3 – 8 April
Sunday:
We’re up at 4am for our flight to Vanuatu. It’s a short hop – just over 3 hours – and bar the odd bump it’s a pleasant flight with some good views as we come in to land. We’re both slightly apprehensive: we’re not quite sure what to expect and we’ve never gone to somewhere like this as ‘independent travellers’. We needn’t have worried – it’s perfect.
We’ve managed to find a fairly cheap self-catering studio that’s just a short walk into Port Vila. Our hosts Beth and Tony have arranged a pick-up from the airport, so we’re greeted with frozen cloths and iced water. After our time in northern Queensland we were loving the tropical weather, but I have to admit that 9 weeks in New Zealand have softened us up. We’re feeling the heat.
We’ve come back an hour in time (so are now 10 hours in front of UK time) and it’s only just after 10 when we get to our motel. Beth checks us in and Tony offers us a quick spin through town to orient ourselves before dropping us off to make our own way back. There’s not much to Port Vila - a small harbour, a few paved roads, some bustling shops and markets – but it’s got charm.
It’s cruise ship day, so the town is busier than normal. We spend some time walking along the water’s edge and poking through the shops, then get some lunch at a casual harbour-side café.
The early start and the heat are wearing us down a bit and we decide we’ve done enough for one day. We pick up a few basics from the supermarket, which has everything we could need including Heinz baked beans, but it’s the avocados that blow me away. I don’t buy one: I’m holding out for a trip to the fresh produce market tomorrow.
Back at our new home we both have an impromptu nap and then decide we have neither the appetite nor the energy to go our for food, so have a quiet night in.
Monday:
We’re up bright and early today after a good night’s sleep. We’ve got 10 days in Vanuatu, so can afford to do things at a leisurely pace, which is good. I grab my shopping bag and we walk to the markets. The water in the harbour is so clear we can watch the fish swimming about and I’m amused by a slide going straight over the edge.
We have a quick look round the craft market but decide to save our souvenir shopping for later. On to the fresh produce: there are piles of stuff (coconuts, potatoes, corn, papaya, crabs, chickens…) everywhere and most of it is pretty cheap. Even better: this isn’t a bartering culture and all prices are clearly marked, so shopping is hassle free. The local people are delightful, very friendly but very shy too. No one gives us a hard sell and everyone is ready with a smile. I’m loving it.
I think I buy about my own body weight in fruit and veg (including some ‘mystery items’ I can’t resist trying). The whole lot costs about £10. Nick does his bit by picking up a crate of local Tusker beer. There’s no way we’re walking back with this loot, so we flag down a local bus. These are a bit like the minibus taxis in South Africa: you flag them down anywhere and they’ll pretty much drop you off anywhere. Like everything here it’s friendly and no one tries to rip you off.
We make ourselves some lunch then get packed up for an afternoon on the beach. We’re going to Hideaway Island. It’s a tiny offshore island that’s been turned into a laid back resort. The waters around the island are a marine reserve and for a small day fee (which goes towards conservation of the reef) we can use their facilities, lounge on the beach and snorkel the lush coral. Tony offers us a lift to the ferry point where we’re chugged across. The water is calm, clear and warm. We see plenty of fish (I really need to start learning the names of fish) and a couple of huge blue starfish. It’s a beautiful afternoon.
Once we’ve tired ourselves out we have a beer on the beach before catching the ferry back.
The beach on the mainland is busy with local kids swimming and playing football and volleyball. It’s a lovely scene and – seeing as how it’s happy hour – we stop for another beer to soak up the atmosphere.
Once it’s dark we wander up to the road and grab a bus back to our motel. We decide a little snack is in order and crack into the monkey nuts and homemade sweet potato crisps we bought at the market. After devouring most of them we can’t face dinner. We try to watch a bit of telly but we’re both sound asleep by 8pm.
Tuesday:
We’ve been trying to organise a trip to Pentecost Island to see land-diving for months now, but there have been various difficulties with the trip (mostly to do with negotiations with the local chiefs breaking down). Today we get the call to say that the trip is definitely on for Saturday. We’re picked up and driven into town to pay and fill in the paperwork. The fierce but utterly charming Mrs Deamer instils me with great confidence – she’s not the kind to stand for any nonsense. Once we’re all done she drops us back in town.
We pick up a few bits (more sweet potato crisps and a coconut for me to drink!) and then walk back. We pack up a picnic lunch as we’re heading to the Mele Maat cascades for the afternoon. Once again Tony offers us a lift. The cascades are a serious of gentle waterfalls and clear pools. Near the bottom there’s a bar and café. We keep following the path up through beautiful forest gardens. We wade through the water a few times as the falls get a bit bigger. Then there isn’t really a path and we’re walking through the cascades themselves, hauling ourselves up with ropes.
At the top are some beautiful, tall falls, but we can’t see a way of climbing these and decide we’ve come far enough.
We walk back a short way for a quick dip in one of the pools. The water is deliciously cool and there are a few fish enjoying it with us.
Suitably cooled off we find a bench with some lovely views to tuck into our sandwiches. We head back towards the entrance where there is a lovely swimming hole. The water is a gorgeous blue colour and so deep we can’t touch the bottom in places.
We have a great time swimming about and getting massaged by the falls.
There’s a mild crisis when it’s time to go home. Vanuatu is a cash culture –almost no one takes credit cards – but we’ve got used to carrying very little money with us. So we find ourselves with not enough money to get home and it’s too far to walk. We needn’t have worried. The bus driver has no problem dropping us off and waiting a moment while we run to get him some cash.
