Vanuatu: Pacific Island Paradise

If you live in the UK, the chances are you either haven’t heard of Vanuatu or you’ll be familiar with it as a low scoring answer on popular afternoon quiz show Pointless with the multi-talented Alexander Armstrong. For the uninitiated, it’s an island nation, comprising some 80 islands in the South Pacific, north east of New Caledonia and west of Fiji. Before independence in 1980, it was called the New Hebrides and uniquely was controlled jointly by the French and British who had each invaded and laid a claim to different islands in the group.

It was raining when we arrived into the capital, Port Vila. “Will this last long?” I asked Eric, the affable owner of our lodgings on Efate island for the first couple of nights. He looked sagely out at the curtains of water falling from a mid-afternoon indigo sky. “Yes,” he nodded. “Cyclone Season”.  It wasn’t the last we’d see of the cyclones on our visit.

You have the watch,
but I have the time

Common saying
regarding Island Time

We soon found we needed to adjust to things happening on ‘island time’. ‘Island time’ is a common concept around the world, but few places seem to put the theory into practice with such rigour as the Ni-Vanuatu. As Vanuatu’s own tourist board suggests, we quickly found it was pointless trying to fight it, instead finding the virtue in rolling with the flow, although there is a fine line and Air Vanuatu often goes some distance beyond that line.

Air Vanuatu cancelled our flight to Tanna Island, home of the (apparently) spectacular Mount Yasur, an easily accessible and very active volcano. In fact Mount Yasur is one of the very few active volcanoes in the world where you can climb right up the crater’s edge at your own risk of a molten doom. Sadly for us and our volcano viewing dreams, due to the missing planes and cyclones and who knows what else, we couldn’t get on another flight to Tanna, bar organising a charter which wasn’t in our Vanuatu budget.

Instead, we spent a couple more days at Eric’s Blue Bay resort, along the Devil’s Point road on Mele bay. In the protected bay, the water was gloriously warm and shallow with excellent snorkelling. We visited the Beach Bar in Mele, a fun place to spend an afternoon with the added excitement of a free acrobatics show on Sunday nights! The kids loved jumping into the water off the pier along with the local children.

Espiritu Santo

With our Tanna plans scuppered, we next hopped on a flight north to Luganville on Espiritu Santo (or just Santo to the locals) known for its beaches and interesting World War II history. The day before we flew, we learnt that a magnitude 7.5 earthquake had hit Santo, triggering a tsunami alert, which thankfully did not materialise. The epicentre was around 20km offshore from Port Olry in the north of the island. Although we missed the initial quake, there were a number of after shocks which we experienced, the 5.7 one while we were in a treehouse being the most memorable of these.

We started and finished our trip to Santo with a few days at the Beachfront Resort, a 20 minute walk to the west of Luganville in an attractive setting on a calm beach. A relaxing spot, there were kayaks and snorkelling equipment to borrow, a pool which Odessa spent most of her time in playing with other visiting kids, wifi available in the bar and ever helpful staff. There was also a small kitchenette which was a useful cost saving measure for catering. One evening, we found ourselves in the company of the deputy prime minister and finance minister of Vanuatu and their somewhat substantial entourage. They were all very friendly and had a meeting with kava included in a meeting area directly outside our room at the resort. The security detail seemed to be particularly hungry.

Million Dollar Point

Despite being the largest island of Vanuatu, there was very little on Santo until the Americans arrived in 1942 looking to increase their position in the Pacific and building the largest military base in the region (you’ll be familiar with Rodgers and Hammerstein’s South Pacific, based on Camp Button here). At the end of the war, transport ships were in short supply so the Americans prioritised returning troops and offered all their equipment: vehicles, furniture, crockery, bottles of coke etc. to the French who controlled this part of Vanuatu at the time at a knock down price. The French, assuming the stuff would be left for them anyway refused to pay, so, just to spite them, the Americans dumped hundreds of tonnes of equipment into the sea. Now, you can dive, snorkel or just beach comb around all the military junk. We found some complete cola bottles, crockery with US naval anchors stamped on them, medical bottles and a load of other interesting bits and pieces in an afternoon at the beach. We had lunch at the Million Dollar Resort and had a look at the little museum the proprietor Gilbert has put together of some of his finds from the site. He was a wealth of information on both the war history and in general tips for visiting the island. The kids were fascinated learning that the coke bottles are all stamped with a date and the location in the US that they came from. Nearby is the wreck of the USS President Coolidge, which sank after hitting a mine when arriving in dock and promptly sank and is now a popular dive site.

Continuing the World War II theme, we enjoyed a morning at the small, but excellent South Pacific WWII museum. The museum concentrates on the story of the Coolidge wreck, a luxury ocean liner later converted to a US troop ship. The museum comes alive with the knowledgeable staff, videos of interviews with survivors and key artefacts such as the ship’s bell and whistle. There are plans to build a much more ambitious museum on the site to tell more stories of Santo during the war. Hopefully work will start on this in 2023, but it has been delayed by Covid among other things.

