Where's Rachael?

Bonegi beach looking East to Honiara in the distance

While Rachael is doing some great writing work, when in doubt she can be found snorkelling at Bonegi beach. Like so many places in the Solomons Bonegi, apart from being a postcard-like tropical beach, is the site of yet more WW2 history.

Three months after the Americans had landed on Guadalcanal to secure the airfield and stop Japan's progress towards Australia and New Zealand the Japanese were starting to ramp up their efforts to re-take the island. While the airfield was in American hands the impenetrable vegetation and precipitous terrain meant that Japanese forces still occupied much of the island, in some cases only kilometers from the airfield. Supply and troop ships began supporting the existing Japanese troops from Papua New Guinea. One such convoy was spotted from the air and several of the ships were suck at sea. The next morning at least three of the ships had made it close to shore about 18km from where Honiara now lies. Artillery bombardment caused significant damage to the ships which were then run ashore where at least two of them still lie.

The Kinugawa Maru in about 1944 taken from roughly the same point as the previous photo

Australian salvage workers in the sixties took what remained of the ships above the water line, but they remain quite intact below the water and now make fabulous dive and snorkelling sites which is why Rachael (and I) can be found there so often. The ships are on the land of a village so a Kastom fee of about $5 AUD per car is charged for your own private beach and WW2 wreck.

What remains above the water of the Kinugawa Maru today

Our favourite is the Kinugawa Maru, a 437 ft supply ship which today just breaks the water with one of its two giant 6 cyliner engines and a few bits of structure. Below the usually crystal clear water live thousands of brightly coloured fish and an endless array of corral. The bow of the ship starts only 10 meters from the shore at a depth of about 2 meters and slowly becomes deeper, and more intact as you follow it out. We've only sorkelled on it so far but on a really clear day you can swim out and look at it at least 40 meters down.

The Kinugawa Maru from the air

We've not got to them yet but further up the coast and also only a short distance off shore are a japanese submarine and a B17 flying fortress waiting to be explored. Stay tuned.

A Bik fella tankiu to our friend Jonathon Croft for the underwater shots.

This picture of Rachael was so good I thought you should see it again