Vanuatu Dec 11-12, 2023
Vanuatu (previously known as the New Hebrides Islands) is an archipelago nation consisting of 83 islands in the southwest Pacific Ocean, north of New Zealand and east of Australia.
Capital. Port-Vila
Currency. Vatu (VUV)
Area. 12,200km²
Population. 196,178 (July 2002 est.)
Language. English, French, and creole (known as Bislama or Bichelama) official; plus 100+ local languages
Religion. Presbyterian 36.7%, Anglican 15%, Roman Catholic 15%, indigenous beliefs 7.6%, Seventh-Day Adventist 6.2%, Church of Christ 3.8%, other 15.7% (including Jon Frum Cargo cult)
Country Code: +678
Time Zone. UTC+11
VANUATU – Summary Dec 11-12
Visa. Visa free for 30 days. Need onward ticket.
Money. Vatu (VUV). 1US$ = 122VUV; 1A$ = 78.8VUV. I never exchange money at airports as the rates are always terrible but WesternUnion was the only money exchange that accepted Solomons $ (official rate 14:1, given 11.9:1. ATM at the airport.
Flight. Dec 11. Solomon Airlines Honiara (HIR) – Port Vila (VLI) @09:00-11:00
Flight. Dec 12 Air Vanuatu Port Vila (VIJ) – Nadi (NAN) @17:50-20:35
Phone. Country code +678 Digicel in airport 350V for 2GB, 3 days, SIM 200V
Accommodation. Janesse’s Dwellery, Port Vila. vjbetleng@gmail.com +678 5321587 A$68/night (VUV 5,400). A 4-minute walk from the airport. A great place to stay. Shared bathroom, AC, kitchen with coffee, patio, great bed and a very nice woman.
Get Around. Share vans are everywhere and very cheap 150VUV per ride (look for the red B on the license plate and ask for directions). Taxis are cheaper than tours. Rent scooter.
VANUATU – SOUTH – SHEFA and TAFEA PROVINCES (Port Vila)
SHEFA PROVINCE (Port-Vila)
Day 1 Mon Dec 11
In the Solomons, I walked from Chester Guesthouse about 1 km, past Central Market and asked for the airport share van – 10SBD as I used a seat for my luggage (taxi 100).
Flight. Solomon Airlines IE722 Honiara (HIR) – Port Vila (VLI) @09:00-11:00. $601.70
Arrived, exchanged Solomon SBD to VUV, bought a Digicel SIM and data and walked 5 minutes to Janessa’s Dwellery.
EFATE ISLAND
PORT VILA (Vila) (pop 49,034, 16.3% of population of Vanuatu) is the capital and largest city of Vanuatu. It is located on the south coast island of Efate and is the economic and commercial centre of Vanuatu. On 13 March 2015, Port Vila suffered extensive damage from Cyclone Pam whose eye wall passed just to the east of Port Vila.
History. The area occupied by Port Vila has been inhabited by Melanesian people for thousands of years. Archaeology has found a burial site of 25 tombs containing three dozen skeletons of members of the Lapita culture dated to the 13th century BC.
Efate Island was charted in 1774 by James Cook, The British were initially the dominant European presence, though by the 1890s, the French established large plantations. During World War II, Port Vila was an American and Australian airbase.
The climate is a tropical rainforest climate with rainfall of 92.08 inches per year, and the wettest month is March.
Port Vila is Vanuatu’s most important harbour and the center of the country’s trade. Major industries are agriculture and fishing. Tourism is also becoming important. Vanuatu is a tax haven. Vanuatu is still dependent on foreign aid, most of which comes from Australia and New Zealand.
Languages. The day-to-day lingua franca is Bislama. Also English and French.
Christianity is the predominant religion with 90%.
