Monday 5th November.

36 days to go.

The airport terminal at Gizo and Mrs gotg.

Well that was our last night here. We are definitely flying out at 1620. We can leave our gear in the room until we leave, the new occupant will be arriving on the plane that takes us out. At about 0600 I hurt my back, no stop that! Grant yells out my name from just outside, he asks if we are on the early flight. In sitting up to answer him I do something to my back. The young couple are leaving on the early flight. When we really get up, we head in for breakfast and some more toast and fruit.

The divers head out and we head for the snorkelling gear, another couple of hours of floating around looking at things within easy distance of the bar, I could take up diving after this experience. We hang around and have lunch. We sit and have a chat with the Austrian doctors over lunch and into the afternoon. We go for a final snorkel and swim and then back to the room to shower and change for the flight back.

We settle up the final bits of the account, it all turns out to be about $1000 Australian. That is the return flight from Honiara, 3 nights’ accommodation and all our meals and hire of the snorkelling gear and transfers. That is a pretty good deal for 2 people. We are dropped off at the airport and we report to the terminal. Our luggage is weighed prior to the flight and as we were at Honiara, we too are weighed. The plane lands at about 1605. A few people get off and leave the terminal and some people get off and wait around, we guess that the flight has stopped prior to landing here. We then see the crew start to take seats out of the plane.

It is now 1620, time to take off, however we find out we are waiting for a medical case that is to transfer to the hospital in Honiara. The patient arrives being carried on a stretcher. The stretcher is then slid into the plane, an accompanying doctor affixes a drip, we all file on board, avoiding the prone body on the floor and we take off for an uneventful flight back. When we arrive, one of our fellow passengers explains that the man was hit with an axe. He was innocently working when he was attacked. His mistake was to be working in a logging operation where 2 clans are claiming the rights to the trees on the land. One wants logging, the other does not. Tweety picks us up and we drop him at the French restaurant at the Honiara Hotel. We are eating there, but come back to the King Sol to freshen up.

When we return to the restaurant, Mrs gotg and I are joined by Tweety, Guru, Nemo and the Duke. They have all come along for a dinner in honour of Mrs gotg! We enjoy some wine and some great food Seafood Skewers, Seafood Gratin, Lobster, Lamb, Eye Steak and Beef Medallions with 3 different sauces were the main courses of choice. Several desserts were eaten too; there was Crepes, Iced Coffee with Chantilly Cream, Chocolate Mousse and Profiteroles. I as per my enforced Spartan regime looked on as they were consumed. We all head off to our respected places for the night.