets, guns and everything else you can think (landlines) still visible on Guadalcanal. And there is a war museum, which is where I went on this fine day. 

The guy giving us the tour was so sound and we had great fun with him.  His father had decided to collect all of the old war remains about 70 years ago, with no cars etc is unbelievable. They are all still in excellent condition though after being carried from all corners of Guadalcanal to the museum/garden. 

The one thing I will say, and I don't say a lot in my blog in terms of actual advice on the Solomons.. as I am sure you gather by now its just a whole load of random jabber about some cool places I went. But here goes.. There ARE no signs for ANYTHING. You will get lost, and you will wonder am I driving to my a lovely village/ to my death (not that dramatic) when you actually find the war muesuem/garden, beach, hike etc in Honiara. Its very exciting! :) 

One of the coolest places to visit, I went there with my replacement engineer Fraser and the lovely Elizabeth! We had a lot of fun at the garden and were also quiet blown away by the history and real and tangible presence of the war.

Learnt lots of interesting facts about the war and I hope to wow people with these very soon, I just need the conversation to naturally turn to WWII.. I don't want to be a show off :P 

Its almost surreal when you think that you are now stand on a cannon that was used in the war, who was the last person to use it and could they ever imagine that the likes of myself would be standing on it so many years after like idiots pretending to shot the same cannon.