Port Vila Airport (VLI)
National Museum of Vanuatu. Large exhibit on sand painting with elaborate geometric designs (one of the staff did a beautiful “blackbird ship”), stuffed animals and birds, masks, unusual headdresses, many wood statues and totems, a small bit on Roi Mata (photos of skeletons from the original excavation), and several great Lapita pots with very intricate designs (the Lapita culture arrived from Taiwan over 3000 years ago and spread over much of Melanesia and Polynesia. 1000VUV
I rented a gas 50-cc scooter from E-bikes near the museum. AUD95 – seemingly very expensive for a scooter but covered everything – no deposit, insurance included. I will use it in the morning to go to Roi Mata WHS.
Cathedral of the Sacred Heart. This RC church has 6 sets of pews surrounding the altar in a semicircle. The unusual Ways of the Cross are rustic carved wood basreliefs. Polychromes of Joseph and Jesus and a nice stained glass window in the shape of a cross. Constructed in 1950.
I ate at Port Vilu Burger, a place run by a Danish fellow. It was pretty good for Vanuatu. 1350VUV.
ON Janessa’s Dwellery. 5400VUV for a share bathroom, AC, private balcony, free breakfast, wifi, very clean, hot shower, coffee and tea. A wonderful lady (has a PhD) who has lived around the world. Share vans go by her house very regularly to get into town or Hideaway Island.
It is about 130 km to drive around the island. Most is missable. The recommended area to go is the southeast coast between Pango Village and Pang Pang Village. Recommended sites from west to east are an abandoned city and resort (Tamaru, coral road), Banana Bay Club, Blue Lagoon, and Eton Beach.
Day 2 Tue Dec 12
Breakfast was served at 7 am. I left for Mangahiliu village with no reservation but hoping to get a tour. My host, Janessa had tried several times to phone someone in the villages to arrange a tour but none responded.
I drove down to Mangaliliu Village and was directed by a young girl down a coral road that was very difficult to drive on with a scooter. I turned back and went down to the water but there were no boats. I then returned up the steep road to the highway and drove 5 km to Mangaas where there was a sign for the WHS. I parked and went down to the beach. There were several boats but only one that would taxi me over to the island. He left to get gas, and returned, it took 10 minutes to go to Lelepa Island and then walked about 15 minutes up to the cave. As advertised, there were several pictographs of animals, plants and I suppose a village scene? We returned. Cost 2000VUV.
Chief Roi Mata’s Domain. WHS Roi Mata was a powerful 13th-century Melanesian chief. His reign is reputed to have been a peaceful one. Roi Mata was fatally poisoned by his brother. His body was not buried in his homeland and his name was not used in future generations because the locals feared his spirit.
His elaborate grave, containing the bodies of over 25 members of his retinue, was discovered by French archaeologist José Garanger in 1967 and inscribed on the World Heritage List in 2008. Garanger was able to locate the grave on Eretoka Island by analyzing local folklore. According to legend, when Roi Mata conquered the land, his first goal was to unite the tribes to form an army.
It consists of three early 17th-century sites on the islands of Efate, Lelepa and Artok.
A tour is required. First visit Vanuatu’s National Museum to learn about the chief and the domain, Vanuatu’s history, and the heritage of sand drawing.
Efate. Take a bus to Mangaliliu village and from there along a rough track to Roimata’s former village of Mangaas. Some sacred stones and drums date back to Roi Mata’s time.
Roi Mata’s graveyard on Artok (Hat) Island to see a few burial stones and shells. Only a small square. His elaborate grave contains the bodies of over 25 members of his retinue.
Lelepa Island is accessed by boat. See Fels Cave to see ancient rock drawings of fauna, flora and village scenes. Need torch. This is the only real tangible heritage.
A village tour is best as gives benefits to the village, is flexible and they don’t overcharge. Do as a half day.
I then returned along the highway to go to the waterfalls.
Mele Cascades (Evergreen Cascades). Fees are 2 part. 1500VUV (A$20) for the community (Tebakesa Pool) and 3000VUV (A$40) to see the waterfall, swim in the big pool, and enjoy the rock pools and the stream. There are nice gazebos to have drinks and relax. The actual waterfall is owned by the Chinese who purchased the waterfall when the previous owner died.
