In 2003, I won the EPIC Photo Contest's digital category and was awarded as a prize a trip to the Solomon Islands aboard the Bilikiki! What a perfect excuse to go to the Solomon Islands, which is one of the least visited areas in the world by tourists. I took advantage of the trip to visit Uepi Island Resort as well, and the photos found in this travel journal are from both the Bilikiki and Uepi island.

The Solomon Islands are one of the least visited tourist destinations in the world, with anywhere from 1,000-5,000 tourists visiting each year (the number changes depending on who you talk to). As a result, many of the dive sites feature pristine reefs with plenty of fish life. However, fishing (and logging) is affecting the local environment in the Solomons, and tuna boats frequently come in to take entire schools of bait fish. A small custom fee is paid to each of the local reef owners per dive/diver, and hopefully this financial incentive will encourage chiefs to protect the reefs under their control.
 

Trip Dates:		August 11-31, 2004
Vessel/Lodging:		M/V Bilikiki (the boat) and Uepi Islands Resort (the resort), Solomon Islands
Visit Sites:		Brisbane (Australia), Florida Islands, Russell Islands, Mary Island, Uepi Island
Guides:		Bilikiki Managers: Craig "Monty" Sheppard and Michelle Gaut The Crew: Frank, Peter, Andrew, Norman, Tim, Michael, Wilson, Max, John V, Ben, John Lee Uepi Island Resort: The Kelly Family - Grant, Jill, Wesley, and Jason
Participants:		Bilikiki: Eric Cheng (San Francisco), Greg and Wendy Kime (Michigan), Haines and Jennifer O'Neil (Alabama), Jon Fellows & Judy Hemenway (San Diego), Stephen Peters (Alaska), Lesley and Ian Patterson (Adelaide), Joe and Heidi Jonovic (Los Angeles), Olga Ramalho (Lisbon) Uepi: Eric Cheng (San Francisco), Stephen Peters (Alaska), Olga Ramalho (Lisbon), Ocean (South Australia), Carmen (Western Canada), Jenny (Scotland), Piero and Paula (Italia), John and his wife (Ft. Lauderdale), Tony and Debbie (Honiara and Australia), Sam and Susan (Australia), and some more that I didn't get to meet properly.

Our route on the Bilikiki in the Solomon Islands

Reader Comments

Please leave me a comment!

-- posted by Eric Cheng @ Sunday, September 5 2004, 12:48 pm

you getting eaten by the barrel sponge, and then rejoicing at having gotten spit out again - cute!

-- posted by Caroline :) @ Sunday, September 5 2004, 10:56 pm

Wow ...

need i say anymore .. although Alex mustard has made me say wow twice recently too on the dives he has taken me on ... maybe this is a year of wow's for me. Eric i truely envy you and your ability to travel and beyond that capture the essence of everythign you see .. I can't wait to have more time to look through all the photos, but i love them so far ;) good job buddy, like the one you chose for the title too !

-- posted by Giles Shaxted @ Sunday, September 5 2004, 11:01 pm

Thanks again for showing us the power of the nature. Stunning photos and neat layout. Just the right amount of light. I love the island and even the tablecloth...

-- posted by JoyMocha @ Sunday, September 5 2004, 11:02 pm

Excellent shots! I just browsed your "best of" list with some trepidation--this is the trip I was on if it wasn't for my current gig. Based on Wakatobi's shots, it looks like you saw even greater biodiversity. You also nailed some amazing shots. Lots of killer macro, more surface shots than I've seen you do, and some excellent fisheye stuff too. Look forward to getting the debrief in person sometime after your move. I remember now.

-- posted by Dave Patchen @ Sunday, September 5 2004, 11:31 pm

Just clicked through the entire report. Your macro shots are really phenomenal. The late stage eggs, octo eye and some of the amazing nudis really stood out. I'm also curious about your experience at Uepi. My ex was kind of pissed that I told you about it...

-- posted by Dave Patchen @ Monday, September 6 2004, 12:27 am

thanks, dave, for the nice words!

your ex? whut? actually, a few people recommended uepi to me, and i made my decision based on all of the recs. you can tell your ex- that. :)

-- posted by echeng @ Monday, September 6 2004, 12:43 am

Oh yeah. You want to browse the entire gallery at once,
you can go to: http://echeng.com/gallery/list.php?exhibition=4 :)

-- posted by echeng @ Monday, September 6 2004, 12:45 am

Nice to have you back Eric.

Amazing shots. I was very interested in your 180mm Macro results.

I'm going to test my 100mm Macro UW this Week.

Simon

-- posted by Simon Klaiber @ Monday, September 6 2004, 01:15 am

:)

Sensory overload volumes of cool photos in there, Eric. Very nice stuff.

-- posted by Aaron @ Monday, September 6 2004, 07:10 pm

Eric. Great pictures. I'm off to the Solomons myself in 5 weeks time and your picutre make me even more excited about going. We're landbased on Tulagi and plan to do some of the deeper wrecks. Have you any tips about digital photography out there? I use a Canon D60 in the Sea and Sea Housing. Did you ever attach a tripod to yours? If so how? Due to the shape of the housing the best arrangement I have come up with so far is set over to one side which still results in a fair amount of camera movement.

-- posted by Helen @ Wednesday, September 8 2004, 10:19 am

Hi Eric

Seeing these again reminded me of just how wonderful the diving is here, and of how accomplished your photos really are. It was great to spend the time with you at Uepi. I will be going back ASAP. Wish you were here!

regards Tony

-- posted by Tony O'Dowd @ Wednesday, September 15 2004, 03:40 pm

Beautiful shots Eric I take it you liked UEPI Wasnt it amazing just by the main jetty with the giant clams etc. I long to go back Cheers Lars

-- posted by Lars Erikson @ Wednesday, September 15 2004, 07:10 pm

I have my "eye" on you.....so my husband tells me you sent my eye out to someone? E-mail me when you get a chance...how's the new pad? We both miss ya! Take care buddy!

-- posted by Wendy Kime @ Tuesday, September 21 2004, 07:08 pm

What a wonderful website Eric!! It was fantastic to revisit the Solomons through your eyes (photos). We look forward to visiting echeng regularly...hope we meet on another trip. Take care and enjoy your adventures!!

-- posted by Lesley Patterson @ Wednesday, September 29 2004, 03:30 am

Eric,

We've just gotten back from our second trip this year aboard Bilikiki. We absolutely LOVED the slide show CD you left onboard. It was beautifully done, and we were jealous we didn't join you in August. I hope our paths cross on some dive trip or another.

Regards,

Julie & Cor

-- posted by Julie Edwards @ Sunday, December 5 2004, 03:43 am

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