Don't just take our word for it, read the following testimonial from one of our happy customers, and see what great times you are in for with Invader Charters.

"It's been 2 years since my last trip to P.N.G diving, the time seemed right to take another trip I have always thought about to Honiara in the Solomon Islands. Some prices and packages were perused and 3 friends and myself booked a 12 day escape to invade Honiara during the early part of June 2008.

We chose Chris Lawson and his team from Invader Charters to show us the best of the Honiara and Tulagi wrecks. Highly recommended by others who had gone before us. After the introductions at Henderson Field Airport and a quick get to know each other and talk about the type of dives we may be interested in, I knew we had made the right decision and were soon off to our accommodation near the centre of town. When we had settled into our rooms the team took us for a drink (Solbrew) and a debrief as to what they had in store for us over the days to follow. Early the next morning we were escorted to a café known to many ex-pats as the best place to have breakfast, then we were on our way to the wreck of the John Penn which is an armed American transport that was sunk during the 1943 campaign, this was the first of our many dives on the Invader vessel which is just magic to dive off due to its size and fit-out. The John Penn is lying on its side at a depth of 58 mts to the sand. We spent 20 minutes below before a long deco on 50 % nitrox mix and an extra 5 minutes penalty (FIVE) just to be on the safe side, the price I was happy to pay for using tables and not a computer. This is a large ship, a great dive and the marine growth is more like what you would find on a reef.

That afternoon our second dive site was the front section of the Japanese transport ship Azumasan Maru, a pleasant trip by boat to the west of Honiara town. The plan was to enter the first 2 holds and get some idea of how large this ship is and although we have dived many wrecks large and small I was not ready for the colossal size of this vessel. Moving from one hold to the next I was lost in its shear size and after ending the dive at the bow and the forward gun knew we would have to come back and dive it again if possible. Massive king posts are a feature of this wreck, which I have seen in photographs of other ships and seen here for the first time myself. This ship is very close to shore but is on a slope with the stern in over 80 mts of water. We did dive here again a week later but the current was running and little new ground was covered.

Day 2; was shore dive day and after another wonderful heart starting breakfast at (the cafe) eggs benedict is a must if only once! We were driven in a van to the Bonegi wrecks 1 and 2 also to the west of town. The two wrecks which were Japanese transport ships can be done on one day and any trip to Honiara should include at least one if not both of these ships. Plenty of bottom time on these dives, as they are not as deep as the wrecks done by boat and are easy dives for open water/adv divers with a guide. During the surface interval not far from the Bonegi beach is an open-air museum that has several plane wrecks and large Japanese field guns that are well preserved and well worth a photo for a small fee to the custom landowner who provided good info about his relics.

The highlight of the trip was to do several dives or more in the Florida islands near Tulagi on the wreck of the Aaron-Ward, an intact American destroyer in a little over 70 mts of water. Torpedo tubes and props still in position, guns pointing to the sky as they did in 1943. On one dive at about 65 mts Dave found a room below deck level that had a large mirror attached to the wall and not expecting to bump into anyone else was confronted by his own reflection which made his heart skip several beats until he realised it was himself. This would be close to the top of my 'bucket list' of wreck dives to date. Another interesting dive in this area close to the island of Guvutu was a Japanese Mavis float plane in 30 mts of water. A very large plane in size, Greg and Dave made a swim through and silted it out nicely, Greg told me I could go in at which point I could only laugh into my regulator and remain outside.

One other great dive not far from Tulagi is the U.S fleet oiler, Kanawha, that rests in about 60 mts of water. The viz here was not as good as the 'Ward' but a great dive if you like getting inside a ship from WW II. One of the prop blades is just visible along with the name of the ship at the stern. More guns and ammo are found in this area ready for action but silenced by time and the elements. Many repeat dives are required on these large, deep wrecks to appreciate their size and scale and to become familiar with the lay-out, using air as a bottom gas on the dives, narcosis can creep up on you and cloud the memory of what you have just seen or not seen as the case maybe. That's part of the lure wrecks have in places like the Solomons to most people who visit here and dive.

Short live-aboard trips can be organized with Invader Charters. Their vessel is capable of sleeping small groups and Chris would be more than happy to get out of the office and skipper the boat to some of the near-by islands and other wrecks that are not often dived to please his customers. His new shop is very impressive and fully stocked with new hire gear,tank bands,deco bottles and nitrox.

Many divers may neglect to take the time to dive around Honiara when places like Gizo, Munda and Uepi are on offer as package holidays but from what we experienced with an operator and guide who could not do enough to make sure our trip was a success we can only praise Chris Lawson and his team and staff at the dive shop for their efforts with our small group. Fine food can also be found around Honiara town with Korean/Chinese available near the casino and Indian-curry near the airport out of town and the larger hotels have a good range to suit the fussiest eaters.

Our last dives of the trip were spent on the John-Penn, which is hard to tire of, as it is such a great dive all within a short boat ride from the docks in Honiara. Paul was lucky enough to find a small brass plate in the silt with details (once cleaned up) of the davit arm manufacturer in the United States on it, which he donated to the dive-shop/local museum for safe keeping and display. Before packing our gear to return home we made the time to visit some of the battlefields near Henderson Air Field where fighting between the American and Japanese forces took place during 1942/43 at GuadalCanal. Some old fox holes were located on top of the ridge which reminded us all of the young men who fought there and the ones who lost their lives on land at sea and of disease during WW II in the pacific. The American memorial is also worthwhile to visit behind Honiara town, as details of the battles can be read from the granite walls and enjoy the magnificent views over Iron Bottom Sound and towards Savo island where many ships were lost including the Australian ship HMAS Canberra.

Safety around Honiara was never an issue for us and Chris who has lived in town for over 8 years said more than once that any minor trouble that has occurred in the past did not involve tourists in any way, shape or form . The Australian Government does have a moderate number of our Federal police on duty in the Capital and in some of the provincial towns like Tulagi, which will always reassure the sceptics of any possible local unrest.

Malaria on the other hand can be a problem in the Solomon Islands, see your doctor before leaving home and discuss the use of Doxycycline or something as good because when the sun sets those mosquito's do go looking for a meal so cover up, use a good insect repellent and take the medication and you should be fine. Recently a new international carrier has started to the Solomon Islands (based in Brisbane) SkyAirWorld which offers competition and value for money and will make Honiara an even more popular choice as a dive destination so close to Australia.

So if you have any plans to visit the Solomon Islands in the future and wish to treat yourself or a group of friends to a holiday diving many of the deep wrecks around Honiara and nearby islands that you will not forget, We would recommend Chris Lawson and his highly professional team at Invader Charters to show you how great it can be when local know-how is developed. Thanks again Chris, Stu and Grant for all your hard work and effort to make our stay one of the best dive holidays we have had.

Cheers for now from; Dave, Paul, Greg and Dave. Long Reef, Sydney."