Simon’s Nature Reserve
A hidden gem for snorkeling the Solomon Islands you won’t want to miss! Simon’s Nature Reserve is located in the sandfly passage Solomon Islands, north of Nggela Island and a one hour boat ride from theRaiders Hotel & Dive图拉吉岛。
Simon’s Nature Reserve is a coral paradise, a labor of love fifteen years in the making. This beautiful coral garden is a true testament to the power of long term coral conservation.
浮潜VIDEO
As our boat approached the western shoreline of Sandfly passage, a man came paddling out in his dugout canoe. Simon reached our boat with a friendly hello and started telling us about his personal marine protected area.
自2004年以来,西蒙(Simon)一直在岛上收集珊瑚,并小心地修改了他的家居礁。他去除了荆棘王冠和德鲁佩拉蜗牛等掠食者,但最重要的是,他不允许任何人在礁石上钓鱼。
He says sometimes there are fishermen from other villages who come and poach fish, but for the most part, his little nature reserve is a garden of Eden for over 80 genera of coral, as well as a refuge for juvenile fish.
珊瑚s
The water is so clear from the surface you don’t even need a snorkel to see the corals! Simon is a master ocean gardener with a keen eye for unique coral varieties. He told me he knows all the corals on his reef and is still finding new varieties around his island Talk about coral seed bank. Simon is truly preserving the genetic diversity of Solomon Island corals, or at least the corals from his home island in Sandfly Passage.
The shallowest parts are filled with thickets of branching staghorn Acropora. Purple, blue, green and cream. We’ve never seen such a healthy dense coral forest. The more we explored, the more hidden gems appeared.
珊瑚礁可以很浅用树枝博览会ed during low tide. This make Simons Nature Reserve a perfect spot for snorkeling, just make sure not to get to close so you don’t break any of the delicate branches.
For about $50 Solomon Dollars per person, Simon lets people snorkel his reef. A small price to pay knowing he has spent years collecting and maintaining this spot. Simon told me he also uses this reef to educate his neighbors about the importance of keeping corals and stopping to fish, so that baby fish have a place to grow up.
Conservation and Local Tourism Economy
他的珊瑚保护模式得到了回报。在礁石中隐藏着更多的鱼。他已经找到了一种从努力中赚钱的方法。只需在两个旗杆之间拉起,然后等待西蒙划船,准备与世界分享他的礁石。
Getting There: We went diving withRaiders Hotel & Dive和Visit Solomon Islands.Raiders Hotel&Dive是一家小型精品酒店,位于所罗门群岛的历史省省历史省(又名Nggela群岛或佛罗里达群岛)的图拉吉镇。manbext客户端Sandfly Passage和Simon的自然保护区位于图拉吉(Tulagi)的西北,可以作为霍尼亚拉(Honiara)的一日游或从突袭者酒店(Raiders Hotel)出发的一日游。