Vanuatu
- Aaron & Clare
- 22. Apr. 2020
- 5 Min. Lesezeit
Aktualisiert: 7. Juni 2020
Pearl of the South Pacific
In 2005, Clare discovered the beauty of Vanuatu - a small country with 80 islands and a population of 276'000. In 2007 we had the chance to join the first Coral Princess Cruise (now Coral Expeditions) to discover some lesser known islands. We went to places where almost no other tourists had ever been. As we fell in love with this country we returned again in 2013 to buy some land for a future property along a beautiful white-sandy beach on Efate.
Our short blog about this authentic paradise in the South Pacific includes only a few of the islands. We hope you enjoy and start planning your trip for when the borders re-open after the Covid-19 crisis! (Very fortunately the virus hasn't hit Vanuatu and we hope it stays that way.
Efate
Port Vila is the capital of Vanuatu with the international airport and is where most tourists will arrive from Australia, New Zealand or other South Pacific islands like Fiji or New Caledonia. The infrastructure on Efate is at its best of all of the islands with a great variety of hotels and restaurants. We usually stayed at the beautiful boutique Hotel, Tamanu on the beach, and is also where we found the land that we bought in 2013.
The Efate ring road is a great trip to do with a rental car. It's a 120km scenic drive with many opportunities for sightseeing. The ring road starts and ends in Port Vila.If you drive around clock-wise then soon after the airport you will find the beautiful Mele cascade waterfalls in the rainforest. From here take the steep road over a pass with a wonderful view of the west coast from the top.
From there you will arrive at Havannah Bay. This was a shelter port for the Americans during WW2 and from here you can take a boat excursion accompanied by dolphins to a small uninhabited island with some great snorkelling.
For more snorkelling, drive along the north coast and turn off to a place called Top Rock. The place also offers a nice lookout. If you get hungry then you shouldn’t miss the Orovy Beach Restaurant, where the fresh fish and perfect location are devine!
A next stop is all the way down the west coast to Eton with a beautiful blue swimming hole. The local kids had great fun jumping from the bridge into the blue water. Around Banana Bay there are little bays that can be reached through a forest of pandanus trees.
Heading back to Port Vila don't miss the detour to the most beautiful beach on the island at Narpow Point (image of our land below).
Another nice drive for a lunch break is along the Pango road. From Port Vila head toward the harbour and then continue until the road ends at the Paradise Cove Resort. Just another perfect spot to enjoy the beauty of the island.
And finally, a must-do in Port Vila is visit the colourful bustling market. Buy some local fish, fruit and veggies for a BBQ. And what you can't find at the market you can get at one of the excellent Au Bon Marché supermarkets.
Tanna
This is a must-see island not only because of one of the worlds most easily accessible active volcanos, Mt Yasur. Take a half-day tour from your resort (we love the White Grass Ocean Resort) where you can enjoy a tribal dance performance and the active volcano at sunset. During the tour you will also see the natural beauty of Tanna and more than likely, some wild horses. On Mt. Yasur you will be driven almost to the top – then it’s a short 10 minute walk to the edge of the Caldera.
Mt. Yasur at 361 m above sea-level, is considered one of the most active ones in the world with up to 500 explosions each day. We read that the level of activity remained constant since Captain Cook discovered the island in 1774. From our experiences having stood at the top of the volcano in 2005, in 2007 and in 2018, we had the impression that on our first visits the volcano was slightly more activebut we heard that it depends on the level of rainfall too.
Tanna is also the name of a movie that we can highly recommend to learn more about the customs in Vanuatu which are still in place. Click on this link and you can see the official trailer of the movie.
Pentecost
This island is really the place where “Bungee Jumping” originated – here it is a ritual and called Land Diving. An absolutely authentic and amazing experience! Watching these young men jump off their constructed tower really is mind-blowing. The whole ceremony starts with women, men and children dancing and then one by one the men jump - starting from the lowest level to the highest (see our video). The sound at the end is not the cracking of the men's bones (!) but of the bamboo which is the only 'flexible' tool in this procedure. The ritual is done at the time of the yam harvest (from April to end of June) and is performed by the men who jump off wooden towers that are about 20-30 m in height. They wrap treevines around their ankles and they jump without any safety equipment other than the vines.
You can organise a trip from Efate from where you fly in and out the same day in a small propeller plane. On the way you have beautiful views of other islands such as Epi or the active volcanoes of Ambrym. The plane lands on natural ground and you will be welcomed by the friendly village people. The flight alone is worth the adventure.
Espirito Santo
This is the second most developed island with some very beautiful places to stay and the only other international airport of the islands. There are some fantastic swimming holes called blue holes on the island.
Other than that, there is one of the most splendid beaches on the island (Champagne Beach). Santo is a great place for divers as it also offers one of the largest and most accessible ship wrecks in the world - the USS President Coolidge.
Malekula
We discovered this island on our cruise expedition and the cultural experience was unforgettable. We were invited to two ceremonies and we were probably some of the first tourists ever visiting their village. Therefore, the dances and ceremonies were fully authentic.
Malekula is a paradise for language scientists. There are about 30 different languages spoken on this island! The two famous tribes are the Small Nambas and the Large Nambas. The name comes from the size of the penis shafts that are made out of pandanus and banana leaves. There are still cannibal sites to be found on this island.
Ambrym
Ambrym is a volcanic island where volcano-addicts can take the hike to the top and camp overnight. There are different treks up to view these powerful volcanoes with their bubbling lava lakes. An overnight on top of the rim with the lava illuminating the night sky is certainly an unforgettable adventure.
This is also the place where black magic, sand drawings and Rom Dance is practiced.
Epi
Seeing Epi from the air is also amazing. Epi is known for its dugong population where you can often swim with them and also with turtles. Imagine chartering a boat and sailing throughout these beautiful islands! …It's time to plan our next trip… we will see you soon again, Vanuatu!
We hope you enjoyed this little insight to an authentic piece of paradise in the South Pacific. There are more photos in our Photo Gallery.
A caring country with regards to sustainability: have a look at this report from BBC about the plastic ban in Vanuatu which was recently introduced:
"One crowded hour of glorious life is worth an age without a name"
(The Call - Thomas Osbert Morsdaunt, 1730-1809)
Travel blog and travel guide by Aaron Matzinger & Clare Walker
© Aaron Matzinger & Clare Walker
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