S. Pacific 2004: 6

Monday, October 25, 2004

I forgot to mention that when leaving Lord Howe Island yesterday there was no security check, baggage search or anything along that line but each passenger was weighed along with each piece of their baggage. It had been just the opposite in Sydney, where they didn't mind me carrying my belongings on board but I was through security several times.

This morning I arranged a hire car and headed into the city of Port Vila. It is a fairly modern small city, with a good size open market and a lot of shops. Most products and services are available. I called into the office of Air Vanuatu to confirm my ongoing flight for Wednesday and arrange a seat I could fit in. It seems it will be a small plane as far as Noumea, New Caledonia.

I located a good Internet provider and spent over an hour getting caught up on emails. Karen sent the newspaper articles which she wrote for the Marshall Islands Review and for the Sydney Sunday Telegraph. I have attached them for those of you who may be interested.

After a walk around town I headed off to do the 135 km drive around the Island of Efate, where the City of Port Vila is located, stopping at various points of interest along the way. I hiked up a trail along a beautiful stream where water cascades down in a series of waterfalls into clear pools. After a climb of about 20 minutes, a fair bit of which was done in bare feet up the river itself, I came to the spectacular Mele-Maat Cascades. They tumble down a high 'U' shaped! cliff into pools at the bottom. Most of the face of the cliff is covered by falling water as the river breaks into many individual falls. I swam for a while in the pools, which felt great after the hot, sticky climb to the falls. No one else was there, and it was with reluctance I dragged myself away. It would be a wonderful spot to spend a day with a picnic.

Once leaving the falls trail the road climbed steeply towards the interior, and deteriorated into a series of interconnected potholes in what had once been pavement. The view of the area from the top of the hill was well worth a stop. As I drove through the mountainous interior of the island I saw no signs of human inhabitation, only lush tropical jungle. On the trip around the island I didn't pass a car an hour. Traffic was not a problem! Eventually the road descended on the northwest side of the island, offering beautiful views of the neighbouring islands.

As the road levelled out along the coast I took various tracks that seemed they might lead to a beach. On one of these a pickup truck was parked on the beach with a couple of island men sitting beside it. It turned out that they live on the closest offshore island, where I could see a village and sand beach. Dugout canoes were lined up near us on the shore. The community of islanders jointly own the truck, and use it to make the drive into Port Vila to sell fish and buy essentials. The islanders fish, grow their own crops and raise chickens and animals for food. There is no public transportation on or to the island, they travel in their canoes. The sea in this area is well protected by the surrounding group of islands and was like a millpond.

One of the fellows pointed out the three locations around the bay that were used for the filming of the TV show "Survivor". He had been hired to do some work for the company when they were filming. It seemed the show was quite an economic benefit to the island, Port Vila included.

Most island people are tri-lingual; speaking English, French and the pidgin based local language Bislama, so communication was not usually difficult. Once out of town everyone along the road calls out a greeting, smiles and waves. It is no problem to stop anywhere there are people and strike up a conversation.

The main road at this point had turned into a rutted dirt track. On some hills there was no gravel or cover on the bedrock, it was just rock cleared of vegetation. I'd have felt better with a 4 wheel drive, but the tiny rental car valiantly made it over all obstacles.

Having missed lunch and found there was nothing in the way of places to eat outside Port Vila, I pulled in at a sign that said, "Nagara Resort, Restaurant & Bar, Everyone Welcome". There was indeed a resort with five cabins on a beautifully sheltered bay, and a large main building with dining room and bar - but it was deserted. I walked around the place, in and out of buildings, none of which were locked and still no one. A stocked bar was behind a grillwork. Theft would not seem to be a problem!

I was getting in the car to leave when I spotted a fellow walking by, so stopped to ask him about the place. It turned out it is owned by the chief of the local village, and the person I was talking to was the general manager. He offered to open the bar to sell me a cold beer, so we had a talk. Apparently the odd bus tour will come out here for lunch, but business was slow. The rates were reasonable enough at $18.50 per person including breakfast, but he said their marketing was not too good - a bit of an understatement as they have neither internet nor fax.

The road gradually turned south and headed down the east coast, obviously the windward side of the island, as waves were crashing into the lava rock coastline. I stopped at a place where a small river had cut a passage through the lava rock, to walk out to a small point jutting into the sea. The whole area was undermined by lava tubes, giving an eerie moaning sound as the waves forced air through the passages. In some places tubes had collapsed, creating salt water pools connected to the ocean. A fisherman with nets wrapped around him was standing on the point, so we talked for a short while, although he spoke very little English. Life out of Port Vila is very much as it has always been.

