Vanuatu 1 – Efate + Tanna: 12.08. – 03.09.2012
My flight with Vanuatu Airways should leave at 03:00PM and I was waiting already in the boarding area. Even at the boarding time was now airplane landed. After asking by the crew we got the message, that the plane will have min. 3 hours delay – we started finally at 07:00 PM “Vanuatu Time”.
Air Vanuatu is quiet seldom on time
the first but not the last time I lnded here
I hope I can see that
Port Vila
I was very lucky, that I met Ms. Lora Lini-Napuati at the airport. She took very good care of me after arriving and dropt me in the evening (in case of the delay of my flight – no chance more for me to organize an accommodation in the afternoon) at the Emily´s Takeaway Sportsman guesthouse (2000,-Vt). It was a basic clean room, with many advices or rules on the walls. The shared bathroom with two showers was OK. The price for a bed in the Dorm was the same as a single room, which is strange. Reason for that is, that he wants no Backpackers in his house, told me the Aussie.
my first accommodation on Efate in Port Vila
the restaurant, in that area you have WiFi (one hour is free)
all Ni´Vanuatu are very open and always good for a joke
I got here the phone number from Lissie …….
shared shower
many rules to observe
many rules to observe
many rules to observe
many rules to observe
many rules to observe
my room
my room
Lora borrowed me even money for my first night “tank U tumas!” The guesthouse is on the hill on top of Port Vila and in front of the Vanuatu Kaljoral Senta, in which you can see only some culture staff and the sand drawing. The Aussie owner is a strange man, but the local staff is very nice. One of them gave me a phone number of an old colleague, for helping me to find a cheap room on the island “Tanna”. Later I got an invitation in her house and I had a beautiful time there with her whole family.
„Namba“ the men traditional clothing – I´m not so sure if it´s really comfortable
the traditional (one-linie) sanddrawings
the traditional ritual jump called Ngol or Naghol
The ritual was not celebrating on my time.
it doesn´t have to end this way
I changed after two nights into the “Hibiscus Motel” for 1600,- in the Dorm. The local staff were also here very friendly and we spent some time together. I had the first three night the Dorm with three beds for me alone. It was clean, with a closet, three chairs and a table right behind the reception. From there you could hear a bit in the evening sometimes the talking of the security and other staff.
The shower and toilet could have been better, which I used in the beginning, but on my second stay I found a good warm one, close to the kitchen. Normally is there WiFi in the whole Motel, but during my whole stay was one switch down an Internet connection was only in front of the kitchen possible and not so fast. There you find two tables and chairs on a roofed terrace.
On my second stay both of the WiFi-switches were running, so you have also the chance for WiFi behind the reception on the small table.
In the kitchen was enough equipment to prepare a light meal and a fridge.
If you are not fast, you will share your bed with one of the cats.
with Jeanne in front
the garden and rooms
the garden and rooms
the garden and rooms
the garden and rooms
the garden
my dorm
my dorm
The distance the shops in Port Vila its only 10 – 15 minutes. In the whole town are running local busses for around 100,- Vatu. The girls in the tourist information in the main road are very friendly but by booking a room not so helpful. There are two ATM machines in the main road which you can use every time. You will find also the Post Office and many shops for selling SIM-cards there. I recommend you to buy one, because it’s later very helpful for conversations. The main road is the most of the time very crowded. There along you find restaurants, tourist shops, supermarkets, “jewelry/Schmuck” cafe’s, spirit shops and offers to buy land. Vanuatu is a “Duty free” area. Many foreigners buying here land and starting a business.
main road
main road
a car repair in the middle of the road is usual – no one complains
every day a traffic jam on the main road
the harbor
the harbor
the harbor
arts
So the first four days I was most of the time hanging around the market place. He is big and you will find a lot of food to buy. Right on the back, very close to the ocean are offering ladies very good fresh cooked food for average 400,-VT for a plate. So you can choose between chicken, beef, pork or vegetable with rice and a bit salad. They are selling on the right sight soup, bread and tea.
