Bikini Atoll

Tim Priest · Issue 32, Sep/Oct 2006 · pp. 30–34

Products mentioned: Nikon D70, Nexus housing, Inon Z-220 strobes, Nikon 16mm lens, Nikon 10.5mm lens, Nexus FP 120-7 dome port, SanDisk Ultra III CF cards, NoiseNinja, Photoshop CS-2

60 years ago the wreckage of three wars was smashed onto the bottom of Bikini Atoll: tired ships from the first World War, proud veterans and ruined casualties of the second World War and the utilitarian concrete of the Cold War. Even now fewer than 2000 divers have visited them. The lagoon is a treasure house of 20th century military history. Bikini is a long way from the USA, and further from Europe. Travel is best organised by an agent who has learned the ropes, as there are three or four flights to catch, with obscure connections and stopovers. A day in Hawaii broke our travel, and let us do some historical research on the ships of Pearl Harbor. Civilisation, in the form of 24 hour water and power, was left behind when we arrived at Majuro in the Marshall Islands. We then discovered that it was not going to be easy to get to Bikini, as the small Dornier aircraft that does the flight …