Images from a journey by sea with Heritage Expeditions northwards from Christchurch, New Zealand, north through the Solomon Islands to the New Ireland Province of Papua New Guinea. We made a day excursion to Kolombangara Island, in the Solomons' Western Province. This is a perfectly circular volcanic cone rising out of the tropical seas to overlook the much smaller islet where the young John F. Kennedy and his crew swam to safety after their patrol boat sank, during the Second World War. Most images were taken around the Kukudu and Hambere villages on the southwestern shores of Kolombangara, where the birdwatchers amongst us were rewarded with sightings of the flightless Roviana Rail, and of treeswifts and Red-knobbed pigeons, amongst others.

These images were captured in RAW format with Nikon D300 and represent a selection of those available for licensing.