Frank and I have just returned from a trip to Vanuatu with Matt, Erin and Toby. Matt selected Vanuatu as the flight time to get there and back wasn’t too long and it provided a variety of things to do and see without too much moving about, or at least that was the plan. Our first leg was from Melbourne to Brisbane where we planned to stay overnight before catching our direct flight from Brisbane to Santos, or so we thought. Qantas/Air Vanuatu advised us (too late to change any plans) that there was no longer a direct flight to Santos but that we would have to flight to Port Vila and change planes to fly to Santos – so much for minimising travel time. Never mind we had a direct flight home from Port Vila to Melbourne – until the day before we were due to fly home that is when we were informed that we would be going via Brisbane! Instead of arriving in Melbourne at 8.10pm it was closer to 10.10pm (at least 2 hours past Toby’s bedtime. I don’t think I have ever heard quite so many crying babies and kids on the one flight. I suspect there were quite a few very disgruntled travellers on that flight.
As with any trip there were many highlights and some not so good bits. We stayed on Santos for six nights. The Millenium Cave trip was great (the adults took it in turns and Toby stayed home); the Blue Hole was nice (although we got in trouble for parking in the wrong place and muddying the water); Lonnoc Beach resort cafe was a life-saver when we found the recommended place to eat (Velit Bay 15 degree south beach bar) was closed due to some sort of holiday or celebration; the place we stayed (Village de Santo) had nice rooms (despite the stairs), nice pool (although the fence wasn’t Toby proof) good food and a reasonable cafe latte, and I think Matt, Erin and Frank enjoyed the snorkelling at Million Dollar Point (I had succumbed to Matt’s gastro the night before). The big downside to Santos was that Matt & Erin missed out on diving the Coolidge as Toby cried so much the night before they were due to dive that they got next to no sleep and were too tired to go anywhere. Turns out Toby isn’t a big fan of strange places when it comes to sleeping.
These six photos are from the Millenium Cave trip which involved nearly 2 hours jungle trekking, plus caving, canyoning and swimming. We left around 8am and got back about 3pm, and I was pretty stiff for a couple of days after. The cave was only discovered in the 1980s and “commercialised” around 2000. Profits from tours conducted by the community whose land the cave and canyon are on have gone towards providing two kindergartens and now a junior school for the local villages. The village where the chief (who was our guide lived) had two huts which were a bathroom (with solar hot water) and a bathroom built by a New Zealand chap who had been there for 6 months. (Most probably from a church group as many of the Australian and New Zealanders we met in Santos and Tanna were from church groups.
Some foodie photos from Santos
Million Dollar Point – apparently got its name because at the end of the second World War the Americans tried to sell all their surplus to the government of Vanuatu. They either didn’t want it or more likely couldn’t afford it and so the Americans dumped it all into the sea! The other “present” they left behind was a very vigorous creeper known as the “mile a day” plant which you can see killing off all the trees by choking them to death. Toby being so fair attracted attention wherever he went, the children playing at Million Dollar Point were particularly taken with him.
Few more snaps of Toby at the pool and at the Blue Hole
The next stop was Tanna where we had booked two cabins at Rocky Ridge, unfortunately they had double booked and instead we got the family cabin. Five of us in a room big enough to hold a double bed three singles and a portacot. It was a bit of a squeezy five nights to say the least. As the was only electricity for about 4 hours in the evening there was a lot of creeping about with head torches trying not to wake Toby was Erin had managed to get him to sleep. He adopted the local custom of waking with the birds and the light, so just as well we had early nights. Matt had picked Tanna as it is probably the only place you can drive almost to the top of an active volcano and watch it erupt on a regular basis, we did this in two shifts again as it was about a 6 hour return trip on very bumpy roads and not recommended for children under 10 for obvious reasons. The snorkelling at the Blue Hole opposite our accommodation was wonderful and Matt & Erin got some great photos but the photos of Mt Yasur don’t really do it justice. The photos on this blog are a mix of Frank’s phone and camera, Erin’s camera and Matt’s camera.
First some fish photos
Our accommodation (cabin/hut & dining room) and some Mt Yasur photos (an OH&S nightmare :-))
The last picture shows people standing on the craters edge while the cars (far right) are parked at a “safe” distance.
Mt Yasur - you can see the first crater spew lava into the air followed by another crater acting like a "Roman Candle" behind it.
Mt Yasur - this explosion shook the ground and blasted air across the crater lip where we were standing.
Our last stop after Tanna was Port Vila for some relaxation and relative luxury – 4 bedrooms and 2 bathrooms. We stayed at Villa Belle about 15-20 minutes from Port Vila. We catered for ourselves mostly so lots of cold beer, some white wine, organic beef, pasta and fresh fruit and veggies from the market. We took turns with Toby’s early morning walks, Matt and Erin finally managed to squeeze in a couple of dives and we visited the Mele Cascades, unfortunately on the same day as a Cruise ship had docked. One of the bus drivers tried to charge us double what we had been paying to get back to our accommodation, we told him to get lost. Another guy came up and agreed to take us for the usual rate and then apologised for the other guy. Generally speaking we found the locals all to be very friendly and were always greeted with a smile and a hello, especially when pushing Toby in the pram along a dirt road somewhere.
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