Sampling kava

Kava is the local firewater in the South Pacific, with the Vanuatan version being considerably more potent than other island versions. It is not alcoholic, but has sedative and relaxant effects. Roadside kava stands are common, opening in the afternoon and evening where people take a couple of kavas after work with friends. It is part of the social fabric, and so we had little choice to try it too. Lengkon (one of the leading staff at Beachfront Resort in Luganville), on hearing our interest in trying kava, soon revealed himself as something of a kava enthusiast. Before we knew it we were off to the Starfish Bar and ready to down some of the suspicious looking liquid, which looks a lot like muddy river water. It is bought in 100VUV or greater bowls and downed in one. It is produced by soaking and crushing the roots of the kava (Piper methysticum – the clue to it’s effects is in the name) plant, then cutting it with water. Kava root is rapidly overtaking coconuts as Santo’s largest export. The kids were excited to have their first taste of fanta pineapple, the food was excellent and the staff brought out an array of toys for Rafe and Odessa to play with.

Port Olry

Many of the attractions of Santo are located along the east coast between Luganville and Port Olry. Tourists will often base themselves in Luganville and take a day trip to see the sights, Champagne beach, a swim in one of the spectacular blue holes, lunch in Port Olry and then back in the evening. There is public transport along this road, consisting of small buses and pickup trucks who can be hailed anywhere along the road. However, these buses travel south to Luganville in the mornings, and back north to Port Olry in the afternoons, not the way tourists wish to travel. The way to use the buses is to take one in the afternoon straight up to Port Olry, stay there overnight and then take day trips down the coast, returning in the afternoon. (Thanks to Gilbert at Million Dollar Bay for this tip!)

We travelled up the coast to Hideaway Paradise, a couple of kilometres south of Port Olry. It is a wonderful place to escape, very much feeling like being dropped into Robinson Crusoe’s desert island. Little but ourselves, the ocean and the charming proprietor and his family. While Pedro Snr was ultimately in charge, it was his grandson Pedro Jnr and his mother that we saw most often. Pascale, Pedro’s father was away working in Australia at the time.

We stayed in the treehouse for the maximum adventurous experience although we could also have chosen the ground level family bungalow with balcony over the sea. While facilities were naturally basic we were surprised to find that the treehouse had an ensuite including a shower and a functioning toilet with a seat and lid (neither a given here). Not only did it have a functioning toilet but the treehouse seemed quite resilient to the couple of ~5.5 earthquake aftershocks overnight. Of course the height above sea level of the treehouse would also be handy should a tsunami have struck.

Our days at the Hideaway were spent snorkeling, kayaking, reading and generally playing with sand. Along the beach, cold water springs bubble up through the sand which were fun to dig down to and feel the icy water in contrast to the hot air and sea. Within minutes of arriving, Rafe and Jim were in the water and swimming the few hundred metres across to a small island in the bay. One morning, Pedro was gracious enough to take Rafe fishing which he enjoyed immensely; regular readers will be aware of Rafe’s newfound enthusiasm for fishing on this trip. Hermit crabs were hunted and sacrificed as bait and it worked, as they caught a couple of fish from the shore.

Pedro Jnr’s work was never done as he also took to the kitchen producing some great tasting and hearty evening meals. The setting at Hideaway is fantastic but for us and particularly the kids the opportunity to engage with the ever enthusiastic Pedro Jnr and his sisters who were always keen for a game of football really made the stay here.

After Hideaway Paradise, we moved on those few kilometres north into Port Olry itself. French-speaking Port Olry lies at the end of the sealed road north on the east coast of Espiritu Santo. One wouldn’t describe it as a large place, boasting perhaps 50 small traditional homes, but it is without doubt the largest settlement on Santo aside from Luganville. It certainly feels several steps more remote than Luganville. Another slice of paradise greeted us at Chez Louis with a very different coastline. The coral of Hideaway provided easily accessed snorkelling whereas at Chez Louis the protected bay was completely clear like a great big warm swimming pool.

We moved into our bungalow behind the main building at the relatively more commercial Chez Louis. Overall accommodations were similar to those at Hideaway save for the addition of electricity here between the hours of 6am and midnight (provided for the whole village by a generator). Each lunchtime, a small smattering of tourists would arrive to enjoy an excellent lunch – particularly famous for their reasonably priced lobsters.

The real magic of Port Olry is in staying for a few days. Once those lunchtime tourists had left, we had acres of perfect white sand and crystal clear water just to us, the local fishermen, kids from the village splashing in the surf and enormous fruit bats who flew across from the neighbouring islands in search of dinner at dusk. Coconut crabs, the largest terrestrial arthropod in the world, are to be found in the bush in Vanuatu. If you ask, the Chez Louis staff will show you one.

Another cyclone, Irene, blew into town while we were at Chez Louis. The roof of our bungalow stayed intact, but we did need to stay in the bar for most of a day playing cards games (Go Fish and Exploding Kittens mostly), as well as a handy chance to catch up on school work.

