Solomon Islands

Michaela and I have recently learned that we have been accepted as the new Conservation Coordinators on the uninhabited Tetepare Island in the Solomon Islands.

Obviously, we are both incredibly excited at the prospect!

We have several questions which we hope the collective wetpixel wisdom may assist us in answering. Not all the questions are UW photography related, but wetpixel is an amazing resource, so let’s see what we come up with! ïŠ

We don't yet have much information on the infrastructure (or lack thereof) available on the island. We will be living in a leaf house with tank water and a pit toilet, so I’m not really expecting a WIFI connection. There may be limited solar power and we are investigation bringing our own portable solar panels.

So far on the shopping list we have:

1. Shortwave radio for keeping up to date with news (possibly this one with an external antennae if required.
   
2. Wide angle lens and Magic Filter for a Fuji F30 (borrowed from parents) – thinking either Inon 105AD or 165 fisheye. I’m leaning towards the 105 because you can use it topside too? The island receives over 5 (!!) metres of rain per year, so it would be good to have a housed compact for terrestrial use. Obviously, I’ll also take my SLR and housing, but sometimes a compact is very handy.
   
3. Sat phone (Iridium?) with capacity to be used a modem for email with an Apple Mac and maybe PC.
   
4. Compact waterproof solar panel (this Brunton?) to power the laptop and cameras in the field.
   
5. Other thoughts??
   

Now, before everyone starts recommend spending Giga$$$$$ - please keep in mind that we will be paid on local Solomon wages (ie. very little) so we really have to rationalise our spending. There is a small amount of money attached to the project which is partially funded by EU Microprojects, but any expenditure of this money will need to have direct relevance to the project and be approved through various committees etc. The sat phone will likely fit in this category, but the radio and lenses are not relevant to the role.

The nearest ‘town’ to the island is Munda which is two hours in the small outboard boats we will be using as transport. Apparently there is internet in Munda as well as availability of modest supplies of groceries.

For those of you who have been to Solomons – I would be especially interested in any thoughts on anything you think might be relevant. I would love to have a skype conversation with any recent visitors who have the time to chat to us.

Finally, if anyone wants to come and visit us, the eco-lodge on the island is available for a mere AUD$40/night which includes food! We’d love to meet you. All funds generated through visitors are put back into the Tetepare project and used to support local communities by creating employment and training opportunities and ensuring resources are managed sustainably.

Thanks for your help everyone!!

WOW, Anthony when you guys decide to go on a dive vacation you don't fool around! Congratulations on an experience of a life time. Have you thought of contacting companies like Brunton to offer you experience as a "testing" and marketing opportunity for them? With your clear abilities you might be perfect. Just a thought. I'm guessing the toughest issues your going to face together will be personal and test your relationship. May I suggest you get a small copy of a book like "Don't sweat the small stuff" or similar to take with you. Make it a small one so when Michaela throws it at you it won't hurt to bad. When do you leave?

Steve

I had done some research before (do not have it now) for some things I was looking at in general. Do not remember the one place that looked good, but just did a google for similar things like this

http://store.sundancesolar.com/

Solar chargers and things worthwhile to poke through.

Will think about other things, but a very good first aid kit would be a priority. There was a thread recently about a general first aid kit for diving, but if you are really far away from immediate help things like Epipens for allergic reactions may be not something that is too far fetched until further help comes along. Not sure what you will see/encounter there but thinking about some of those things can also help you figure out what to bring along. Also do not know if anyone has prescriptions, but you want to keep those in mind.

Sounds like it will be a great experience, sorry about the first aid kit stuff, kind of a downer subject but figured I should put it out there...

Congrats on the new job. There goes the neighborhood in Munda

My sat phone data is a few years old but this is what I experienced for the area. I believe Globalstar might be cheaper for you as a phone/data service. I had one while in Solomons/PNG/Vanuatu and it worked pretty well. Getting a script for Mac however was nightmarish. I finally went to Qualcomm (manufacturers of the phone). They now have a USB cable and apparently Mac support. I really suggest you make sure that it all works before plonking the cash on the phones. Iridium works but not great which was why I went with Globalstar. One big caveat is that sat phones has high power consumption so keep the phone off when not in use.