On the left side of the market place is a big supermarket.
the market
my favorite cook
the transfer for the saleswoman and their goods around the island
for example „crabs“
a nice full plate with a steak, rice and veggies for only 3,50€
always a cluster of people around a TV
So I planned to go by boat to the island “Tanna” for the half price compare to a flight, for 5500,-Vt. In case of wrong information s from the owner of the boat, I did three times a check out and in at the Hibiscus Motel. So I think the best way to find out when the boat “MV Tauraken” leave Port Vila is, to go to the “Star Warf” and check out how full the boat is already loaded or try to find Christina phone no. 7717850, which takes care of the passenger list.
Don´t be surprised if you hang around by locals and you get an invitation to their house for staying there with them together – this happened often. The Ni-Vanuati are very friendly and hospitable.
With Jeanne from the reception and Noel, the gardener we went one evening out for Kava drinking behind the Planet club. We got a short free entrance and used that for a short dance inside. Noel invited me before to his village, which was around 15 minutes away from the Hibiscus. They have a nice lake in the village and I drunk my first Kava with him close by the road. He really enjoyed it. If you get an invitation like that, is one kg rice or sugar a nice gift to take with you.
the visit in Noel´s village
they have a very nice lake
thats Noel ………….
…….. as climber ………..
……. and as Tarzan!
… with his Fans
Noels house
and his family
his son
my first Kava-Bowls on Vanuatu
the barman from the Kava-Bar
and enjoy it very much 😉
his cousin is wearing a „german soccer shirt!“
every one likes REGGAE
Kava drinking on Vanuatu is very different to the way on Fiji islands. Here you go to a Kava-Bar, like in a pub. Often beside a small fire and if you talk, is only whispering allowed. In the real culture is it only for the men allowed, but some girls are cheating.
The Mele Cascades
Beside the biggest village on Efate names „Mele“, you will find the Cascades which you can visit for a half day trip. Don´t forget your swimming dress and beach-sandales. It´s a great fun specially for the kids. Entrance is 1500,-Vatu, but for a half day it´s OK.
a pool for swimming
a restaurant
nice colors
the way up to the „falls“
sometimes through water
Blümchenfotograf
some more steps
and some fishes to watch
… in here
slippery steps in the water
a scond „honeymoon-pool“ above
the view back
the falls
happy harry
the target
bamboo
I walked on the road back to the Mele-Beach beside the village unluckly by rain, which takes about 20-30 minutes. That should be the nicest place for snorkelling around Port Vila.
cemetery
I didn´t visit that garden on the way
Mele Beach
Mele Beach
that the island with the hotel plantation hideaway – if U want to switch over „the long way!“ with a small ferry boat, you have to pay 1000,-Vatu – that made no senso to me
same place from the plane
same place from the plane
My visit in the „Saama village“ in the north of Efate
I took one of the transporter, which are also the saleswoman use, to come up to the north of Efate for 500,- Vatu. There is no public bus, who is doing that service. The driver Tasike called his friend „Freddy“, which is living in the Saama village, to pick me up from the road and take cre of me the whole day. He should me arround and invited me also for lunch.
the way to Saama village
kids from the vilage
a hammock made from a fishingnet
Banana-Joe
village impressions
village impressions
village impressions – making a mat for the marriage tomorrow
village impressions – fruits from the garden
old and new style of a house
the church
inside
my new girlfriend
„the village hall“ – here happen also refinements of the chief
my host Freddy and me
the viewpoint, built for tourist visits
the view, snorkelling is also possible
the kitchen
cemetery
It could happend, that the daytrip is longer than expected ….
very tired Harry – Freddy joint us on our way back to Port Vila and had some wood to ship at difefrent places
TANNA Island
Be on time at the Star Warf at the leaving day, because it will be very full. Tauraken is a Cargo boat, which takes also some passengers. I got a nice place, but after 1,5 hours I had to run to the toilet and the following next 17 hours were not so funny. On the cargo boat was also a small fishing boat, not really good fixed and it moved three times, just beside me – so better take care a bit. After a while it’s also not so easy to find a free sleeping place just on the floor anymore.