Nick gets into the spirit of tropical life by settling in for an afternoon nap while I entertain myself trying to get the flesh out of the coconut. It’s another quiet evening in for us while we research more cool things we can do while we’re here and we even manage to stay awake through 45 minutes of telly.
Wednesday:
Since we really enjoyed our day at Hideaway Island, today we decide to head to another of the offshore island. This time we go to Iriki, right in the heart of the harbour. The island is home to 2 resorts and is bigger than Hideaway, but it still only takes a matter of minutes to circumnavigate the island. We catch the free ferry over and set out to explore.
Round the back of the island is Snorkellors Cove. The name sounds promising, so we don our gear and hop in. It doesn’t disappoint. We float over coral bommies ogling the bright, tropical fish. They’re completely fearless too and don’t seem phased by us at all. In fact a couple even come over for a nibble of Nick’s fingers. The clouds have been gathering ominously and we head to shore just as it starts to rain. It’s only a shower and soon clears.
We head back to the main bit of the resort to grab some lunch and soak in the views of Port Vila.
Once our bellies are full we find ourselves an umbrella on the beach and settle in for a read. Another rain shower comes over and then the sky brightens again. We’ve got time for another snorkel before drying off and catching the ferry back to the mainland.
It’s happy hour, so we grab a few beers at a waterfront bar. As usual I’m out to make friends and mingle with the locals.
Thursday:
We’ve booked an ecotour this afternoon with Pascal. We don’t know much about it, except that he comes highly recommended and he’s taking us to a waterfall. We take a walk into town to pick up some groceries, but as it’s another cruise ship day we don’t linger.
We have an hour or two to relax and then Pascal arrives to pick us up. It turns out we’ve got a VIP tour – no one else is booked on. Pascal is instantly likeable, if a touch hyperactive. He loads us into his 4WD and drives us up the hill for great views back over the harbour. Then we bump our way past a Catholic school and through an organic beef farm. Everything grows at an almost alarming rate here – even the fence posts have sprouted leaves.
After half an hour or so we arrive at our destination. Pascal leads us down a flight of rough steps (he’s cut them himself) to a series of cascades. It’s like the Mele Maat cascades we visited on Tuesday except completely undeveloped and we’ve got them all to ourselves. Pascal is eager to show us around. We climb up through some of the cascades before ducking through one of the waterfalls to find ourselves in a beautiful limestone cave.
The stalagmites and stalactites gleam whitely in the torch light and there are bats and swallows nesting overhead. We have a bit of a poke around and then Pascal takes us to his natural ‘infinity spa pool’. It is beautiful, but with all the recent rainfall it perhaps tends more to the exhilarating than the relaxing. Pascal is taking pictures of us and orders us around like a mad director. We’re both half drowned more than once but it is entertaining.
Once he finally decides he’s got his pics, Pascal leads us back to the biggest (and calmest) pool. He’s put in a rope swing here and we have a fabulous time flinging ourselves into the water.
We can also walk up behind the waterfalls and sit behind the curtain of water – something I’ve wanted to do since I was a kid.
And I do feel like a kid again today: jumping off rocks, swimming through waterfalls, swinging on ropes. I’m soon scraped, battered and bruised, but it’s brilliant fun.
While we’re having fun Pascal busies himself tidying up the area and doing a bit of weeding. Once we’ve tired ourselves out he takes us on quick walk up yet another waterfall and down a tangled forest path so that we can get a little taster of Vanuatu rainforest. There are no poisonous snakes, spiders or other nasties, which is a bonus.
We muddy ourselves up enough to warrant another swim, then relax on the banks with some homemade lemonade before tackling the drive back into town.
Janet adds: too tired to do much this evening, but feeling blissed out.
Friday:
We’ve got into the spirit of island life and have no problem whiling away the morning reading, relaxing and taking a brief trip to the supermarket. After a quick lunch we decide to go to yet another of Port Vila’s tiny offshore islands: Erakor.
This one is located on the far side of town on a lagoon. It’s a little too far to walk so we grab a bus outside our apartment. It’s a fun way to travel as we get an impromptu tour round town as others get dropped off. We hop out to catch the ferry across.
Erakor is tiny and feels less developed than Iriki. We have a lovely stroll through the jungle-like gardens where even the fallen coconuts have sprouted.
There seems to be hardly anyone on the island, so it feels like we have it to ourselves. We find a spot on the beautiful beach and get comfy. After a little while I decide to head in for a snorkel. I walk down to the water’s edge and am very excited to spot a big starfish. I call Nick over and then we look around: there are starfish everywhere.
The water is clear and shallow far out into the lagoon so I wade out, dodging the starfish, until it finally get’s deep enough to snorkel. There are plenty of colourful fish, sea cucumbers and yes, more starfish, to keep me entertained.
Nick has decided not to snorkel with me today and as I don’t want him to miss out on all the fun, I hire a completely see-through two-man Perspex kayak for half an hour. It’s a little hairy trying to stay in water deep enough not to run aground/squish any starfish, but we have a fun time.
I have another quick snorkel and then it’s time for a few beers from the bar (we’re the only people there apart from staff) before hopping the ferry back. We decide to stay out for some food tonight, so catch a bus back into the centre of town. It’s Friday night and town is buzzing. We find ourselves in The Port – home to Vanuatu’s other beer, Nambawan. It’s a good spot for a couple more beers and some food before grabbing a bus home.
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