Wednesday, January
20th 1999
More
heavy rain during the night (curses!) I was not meeting Milay until
1.00 p.m. today , so after breakfast I walked about three quarters of
a mile west to the Guadalcanal tennis club down by the shore. I took
some photos of the Jap 150mm gun they have on the grounds and then walked
down to the beach . This was the area where 1st Battalion
/ 5th Marine Regiment landed on 27th September
1942 before being trapped on Hill 84 and being evacuated .
Some
of the Solomon Islands patrol boats were manoeuvring near Pt.
Cruz , and as I started to film them the film jammed in my camera
(the high humidity) . It took me 10 careful minutes to extract
if without damaging it and inserting a new one . It was humid now and
I walked a bit further west to the grounds of the Ironbottom Sound Hotel
.
After
taking some photos and video of the coast here I walked back into town
to change some money at the bank . It was very steamy now and I had
drained one water bottle in an hour . I walked down to Customs at Pt.
Cruz to see Timothy . He was not there , as he had to drive out to Gold
Ridge on business .
I
was now drenched with sweat . After a detour to the National Museum
to take a photo of their Jap 37mm anti-tank gun (98% complete) I returned
to the pool for a while and read more of Don Richter�s book . The sun
was out now and I was hoping the rain would hold off .
At
1.00 p.m. we returned to Henderson .
I talked with Joseph at the service desk . He also worked as a tour
guide , so I promised to send him some material as well .
Alistair
had worked all night and was now off duty , so Jenny from Security helped
me out . I met Alan , who confirmed no planes were due and then Rex
, who accompanied me out onto the airfield . We walked down past the
old tower and the now unused portion of the runway towards the area
where the Jap hangars used to be . I took comparison shots of the photos
I had and video . I could have spent all day poking about out there
, but of course that was not possible .
As
we walked back to the terminal I noticed a rusty propeller lying in
the grass near a helicopter hangar . I went over to look and it was
the prop and nose of a P400 fighter . The blades were bent back � might
have been the result of a crash landing . It is a pity it was not on
display where the public could see it (the new terminal for instance)
. I also took some photos of the 2 ex-Russian helicopters parked there
. We saw them in 1998 and they are still parked there doing nothing
.It was hot out on the tarmac and very dark clouds were looming in the
north . I thought I had better get over to the tunnel before it poured
again .
We drove across and
parked on an old concrete hut foundation just as the first drops fell
. Milay plunged through some bushes to the side of the hill . Green
vines covered the entire slope but half a dozen blows with the machete�
uncovered the tunnel entrance and we clambered in as the rain really
came down . I would never have found this by myself � it was so well
hidden by the vines . When I saw where it was I cursed myself � when
I was up on the hill last year I must have walked within 6 feet of it
without knowing !
The
tunnel looked in pretty good condition and was dry . Being hidden by
the vines meant that the local boys had not left piles of empty beer
cans everywhere , like at the control tower bunker . My flashlight was
not very powerful , so it was difficult to take any video footage .
I took flash photos and so got glimpses of what was ahead . There had
been a few small roof cave ins leaving piles of dirt 3 � 4 feet high
, but it was still passable .
As
we got 20 � 30 feet in the bats came flying past us and I cursed my
weak light .
Not
really good for exploration , but I didn�t really care because the most
important thing is that I know where it is now , so next time I will
come prepared and in the dry season . If this was cleaned up and a track
put in it would be great for tourists .
I
was determined to take some shots on top of Pagoda Hill , rain or no
rain . Forget the �rain clearing� forecasts � it was here to stay .
We dashed back to the taxi (slipping and sliding) during a brief
lull in the rain and I dumped the video there and went up the hill with
my waterproof 35mm camera . Milay was smart � he stayed in the car !
There
were 6-foot high grass and bushes everywhere and of course by the time
I got to the top I was soaked . I had photocopies of 4 photos of the
Pagoda to do comparison shots of , but they were now just wet mush in
my pocket , weren�t they ?! I took a few photos , but it was hard to
keep the water out of the lens . The trees and mist obscured the view
towards Henderson and the old control tower .
In 1998 I had assumed that the white pillar
on the hill was another US memorial marker with the plaque ripped off
, but� I think I am wrong . On closer inspection it is more likely one
of the metal ventilation shafts for the tunnel below (the top was
been sealed) . So there is really no memorial on the hill to mark
its historic significance � a pity�.
Cursing
the weather I sloshed back down to the car (but remembered that this
was nothing compared to what the troops put up with) and
we went back to the hotel . As we drove along I was surprised to see
a . 50 calibre cartridge case on the dashboard . When I picked it up
the top of a Jap 7.7mm bullet fell out . Milay said that as he was about
to get back in the car and I was going up the hill he found them on
the ground. The
. 50 calibre case was dated 1941 � all the rest I had seen were 1942
dated.
Back
at the hotel again for another drying session . I was starting to run
low on money . Tomorrow would be the last chance to see Michael Ben
and go searching for a few more relics before I had to pack up . The
plane to Brisbane was leaving at 2.15 a.m. on Friday morning . I also
hoped to get back to Gifu again.
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