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Vanuatu - Knocking on Devils Door

Part 12 - Around the World 06/2015 - 02/2016

By Beyond All Maps - Portraits of our Planet by Thorsten Mehret

September 17^th, 2015

Introduction

Vanuatu is one of my favorite pacific countries so far, because it´s so diverse. Put fantastic wreck diving, active volcanoes, remote local villages with intact original culture, smiling people, beautiful rainforest, waterfalls, caves, gorges, blue holes and last but not least fantastic palm fringed beaches with turquoise water together and you have a perfect holiday mix - VANUATU

Vanuatu, with 83 islands and 240.000 residence today, has an interesting history. It became independent in 1980 from France and UK. It was colonized from settlers of both countries and therefore the two countries signed an agreement to make the area an anglo-french condominium. In fact there were 3 governments, a French and British and a joint administration. Every member of one residency always had an exact mirror opposite number on the other side who they could consult and had to make decision together, leading to many double structures and a complex way to manage the country. In court locals could choose if to be tried under British or French law, the police was split in two groups with different uniforms, there were British and French schools, etc. Also nowadays both languages are widely spoken together with the local language Bislama.

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Arrival

After Pam, one of the strongest cyclones ever, hit Vanuatu with wind speeds of more than 300km/h in March 2015 I first was not sure what to do. Finally I decided to visit Santo which was not much affected and to check out the situation in strongly hit Tanna after my arrival in Vanuatu, as I badly wanted to see the active volcano on that island.

Santo - Luganville

Luganville is the biggest settlement on Santo. It´s not overly appealing but a good base to explore the island. Small food stalls sell surprisingly good and cheap food just next to the markets. It´s fun to watch the chefs during the preparation. I stayed in in a guesthouse wich was run by a lovely and always helpful couple. Some of the guest were foreign medicine students, locally called the “Baby Docs”. As there was not much to do in the hospital, there was enough time for them to explore the island and I joined in several times.

SANTO - MIllenium CAVE Tour

This day tour is one of the highlights in Santo. A very scenic combination of rainforest walk, caving, canyoning and floating in a spectacular gorge. A must do but beware of slippery rocks, I know what I´m talking about ;-) The money for the tour is also well spend as it goes completely to the village community and is used for the schools, etc.

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Steep and slippery descend to the caves entrance

SANTO - ON the Road

A big part of Santo is still unaccessible by car and can be only reached by foot or boat on the coast. A couple of years ago the road on the east cost was tarred and therefore the whole area can be visited easily in a day tour nowadays. I arranged a taxi and with an early start made me on the way.

I learned quickly, that all the land is privately owned and accordingly for every sight an entrance fee is asked for. For simple locations it´s only 500 Vatu (4 to 5 US), but mostly it´s like 1000 Vatu and for the famous Champagne Beach even 2000 Vatu. It´s on one site understandable, especially if the owners provide extra facilities but on a day tour where you have a look at many spots it adds up quickly.

SANTO - RIRI RIRI River and BLUE HolE

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SANTO - VELIT BAY

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Santo - Port Olry

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SANto - Lonnoc Beach

A very nice and relaxing place. Next time I would probably stay here for a couple of days in the basic but fully sufficient huts.

Santo - Champagne Beach

A 5min walk from Lonnoc Beach is the famous and most beautiful beach on Santo. If a cruise ship is around it´s full of people otherwise almost deserted.

santo - On the road again

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Santo - Million Dollar Point

To avoid transport cost the US-Military dumped all kind of military equipment in this area after WW2. Boats, Trucks, Jeeps even Coke bottles can be found from shore down to 50m depth in the water. An Eldorado for divers and snorkelers.

Santo - Diving the SS President Coolidge

With roughly 200m length the SS President Coolidge is one of the biggest dive-able wrecks in the world. The 1931 build luxury ocean liner was used a troopship from 1941 and was sunk by friendly mines in 1942. I met a diver from Australia who did more than 60 dives on the ship an still regularly comes back. There is a lot to sea e.g. guns, cannons, Jeeps, helmets, trucks and personal supplies, as well as the beautiful statue of “The Lady“. I did 3 dives, the last one going down to the engine room on 48m and then making the way up in the ship to the bow at 21m. It was an amazing dive but I could already feel the narcotic effect of the nitrogen a state similar to alcohol intoxication that often becomes more serious and therefore dangerous from 40m on. After the dive I decided to set 40m as my personal max. depth as I´m just not feeling comfortable going deeper.

Unfortunately the GoPro did´t work well in the rather dark environment inside the ship so I haven´t got many usable picture.

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Fun at the Blue Holes

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Faces of Vanuatu

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Flight to Tanna Island

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Tanna - After the Cyclon

Tanna was the Island most badly hit by Pam in March 2015. Pictures in the news showed trees and bushes without any leaves left, many felled. Most wooden houses and the crops were destroyed and two people died. Although still some damages could be seen I was overall positively surprised. Especially mother nature seemed to recover quite fast, as the whole island was covered in a lush green.

Tanna - The Ash Plane

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Tanna - Accomodation

There are a couple of basic accommodations close to the volcano. They are all in a beautiful green setting, some of them having treehouses with view of the volcano. Most of the treehouses were destroyed during the cyclone and only few are already up again yet. This was also the case with my accommodation so I stayed in a normal hat. Basic but clean, an very close to the volcano, so that even the rumbling could be heart.

Tanna - Mt. Yasur

It´s said to be the most accessible volcano on earth. Actually a 4WD can bring your directly to the base and a further 20min walk to the top. It´s an outstanding experience, one of the highlights in my live without a doubt. Standing on the rim of an active volcano and watching the continuous ground shaking eruptions is beyond any description. The first eruptions my fleeing instinct was on a severe alert, although the activity was only on level 1, meaning the lava bombs stay inside the crater. On level 2 they will shoot on the rim or above and a level 3 the bush around the volcano is burning due to the lava bombs. I visited the crater 4 times, 2 times at sunrise and 2 times at sunset and it was always an spectacle. At the last visit some lava bombs made it to the rim just 50 m away from me. I learned that in this case running away is a stupid idea, as you don´t see the possible lava bombs in your back. Therefore it´s better to watch the eruption and if required to step aside to avoid getting hit by a lava bomb. Also daylight is not optimal, as the lava bombs can´t be seen and followed as good as during the night.

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A Walk Through The Island

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Kava Bar

After the sunset we went to a bush kava bar, a small faintly lit hut in the bush. It was pitch black outside and a dozen or so men hang around very quietly. Communication was reduced to a limit. The taste of kava is a bit challenging. Actually it almost looks like dishwater and the taste is probably similar as well (never tasted dishwater).

More Volcano

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Tanna - On the Way Back to the Airport

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Port Villa

I just stayed one night in Port Villa, the capital of Vanuatu. The city is nothing to talk about, I prefer the more rural areas in Vanuatu. Many cruise ships stop in Port Villa and accordingly the city is especially catering to them.

The Final Song

This guy started to learn playing guitar 6 month ago and composed his own songs. And he was doing great.

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