Odessa has long held on to happy memories of pony parties with Little Trotters at home in Chobham. And so it was that anything on horseback entered her wishlist for this trip, and we had heard that there might be some available in Olry. One morning both Odessa and Rafe had a fabulous time aboard their horses walking back and forth along the beach flitting in and out of the surf.

It’s said about a lot of places, but the friendly disposition of the people really makes Vanuatu special. From Eric on Efate who happily drove us about in his blue and barely roadworthy bus on some very bumpy roads, Solomon the taxi driver in Luganville who pulled a large machete in Crocodile Dundee style from beneath his seat ‘for dealing with coconuts’, Lengkon who selflessly left work early to introduce us to kava and Pedro Jnr, who, with his father in Australia picking fruit was pretty much running the family business at Hideaway Bungalows. We enjoyed learning a little of the local creole language Bislama, one of three official languages alongside English and French. “Tangkyu tumas” (thank you) “Jis!” (Cheers!) and “Sip blong mi we i flae antap long solwater be i no flae hae tumas, i fulap long ilfis” (my hovercraft is full of eels).

Top tips

Few people approaching with a large machete are actually a threat. Nevertheless it is still a good idea to deploy a wide grin and a hearty “Whatto!”

Explorers through the ages

Vanuatu is on the face of it not a particularly cheap place to visit. Tourist prices for food are roughly equivalent to Australia (where most visitors hail from), although accommodation is slightly less. Port Vila is by someway the most expensive place, and the more remote you get the cheaper things become. However, there are always ways to economise.

• Bring snacks to Port Olry otherwise you will be paying for all meals at restaurants with unpredictable opening hours. There are some ‘front room of a house’ stores there but you’ll need to hunt them out
• Bring cash to Port Olry. Chez Louis takes cards when the mobile network is up, and someone who knows how to work the machine is about, but nowhere else does
• The contact details for Hideaway Paradise Bungalows are +6785972472 coolcachoo@gmail.com. However with Pascale and his mobile phone away in Australia we couldn’t get through on that number to check availability. Nor was the email address serviced. In the end we simply took the gamble and headed north regardless, on the basis that if they had no space we would carry on into Port Olry itself. We later found out that Facebook messenger – for people who use the socials – is often the favoured way to communicate with many establishments. Facebook data is provided free by the local mobile companies so it is extensively used. There are probably sufficient bungalows in Port Olry that there is little risk of not finding a roof for the night somewhere up there
• The south east coast road from Luganville to Port Olry is perhaps the best road on the island, pretty smooth tarmac all the way. Take a taxi for ~7kVUV, or take one of the many Utes / public transport from the Pacific petrol station in Luganville around 1500hrs for ~500VUV one way. They come back down from Port Olry around 0900hrs each morning. The Ute option is fine, but if its raining it will be damp in the back there. Incidentally the road was laid by the Australians. Along the way you will pass several school buildings donated by the Chinese. These investments are definitely not related to the fact that Luganville offers the best deep water anchorage in this part of the Pacific; indeed it was the US Navy’s biggest base outside of Pearl Harbour in the Pacific during the war
• Green coconuts for coconut water are around 30VUV each from the roadside and great value. Coconuts at the roadside are invariably supplied with complimentary machete
• Malaria is endemic throughout Vanuatu, one of the few places outside of Africa and certain central American countries. You’ll need antimalarials and take precautions not to be bitten including sleeping under bug nets. The malaria carrying mosquitos bite between dusk and dawn, but there are plenty of other species about ready to bite you any time of day, particularly Rafe who is a tasty little chap
• A folding solar panel for charging devices would have been a useful addition to our packs in the more remote parts of Vanuatu, an essential if you plan a long stay outside of the main towns
• Snorkelling at Million Dollar Point costs 500VUV per adult. Or why not have lunch at Gilbert’s Million Dollar Point Resort and snorkel for free from his beach. This also has the benefit of being able to leave your bags in his cafe, much safer than the beach just up the coast at the Point itself
• At one point, keen not to miss our flight to Port Vila and connect to Fiji, Jim took to tracking the movements of Air Vanuatu’s 737 online – very effective, as there is only one

How we did it

From camper vans in New Zealand to island paradise. Fortunately for us, Fiji Airways had restarted it’s direct flight from Christchurch to Nadi, Fiji. A swift overnight in Fiji and then we were on the hour long hop to Port Vila, Vanuatu’s capital. We were then at the mercy of Air Vanuatu to get away from the relatively uninspiring capital out to the islands, and were soon to learn that being in the hands of Air Vanuatu is never a good thing. This is a shame as we had envisaged us hopping happily between several of the islands. As it was, with the Tanna Island flights cancelled we only visited Efate and Espiritu Santo but still had a fabulous time in this pacific island paradise. The moral here is to never rely on Air Vanuatu – leave at least a couple of days buffer between important connections with them involved. They seem to have significantly fewer aircraft than they need to fly their base schedule.