Friday,
22 July to Tuesday, 2 August 2016
On
Friday, Geoff and Di (Stylopora)
joined us in Port Vila so we celebrated with dinner at the Waterfront Bar and
Grill which is part of the Yachting World facility. The meal was very good and
our waiter, Stewart, talked us into taking a tour around the island on Sunday
in one of his uncle’s busses. With a special price for yachties, an
air-conditioned bus (open the windows) and Stewart as our guide it sounded like
an excellent idea after a couple of wines! We were joined by Geoff and Di, another
Australian couple and Stewart’s wife and 2 young daughters. 24 July is
Children’s Day which is an important Vanuatu celebration and starts a week of
parties leading up to Independence Day on 30 July.
Our tour started with a visit
to the Blue Lagoon where we used a rope swing to jump into the clear water.
Stewart turned out to be a knowledgeable guide, telling us about the local
history, traditions and environment.
Lunch was at Taka Village, a small village
on the east side of Efate, where we were treated to a traditional welcome and
dancing before a not so traditional though tasty lunch. From here we continued
around the island and visited Ernest and his WW2 museum.
The highlight, for
Ernest anyway, was his collection of Coke bottles made in various US towns.
Afternoon tea was at Havannah Eco lodge, which was built to accommodate the cast
and crew of Survivor: Vanuatu, made here a few years ago. We had 4 days in Port
Vila where we bought a local SIM for internet, did the washing, got more local
currency (80 Vatu per AUD$, much better than the rate we got at home) and
visited the markets to restock the fruit and vegies. Beef at the supermarket
was good quality and very cheap compared to Noumea. On Tuesday we headed to
nearby Mele before going to Havannah Harbour, where the US navy moored their
ships during WW2.
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| First dugout canoe with vegies for sale by Noel |
We anchored in Esema Bay, and kayaked to the Blue Gold, a large steel yacht which ran
aground during Cyclone Pam last year. They had been riding out the high winds
well until they were hit by the Patrol boat which snapped one of their anchor
cables. Locals told us they are preparing to refloat it soon.
They will need
some expertise and luck as it is a very big yacht. On Friday we headed back to
Mele. On the way, Phase2 ticked over 20,000nm on the log!
We had arranged to rendezvous with Stylopora at Mele to visit the Beach Bar to see the fire dancers.
It was a good show but unfortunately,
the week of local celebrations had built so that by Friday night the LOUD music went
until 0330! The Ni-Vans (people from Vanuatu) certainly know how to enjoy
themselves.
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| No wonder the music was loud! |
On Sunday, Warren, Geoff and Di went for a snorkel at Hideway Island which I
had to miss after hurting my back hauling the dinghy up the beach (nothing too
serious luckily). We are now back in Port Vila preparing to head south to join
the Island Cruising Association rally at Aneityum Island.
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