Kennedy Island and Blackett Strait, Solomon Islands
Kennedy. The name brings up different thoughts to different people, usually involving politics or family tragedy. To me, it means a fantastic little island in the Solomon Islands. Yes, it is the island than John F. Kennedy swam to after PT-109 was run down, leading to a dramatic rescue of him and his crew. But it is also a superb place to explore.
After clearing customs into our second country on this voyage, we went ashore to explore the tiny speck of an island that is now so famous. Wandering around amongst the trees, we were greeted by many different birds. Rainbow lorikeets squawked overhead, while an osprey guarded its nest between bouts of fishing. Careful observation revealed huge mounds of dirt with scratching around them: the nests of Melanesian megapodes. These chicken-looking birds deposit their eggs in these mounds, which miraculously keep them at a constant temperature for proper incubation.
The underwater world is the most amazing aspect of Kennedy Island, and we explored it either by glass bottom boat, SCUBA diving, or by snorkeling. The shallows are filled with healthy corals and abundant damselfish. Just a few feet from shore, the water plunges away, creating a bit of upwelling that results in an incredible diversity and abundance of fishes. Schools of multi-colored fusiliers patrol the off shore habitat, while clouds of smaller fish stick nearer to the safety of their coral home.
From the glass bottom boat, we were able to observe the diversity of the healthy corals encircling the island. The coral diversity in the south Pacific is so high that most do not have common names. We had fun describing the different shapes and creating our own common names such as lettuce, finger, mushroom, and stunning blue. Calm seas allowed for prolonged views of many species of fish including true clown fish. These brilliant orange and white damselfish spend nearly their whole life in the same host anemone. They get protection by hiding amongst the stinging tentacles, while in turn protecting the anemone from predators.
Maybe, if John F. Kennedy were here under different circumstances, he would have been happy to stay longer!
Kennedy. The name brings up different thoughts to different people, usually involving politics or family tragedy. To me, it means a fantastic little island in the Solomon Islands. Yes, it is the island than John F. Kennedy swam to after PT-109 was run down, leading to a dramatic rescue of him and his crew. But it is also a superb place to explore.
After clearing customs into our second country on this voyage, we went ashore to explore the tiny speck of an island that is now so famous. Wandering around amongst the trees, we were greeted by many different birds. Rainbow lorikeets squawked overhead, while an osprey guarded its nest between bouts of fishing. Careful observation revealed huge mounds of dirt with scratching around them: the nests of Melanesian megapodes. These chicken-looking birds deposit their eggs in these mounds, which miraculously keep them at a constant temperature for proper incubation.
The underwater world is the most amazing aspect of Kennedy Island, and we explored it either by glass bottom boat, SCUBA diving, or by snorkeling. The shallows are filled with healthy corals and abundant damselfish. Just a few feet from shore, the water plunges away, creating a bit of upwelling that results in an incredible diversity and abundance of fishes. Schools of multi-colored fusiliers patrol the off shore habitat, while clouds of smaller fish stick nearer to the safety of their coral home.
From the glass bottom boat, we were able to observe the diversity of the healthy corals encircling the island. The coral diversity in the south Pacific is so high that most do not have common names. We had fun describing the different shapes and creating our own common names such as lettuce, finger, mushroom, and stunning blue. Calm seas allowed for prolonged views of many species of fish including true clown fish. These brilliant orange and white damselfish spend nearly their whole life in the same host anemone. They get protection by hiding amongst the stinging tentacles, while in turn protecting the anemone from predators.
Maybe, if John F. Kennedy were here under different circumstances, he would have been happy to stay longer!