I refused to pay that and drove back up the road and saw the waterfall from there. It is rather underwhelming, especially for that price.
Underwater Post Offices. In the NM Bizzarium series. Vanuatu Post has created an official Post Office with a difference. It is the world’s only Underwater Post Office. Situated within the Hideaway Island marine sanctuary on Hideaway Island, the Post Office sits in around three metres of water and both divers and snorkellers can post special “waterproof postcards”. If snorkellers cannot duck-dive down that far, Hideaway Island staff will be on the spot to help out.
During opening hours the cards will be cancelled/embossed by the postal staff in the Underwater Post Office. Instead of being stamped with ink to show that the card has been sent, the Post office has developed a new embossed cancellation device.
Placed on-site by Vanuatu Post, this official and currently unique postal location was approved by local Ni Vanuatu and opened for business in May 2003.
Opening hours are posted on the beach at Hideaway Island, and a special flag is raised on a float above the site when there are postal workers in the water. Some Vanuatu Post
Out of hours the postcards can be posted in the underwater post box attached to the post office or taken to the main post office in town. All are guaranteed to receive a special cancellation from this unique underwater paradise before being delivered both locally and internationally.
I parked near the jetty and was informed that the short ferry was free but since the Chinese bought the island 5 months ago, it costs 2000VUV to enter the island. I couldn’t find out how much it was to rent snorkel gear and see the post offices. I didn’t go.
I then returned to Port Vila, had a hamburger again at Port Vila Burgers and talked more to the Danish owner. I then drove to E-Bikes, returned the scooter and caught a share bus to the airport. I walked down to Janessa’s, got my luggage and she drove me to the airport.
Flight. Air Vanuatu NF74 Port Vila (VIJ) – Nadi (NAN) @17:50-20:35
ISLANDS
TANNA
Tanna Airport (TAH). Flights from Port Vila to Tanna A$165 each way. 2x/day.
Climb Mt Yasur. Tourists are allowed to visit the caldera rim at Levels 0 and 1 but not at Levels 2, 3 or 4. Wet season November to March is hot and very humid. Climbing in the evening is much cooler. Tours drive to the parking area located just below the rim of the caldera. A 15-minute walk up a sandy trail. Entrance fees are 2250 Vatu per adult. Transportation across the island to Mount Yasur can be difficult to obtain.
AirTaxi (a travel agency) offers a great range of tours from Port Vila.
Accommodation. Traditional bungalows on the east – ‘Hidden Treasures
Aneityum (Anatom) DARE
Erromango
Sand drawing is Vanuatu’s artistic and ritual tradition and practice, recognised by UNESCO as a Masterpiece of the Oral and Intangible Heritage of Humanity.
Sand drawing is produced in sand, volcanic ash or clay. It consists of “a continuous meandering line on an imagined grid to produce a graceful, often symmetrical, composition of geometric patterns”. The artist’s implement is a single finger.
It was developed as a means of communication among the members of some 80 different language groups inhabiting the central and northern islands of Vanuatu. The drawings also function as mnemonic devices to record and transmit rituals, mythological lore and a wealth of oral information about local histories, cosmologies, kinship systems, song cycles, farming techniques, architectural and craft design, and choreographic patterns. Most sand drawings possess several functions and layers of meaning: they can be “read” as artistic works, repositories of information, illustrations for stories, signatures, or simply messages and objects of contemplation.
Only a few practitioners still master the special techniques of sand drawing. Nowadays, this form of art is mainly used as a graphic layout for advertising or tourism ends, and its original sense and purpose is getting lost.
The Turaga indigenous movement based on Pentecost Island write using Avoiuli, an alphabet inspired by designs found in traditional sand drawings. Sand drawing is interpreted as a key visual medium in a country where more than 100 languages are spoken.