Saturday 3rd November.

38 days to go.

Kennedy Island in the fore ground, the Islands he swam to after this are to the right. If you enlarge the photo (by clicking on it) you may be able to see why Kolombangera gets it alternative name. (Hint, the face is in the middle of the photo).

Before I tell you all about the days, let me tell you about fatboys. They have 3 bungalows, 2 of them are for couples the other is a duplex, each of the two sections have a queen size bed and a rear room with 3 single beds. The most people that it can hold are 14 at a time. Each of the bungalows is within 5 metres of the beach. They all have a toilet and bathroom, although the water is rainwater, it only comes in cold. The common room is over the water, you reach it by a jetty about 20 metres long. It contains a landing at each side, a bar, kitchen, toilets and dining room.

All the buildings face a small island called Kennedy Island. This is the first Island Lt John Kennedy reached after his PT boat sank. Behind this small island is the volcanic island of Kolombangara. Kolombangara is known as The Sleeping or Reclining Lady, depending on who is doing the translation. If you look closely at the photo above, possibly you can see why.

There is limited electricity at times; there are some 12v down lights and small 12v fans which are all battery powered during the day. In the evening and night, the generator comes on and the power is normal. There are only openings in the bungalows, not windows. Each of the openings has a bamboo blind which can be raised and lowered as required. With the ceiling or small fans blowing or a breeze coming through the openings it is still cool enough to sleep at night. All of the beds have mosquito nets. I unreservedly recommend a visit to fatboys if ever you visit the Solomons.

After breakfast, (I must warn you that the scrambled egg is 3 pieces of toast piled with scrambled egg) we go for a swim, the water is almost body temperature. We also walk through the trees to a secluded beach at the rear of the resort.

We meet some of our fellow guests, in the other half of the duplex is a couple from Gooloogong in central NSW; they are here for some diving. In one of the other unit are a couple of doctors from Vienna. They too are here for the diving. The last unit is filled today by a young couple from Australia doing the same as us, having a weekend together as part of a reunion weekend. The 4 divers return on the boat for lunch, they have more people than they left with. A group of surfers lost their boat on a reef and were sitting on their boards so they picked them up and brought them in.

Lunch is again as generous as breakfast was, that is why they call it fatboys I guess! We just sit around reading and chatting to the others over some drinks, then look at the dinner menu and eat. Another huge meal is provided. Will my weight loss be able to continue to grow?During the night we have a tremendous storm. I t was raining non-stop for hours and it was heavy.