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| Secluded beach on Efate |
My christmas holiday trip continued to Vanuatu. Vanuatu is one of more than a dozen island countries in the South Pacific and one that can be reached directly from Australia.
Most tourists probably arrives with cruise ships and stay for a day or two but there are also flights. One issue with many island countries, not only in the pacifics, is the difficulties getting around. In the case of Vanuatu which consist of about 80 islands where about a dozen can be considered inhabited it is time consuming and expensive to get around. There are not even regular boat routes so you have to fly. Hence with my short time limit I stayed on the main island Efate where the capital Port Vila is located and also the international airport. Unfortunately that meant I missed out on what's maybe considered the main attraction, island Tanna with it's active volcano.
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| I would never miss a local market |
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| Obviously there are different qualities of pineapples but not easy to tell by the looks |
Since I arrived in Port Vila I stayed my first nights there. Another reason was that since new years eve was coming on I thought I would like to be somewhere with some kind of party. Port Vila turned out to be a quite hectic but a bit worn down city. No beaches and not really any other attractions. Still, like with the other places I've been to in the Pacifics it feels very safe. Vanuatu markets themselves as "the happiest people in the world" (hmmm I thought that was the Danes...) and although many of them are quite poor you don't see any beggars and they live island style meaning they take every new day as it comes.
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| Accommodation experience close to a prison cell and it was bloody hot! |
Also the traditional kastom laws are still very important and in case they conflict with the federal law most people would consider kastom superior.
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| Welcome to the kastom village! |
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| A funny app is always popular. This Aussie guy had one that showed the kids live with hats and mustaches |
From a tourist point of view the city changes totally when there are cruise ship days. Imagine a ship with 4000 people coming in. I couldn't even find someone who was interested in taking me around the island (since I was alone) until a cruise came in.
The hotel I stayed at cancelled their new years celebration so I went to a resort instead which I later regret a bit.
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| Arriving to new years celebration |
Not bad but I felt a bit bored among the Aussie and NZ families. Should probably have celebrated with the locals instead. There was an incredible noise on the streets that night. Everybody had a trumpet similar to the vuvuzelas used at soccer world cup in South Africa. On the way back that night I saw many guys totally stoned. I later learned they use a mix of kava (the local "drug" made from roots), home made alcohol from coconuts and marijuana) No violence though.
On new years day I moved away from Vila to a small island resort, for a few relaxing days which gave me the right pacific feeling.
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| Relaxed island life |
I also made a roundtrip on the island to see the main attractions and visit a local village.
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| Blue lagoon is a main attraction |
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| I'm still not sure she's dressed like this when the tourists are gone... |
So what's the summary of Vanuatu? Well, after my visits to Samoa and Fiji three years ago I had very high expectations. From that perspective I was a bit disappointed. I had a great time but didn't feel the same magic. The people are lovely. Extremely nice and friendly. I'm also sure there are heaps of things to experience if you go to other, more quiet islands, so the tip would be to not stay longer than necessary in Vila. But that's the thing, it is difficult to get around. Samoa with only two islands is so much easier and in Fiji there is a much more developed infrastructure with a fast ferry to many of the islands.
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| In every water there was someone swimming. Vanuatu people obviously love to be in the water no matter if it's the sea or a small river |
Cheers
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