As for field solar panels, you want the biggest you can bring along. Remember your macs average 65-85W so charging them isn't going to be easy with a little panel. Especially when you have to charge cameras, sat phone etc. The minimum should be at least 24W. List the amount of charging you'll need per day and then work out 8 hours of good sunlight source.

With 5000mm of rain, you'll probably have many cloudy days too.

Anyhow, good luck with the project. Oh and pit toilets are the bomb but watch out for ants while you squat

Congrats Anthony. Sounds pretty amazing. Look forward to hearing more about it down the road. Good luck with everything.

Aloha

Bryce

Thanks everyone for your quick replies!

@Steve - thanks for your suggestion 'testing' - I'll follow it up. And the idea of the book. Sounds like a great and I love the idea of keeping it small.

At this stage leave date is late April.

@TheRealDrew - great suggestions re medical stuff. We are planning to visit the local travel docs soon and will see if they can help us source some of your suggestions - all excellent ideas. Thanks also for the solar link - following it up.

@Drew - as always - full of very helpful info - followed by a good dose of ribbing ;-) I'll miss you mate.

Will follow up the Globalstar stuff, hopefully those Mac compatibility issues are sorted and we'll take your advice and keep the phone off most of the time.

Re field panels - you are absolutely right about the power hungry laptop/phones. As I understand it, there may already be some panels on the island, but I'm haven't yet been able to find out their capacity. I was mainly thinking about supplementing them and having portability. Will report back when more info on local equipment becomes available. Sounds like 24W is the minimum if local panels are already fully utilised.

Thanks Bryce - much appreciated. I'll try to keep everyone posted here.

My sat phone data is a few years old but this is what I experienced for the area. I believe Globalstar might be cheaper for you as a phone/data service. I had one while in Solomons/PNG/Vanuatu and it worked pretty well.

I contacted Globalstar and they sounded a bit nervous. I wonder whether one of their satellites fell out of the orbit since you were there?

They suggested I go with Iridium. Apparently Globalstar's coverage has recently been very patchy for areas outside the orange bits on this map. They strongly recommended against using their service for Solomon Is unfortunately.

They went on to say that Iridium normally only get around 2-5 kbps for data, so perhaps Mike V can provide advice on how useful that sort of speed is for emails. Not sounding too promising at this stage...

Any thoughts?

If Thuraya 3 satellite gets up and running by March as scheduled, perhaps this might be a good option:

Wiki

It sounds like a Thuraya phone could be a nice product being so small and light? Anyone used one of these in Europe? How about connectivity to a laptop?

Just been doing some more research... sounds like using a Thuraya phone for email might be problematic if this page is anything to go by.

http://www.thuraya.com/content/usb-data-cable.html

Has anybody used one with a PC?

I contacted Globalstar and they sounded a bit nervous. I wonder whether one of their satellites fell out of the orbit since you were there?

 

They suggested I go with Iridium. Apparently Globalstar's coverage has recently been very patchy for areas outside the orange bits on this map. They strongly recommended against using their service for Solomon Is unfortunately.

 

They went on to say that Iridium normally only get around 2-5 kbps for data, so perhaps Mike V can provide advice on how useful that sort of speed is for emails. Not sounding too promising at this stage...

Well I used it mostly in PNG while trekking in the highlands and Sepik River rafting. I was on a boat in the Solomons except my stint at Gizo and I don't remember too many problems.

Drew - as always - full of very helpful info - followed by a good dose of ribbing ;-) I'll miss you mate.

It's true... finding a good spot to dig a hole is already tough but when red ants crawl on you while errr mid-motion, it's HIGHLY uncomfortable!