Back at the hotel I had a couple of drinks and dinner on the dock which pokes into the lagoon. There are floodlights shining on the water, and being the only person eating at the time I selected the prime table right at the end. The sea was alive with schools of various types of fish. This was the live entertainment as I tried island specialties for dinner. The kumara & ginger soup was excellent, and the coconut crab was huge - I couldn't finish it all. Coconut crabs come from the Torres Group of northern islands.

Vanuatu was settled around 1,500 BC by people from Papua New Guinea who arrived via the Solomon Islands. A large number of Central Pacific Polynesians settled here between the 11th and 15th century as well. The first European to see the islands was a Spaniard in May, 1606 and the second a Frenchman in May 1768. Captain Cook was here to chart the islands in 1774, naming them the New Hebrides.

The first missionary arrived in 1839 and the locals, being cannibals, had him for dinner. The same fate befell a group of Polynesian teachers sent from Samoa. The islanders were likely quite keen on this influx of visitors! Eventually European diseases decimated the population, religion was established, European settlers arrived and cannibalism was banished.

In 1906 the Anglo-French Condominium gave joint administration powers to the British and French. The US military arrived in force in 1942 to establish the largest Pacific base outside of Hawaii with over 100,000 personnel. The name was changed to Vanuatu in July, 1980 when the island group became independent. According to residents corruption got into full swing, and is still doing well today.

It is worthwhile visiting some of the other mountainous, volcanic islands. On 680 sq. km. Ambrym there are twin volcanoes. It is possible to look into them and see actual lava lakes swirling and spitting in endless fury.

3,677 sq. km. Espiritu Santo is the largest island in the group, and is where Lieutenant James A. Michener was stationed at the huge US base during WWII. He wrote "Tales of the South Pacific" there. The SS President Coolidge, a liner turned troopship, provides the worlds largest intact shipwreck available to divers. It and the destroyer USS Tucker sank in Santos harbour, victims of US laid mines. Million Dollar point, a popular diving spot, is where the military dumped enormous amounts of material, weapons, vehicles and other war supplies into the ocean.

Malakula, the second largest island at 2,023 sq. km., is famous for its cultural and linguistic diversity. The 20,000 residents have over 30 distinct languages between them and there is a wide variety of cultural arts and crafts.

438 sq.km. Pentecost is likely the most famous island, and attracts enormous numbers of tourists during April, May and the first week of June when the "land divers", with vines tied around their ankles, dive off high platforms. The vines are supposed to stop their plunge inches from the ground. The ritual to celebrate the yam harvest is called N'gol, and is likely the origin of bungee jumping. Daily flights carry visitors to the island during the season.

Tanna, a 565 sq. km. island, is also noted for people keeping faithfully to traditional ways of life. It is possible to take overnight tours, or to fly over in the morning and back in the afternoon. It is famous for its accessible active volcano, where a 4 X 4 can deliver the visitor to within 150 metres of the crater. A 10 minute walk allows viewing of the lava erupting inside the volcano. It is said to be best when viewed at night.

In Vanuatu both tipping and bargaining are frowned upon, with neither practiced by the local people. Hotel and car rentals are expensive - expect to pay over a hundred a night for a fairly average hotel room. The least expensive rental I could find was $75 per day including insurance, taxes and 200 free km. for a tiny car.

Tuesday, October 26, 2004

This morning my knees, not in good shape at the best of times, were letting me know on no uncertain terms their displeasure at the cycling and hiking of the last while, and of being crammed into the tiny Kanzil rental car for hours on end.

I'd thought of going scuba diving today, but the morning was cloudy and grey so I gave the idea up and headed off in search of some recommended beaches and the golf club. I did find a battered sign that indicated a golf club was nearby one point, but after an hour and a half on unbelievably bad roads I had located neither the golf club nor the beaches, so I gave it up and came back to the hotel for a horrible sandwich of raw bacon and thin sliced old tomato. The Tusker beers that washed it down were alright, though. There are few directional signs on the island and the available maps are hopeless.

I'm going to head back to the internet cafe to send this as I have both the time and functioning internet to work with. Tomorrow will be a brutal 4 AM departure from the hotel for the flight to Noumea, New Caledonia, in order to connect with the Air New Zealand flight to Auckland. More when the opportunity arises!