Vanuatu - Part 3

One day we took a private tour around the island. Efate only has one road that goes around the island, so it is called the Ring Road. The Americans paid to have it built, and we definitely found that people there are very fond of Americans. Much of this seems to stem from World War II when American soldiers were there. Apparently, they treated the people on the island very well and some even settled there or came back. In addition, the Peace Corps is quite active there.

There are not what you would think of as "proper" tourist stops there if there is such a thing. As you'll see, each thing we viewed on our day long tour was a bit different than the mass crowds and commercialization we are used to in America with our tourist stops. And, we LOVED that!

Our first stop was about 1 minute from the hotel actually. We saw something called the World War II Museum. I couldn't resist asking Sael our driver to stop.

 These are some of the thousands of items in the museum (which was a hut on the side of the road). Basically, there were thousands of bottles, bullets, a lunch tray, etc. There was a little box to leave a coin donation (not sure where that went, but they clearly weren't bringing in a lot of dough in this place).

 Next stop - the American pool from WWII. The Americans dug this hole and cemented it. Ocean water filled it naturally, based on where it was located. It's not used today, but pretty cool it is still there.

 Throughout the 140 km drive (70 or so miles) around the island, we saw lots of jungle, scenery, villages, and farms. It was funny to see this cattle farm with all the palm trees! The beef was excellent there, by the way, due to the grass fed cows and so much available land.

 We stopped at a few villages. Some have signs like this, some don't. They almost all have some sort of a market staffed by some local ladies. We bought a bunch of bananas from this one.

This is the ocean right off the side of the road where two WWII American tanks were in the water. No idea why, but kind of interesting to see them.

This was just a huge, beautiful tree. Sael told us that the wood for this tree was very expensive to buy in carvings and things.

You have to take a close look at this. During the war, the US built the letters U - S - A up in dirt mounds so they could see them at the US air strip here. This is the U. It is the only one you can still see today.

Next stop, Hot Springs in Nasinu. Now, we were told that due to volcanic activity, these natural springs produced healing water and mud. They said you first, roll in the mud pool, then rinse in the second pool, and finally, soak in the resting pool. It was cold outside, but that wasn't the only reason we didn't get in. Very interesting, though! And, they speak French and English on the island, as well as a bunch of local dialects. The common language is English Pidgin, which is pretty funny to read. Part of it is adding blong to lots of phrases. Take a look at the sign below that has English, Pidgin, and French.

Here is the healing mud pool. Would you "get in" this?

Next, the rinsing pool. Dan didn't get in.

Finally, the resting pool. Did I mention they were as hot as hell?!!

This one, I think, was where they are going to build a sauna over it to complete the spa experience - not joking.

And, after spending our whooping $2 each to learn about this (it really was interesting), we met three goats running toward our car!

When we got on the road again, I saw this family of little piggies as we were driving and we slowed down to take a picture - so cute!

Vanuatu - Part 2

We really relaxed the first day or so and then we went to the main town of Port Villa. It is a fairly small town which accommodates both the local and tourist needs. It is nothing like you'd find in a large Caribbean tourist city, but does have the occasional souvenir shop or ex pat-type bar for tourists. Everyone was very friendly and it was easy to get around. Food was really good every where we went.

While we were there, it was a bit windy and cool, low 70s ish. We enjoyed this fresh piece of Wahoo at a place called the Anchor Inn and enjoyed a Vanuatu beer.

From the Anchor Inn, we could see several ships. This big one with the four masts had recently come in from Panama where there was a tip that there were drugs on board and the newspaper over the whole week had articles about it. The owner fled and the head of the police or investigative office or something was under charges at the end of the week for possibly having helped him flee!

 This was just a slide in front of a park that led to the harbour. I've never seen that before.

 Here is one of the large public markets - loads of fruit, vegetables, roots, and other things.

 This is a spot we stopped for a beer at and I played with the fancy features on my new camera!

One of the things The Havannah offers is a free ride to Lelepa Island. You buys a picnic through them and they take you there and back. It is about a 30 minute boat ride on a small boat. Once there, we felt like we were on a desert island. It was also the best weather day we had on the main island - one of the highlights of our trip!

Here is our driver and the hotel in the background.

This is Dan with the picnic basket and rustic bench where our picnic was held.

 Look how clear the water was!

 We both swam and snorkeled a bit. Not too many fish that we saw during this short time, but some really beautiful coral!

 Look at the blue coral!

 Cheers!

The next day we travelled to Tanna Island for our favourite part of the trip!

Vanuatu - Part 1

After investigating many different locations for our first vacation outside of Australia since moving here, we decided on Vanuatu. Why, you may ask? Or, where you might ask? Well, for one, we have always wanted to go to the South Pacific. It sounds so dreamy and conjures up images of open, endless beaches and breezes. For another, I had never even heard of it (and, yes, it is an actual country) until moving here - what could be more exotic than that? And, it had come highly recommended from several good friends....Finally, though, after viewing, Meet the Natives, on TV, and learning of Tanna Island and the villagers there, I knew that I had to meet these fascinating people (which we actually did!).

After much research and discussion, we agreed to start in the main island of Efate and relax at a posh resort for some much needed R&R and to then venture to the rustic and exotic island of Tanna Island to both meet the natives, so to speak, and to view an active volcano. I'd missed a trip to a volcano is Costa Rica years ago and have regretted it since. Finally, we closed our trip with a final night on the main island again at a traditional hotel for some much needed hot water, shower, and western comforts. This was one of the most amazing trips of our lives and we hope you will enjoy seeing the detailed account of our trip.

On August 3rd, we set out on the 3 hour or so flight to Efate, where we were staying at the amazing Havannah Hotel, where there are less than 20 bungalows and an aura of barefoot luxury. After a 30 minute ride from the airport, we arrived in paradise late afternoon.

This is the lovely welcome drink we received upon arrival.

 We had a little private plunge pool overlooking the ocean. It was a little windy while we were there so that felt kind of cold, but we really enjoyed lounging in the chairs, reading, and listening to the water.

 This was the view from our room.

 A little dark, but this was our room.

 Lovely fresh flowers in our room.

 Christmas tree on the grounds - they call these trees that because they flower at Christmas!

 Beautiful flowers on the grounds of the hotel.

 Our bungalow from outside.

I'll pick up on the next post with our first trip to Port Villa, the main city on the island.

Southern Highlands

We had a great long weekend in the Southern Highlands a couple months ago and we didn't post much about it. Here are a few pictures of our time there. We would definitely go back, essentially, it is very peaceful and full of nature. In addition, there are beautiful gardens all around. It reminded Tom and Ellen of the UK quite a bit, especially the gardens and a couple really charming pubs.

OK, well, this was in Sydney, not the Southern Highlands, but I ordered this champagne/rose drink that was just fabulous at the wine bar in Surry Hills. Lovely place and great drink.

This is the Southern Highlands and the view from our house, so peaceful.

 This is Dan and I at a really charming pub we found.

 Check out Tom and Dan on the side of the road--we passed this truck and had to have a pic.

 I was getting over something back then, so didn't go, but Tom, Ellen, and Dan went to the falls and got some fabulous pictures.

 This is one of the many pictures they got of the beautiful gardens.

We would definitely go back, lovely time.