I could also tell you the tale about how a HD engineer pilfered my minipads which I have for my housings while on location for 90 days. What brilliance not to pack things like that or even go on the pill?!?

Congrats! Sounds like fun.

If you are going to be using satellite for email, I suggest you use a service that strips email of all attachments and formatting. I've seen people use UUPlus:

http://www.uuplus.com/

No images, but at least it makes the pokey serial Iridium connection usable. Be sure your computer doesn't try to auto-update anything, else you will suffer!

The last time I used Iridium for data, I got 9600 baud. That's 0.96 KBps. Yippee. But that was in 2001, so I'm sure things have gotten better...

With 5000mm of rain, you'll probably have many cloudy days too.

and on those cloudy days, just get one of these knee brace generators and do a couple laps around the island...

Feel free to give Julie and myself a private mail with questions. We've been in the solomon islands many times, although not near tetepare. Furthest we've been out is morovo lagoon.

We've visited several eco lodges and most of them have some form of solar power. We did see one or two with generators. Supposedly there are some really cheap generators to be had in Honiara. But that means fuel, and out there thats probably hard to come by.

I think by far your biggest challenge is malaria. The Solomon Islands is one of the most infected countries in the world where malaria is concerned. On land, where you are, this is a serious problem as you may not be able to take malaria medicine for that period of time. Maybe take out DAN insurance so you can be flown out in case of some problem

Is this where you'll be? http://wa.ter.net/download/tetepare.kmz (google earth)

Have a great time there

Cor

If you have not already done so, I would strongly recommend a visit to your local doc for help with the first aid kit; stock up on appropriate antibiotics, antimalarials etc. If you need any help with this, email or pm me any time.

Good luck!

CONDOMS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

and a dispenser bag to put them in.. don't want you ruinin the environment..

have a ton of fun!

CONDOMS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

 

and a dispenser bag to put them in.. don't want you ruinin the environment..

 

have a ton of fun!

In the spirit of Mike's response, copper tubing to make a still - for water desalination, of course!

Medical kits are considered essentials. Your local travel clinic or WHO should be up to date though I think HEP A and Typhoid are the 2 main ones for Solomons. Check to be sure.

Antimalarials like Malarone or Doxicycline are a must or if you are really all natural, QingHaoSu is the chinese med equivalent,which has been proven to have great malarial treatment properties. Most important is the permethrin treated mosquito net and staying indoors during the dusk to dawn hours. Save your DEET/citronella 40% for the leatherback night sessions

Long term malarone use I think is not recommended. Although its a bit of a mystery as to why. I think it's more due to extremely high cost than medical reasons. Definitely ask your tropical medicine center to be sure.

I think that going into that region of the solomons without malaria protection is going to be extremely risky. The odds of contracting it are very high, and you do absolutely not want to be in a solomon islands hospital. Again..have some kind of expatriate insurance!

Cor

I didn't mean using the antimalarials as prophylaxis. You want treatment immediately once you have symptoms. Malarone, Lariam or other antimalarial medication is a must have in malarial zones.

I would think the project should have some sort of evac plan. If not, I'm sure anthony will make sure they have one in place. Check the policies well Anthony.

Thanks everyone for your helpful thoughts. We have plans to consult with the local tropical medicine centre regarding malaria and other medical contingencies and I will double check the evac policies as suggested. Thanks for that.

This is where we will be:

http://tinyurl.com/yqmbs3

@Eric - thanks for the attachment stripper! Looks like a great adjunct to sat email.

@Mike, Tim and pakman - valuable input guys thanks ;p

@Cor and Julie - we certainly will take you up on your offer. Thank you! I was hoping you guys would see this thread. Thanks again.

Have a few more requests to add...

Any recommendations on good online sources for tropical vegetable seeds (I think there is already a garden there, but it would be good to supplement).

Any recommendations on waterproof duffle bags?

Any recommendations on LED head torches?

Thanks again and keep the thoughts coming.