Tanna map
loading the cargo ship
the MS Touraken
and the guests
safety instructions
… not everyone felt really safe …
… not everyone …
„he´s chicken out“ – „den Schwanz einziehen“ (nur für Euch)
I let my sleeping place to the girl in the red shirt – she looked more sick than me
The real Vanuatu on the “Black man island” like everyone is calling her. The reason is, that the businessmen there are only locals and no foreigners.
I got an invitation for a homestay from a very friendly woman name Lissie. So I stayed in an own room in her house (with two kids) in her village, together with her family. That was a very nice and warm adventure and I recommend that to all nice tourists. “Idiots and Parasites stay away!” If you are a person with good education, you will give something in the end, because you will be a part of the family and you eat and sleep together.
The roads in Lenakel are very dusty and when a car is passing, it’s better to move a bit to the side and hold your breath. If you cross over to the biggest tourist attraction the very active Volcano “Mount Yasur” 361m high, the streets are getting really bad. Every Monday, Wednesday and Friday is a small market close to the Warf. The best chance to buy some food like Mandarin’s (growing also wild), bananas, cucumber, garbage, carrots or all other roots like Kasawa, Maniok or Taro.
For only 100,-Vt they selling the local food “Tulug”, which is meat in cooked Maniok – very nice and it fills really up.
If you go from the Warf left to the market and pass he on your right side and further straight a bit down and up, you will find the Tourism Office, a Bank (no ATM machine!) and Vanuatu Airway on your left side.
Dance exercises for the Toka-Festival
At my arrival day on Tanna, the women of the village trained from the evening until 04:00 AM their 17 different dances for presenting them on the Toka-Festival later (not a Tourist show – free!). The Toka-Festival goes three days, is one of the most important festivals there and it takes nine month time to prepare it. It happened only every second and third year. The date is a secret until one week before, no one knows it. It depend on the time which the men- and women-groups need for going around Tanna in the bush with drums and dancing, before they reach the festival place (they have no time-plan “Vanuatu time”). So I really wanted to join that festival, but my 30-days-visa were running out to early and I could extent it only on Efate in Port Vila, what a shit! But I was happy to watch the training, which was quiet interesting also. Two days after the night-training, they came together again in the morning for the second last training, with much more local visitors.
Snorkeling in the blue cave
I met Leonel in Lenakel and we went together to the blue cave in the north of Tanna. At first we walked a while on that dusty road until we got a free ride to the Evergreen Resort, where we met Lissie, my hostess, which is working there. She organized us a boat for the last part to the cave for 1600,-Vt (make sure it is not per person!). On the way to the cave we saw a whale and we tried to come close to him for snorkeling, but we were unlucky. The captain told us, that they have often passing whales during the time from May until August and snorkeling with them is possible.
By arriving at the blue cave were some locals jumping from rocks down in the turquoise blue water, directly in front of the entrance to the cave, which is not so big inside. Light shining in, in the back and makes a nice atmosphere, but there is nothing else special to see.
Afterwards I was snorkeling outside a little bit and I saw a barracuda and a black-tip reef shark, but nearly no corals, only stones or rocks.
My next excursion was the visit at the waterfall by walking. I went straight to the direction to the custom village Yakel. Take the first big road to the left a bit up the hill (big tree). You will walk the most of the time alone and meet no one to ask. Always straight through the bush on a deeply rutted way. Take some water with you. Later you have a school on your right and every child wants to be on a picture. After the school you turn to the right – the way straight ahead goes to Yakel village. Straight again until you reach a village. Here you have to pay 1000,- Vatu entrance for the waterfall and you get a guide, Julius Numeris was the name of my guide. On the left side up across a free place (parking?) beside two big banyan trees starts the way to the waterfall. On the way you will pass also a place for eating, but that looks more like a gate for cows on a ranch. The stairs are good with a bamboo hand railing. Right on the end it´s a bit narrow with natural stairs. Down at the waterfall pool I changed my cloth and jumped in. What a nice fresh up after a 1:45 minute walk. I took the same way back to Isankel.
Tanna Tree Top Lodge – tannatreetoplodge@yahoo.com
For my visit to the volcano, I changed my accommodation and I took Lissies offer to stay in her nephew´s , Fred George, Lodge (It´s also possible to do that on a half-day-trip: 4 hours return drive and 2 hours at the volcano – offering by the hotels). She organized a meeting with him, which drove me over for a paid transfer for 2500,-CFP to the east side of the island. Mount Yasur welcomes you with loud rumbling thunder and ash clouds. You pass him right on the bottom and drive with the car on an ash field. Until now he has only one real tree top house, the other are on stilts just beside, but he plans to build two more. The tree top house is ca. 10 – 15m high right on top of a big banyan tree and very steep open stairs getting up. If you have a problem with height, it´s maybe not so easy for you (sorry Martin). Don´t forget to bring your torch, you need it! That was my first time in a tree house and it´s really a fantastic adventure. Especially if you have a free view from your balcony to the close Volcano. Do that at night and you will see the colors of the lava on the ash-clouds above. In that house you feel every eruption of the Volcano with shaking walls. That’s very impressive at night time and always the noise (das rumbling thunder and explosions) for falling in a save sleep. Usually I heard before wave breakers on the beach, not that time! He has in his garden another house in building, a shower (not always water), a toilet (the sitting position for men is fixed, otherwise you don´t have enough space for your ass and dingeling) and a small restaurant. The dinner which they offer is very good and a big portion. The electricity is only in the evening during dinner available (30 – 45 minutes) and if you need to recharge something, you have to pass it to Fred (in the house on stilts is a working plug). Maybe Fred takes you in the evening out to a close cava-bar for meeting some other locals. Everything has his price, so you have to pay for excursions, transfer, entrance and guide (if you need really one). If it looks too expensive to you, try to get a better price!
Ceremony in a custom village
Lucky Harry, was at the right time on the right place and got the chance to join a ceremony in a custom village (not a tourist show – free!). After the first boy is born in a new family, the both parents-families changing gifts to each other during a full day ceremony. Many locals are there and also tourists are welcome to watch it. For me sometimes the touris getting too exited taking pictures and showing not the right respect to the ceremony. I was sitting beside the locals and got very good explanations from a nice woman about what´s going on.
White beach
After visiting the ceremony, I got a transfer for 1000,-CFP to the white beach, which was a 30 minute drive. The beach is just behind the village Ireupuow at Port Resolution and snorkeling is there only a little bit possible in case of the shallow water, the less fishes and the incoming waves. So I did a beach walk there and took some pictures. It´s a nice white sandy beach, with stones and wave breakers on the black rocks. There are also some seats and a shower. If you book a day before your lunch, you get it directly on the beach. A guide is there definitely not necessary!
Volcano Mount ‘Yasur 361m – http://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yasur
So the visit at the Volcano Mount Yasur is for transfer 1000,-Vatu, entrance 3350-Vatu (the first time, the 2nd the half price, the 3rd time for free) and guide 500,-Vatu, if you enter through the gate, which I not did 😉
There is the possibility to go up at the other side of the gate on the ash. The information says that Mount Yasur is one of the safest active volcanos which you can visit. I walked back, where we came with the car across the ash-fields and further around on the bottom of the volcano. Right on the left edge at the border to the green mountain, I started to walk up. I had a strange feeling hearing always the eruption above me, watching the ash-clouds coming out and I thought back on the movie “Volcano or Dante´s Peak” (Harry you gonna be fast if you want to survive). Nearly I turned around in the end, cause it was also a bit work going up for an old man like me (you need good walking shoes). You reach the plateau coming out of a small bush. Then I recommend you to cross over to the parking area, in case of paying people are also there (normally they arrive around 05:00PM, so be a bit earlier). At the beginning of the steps up to the crater, they put a postbox, the only one Volcano –postbox of the world. After the steps you are directly on the crater, which are two what you see, but inside are five in totals. You can go the right side a little bit around or you go up on the left side around the crater to catch the best view. The guides take you to a save place, but maybe also directly in the way where the ash-clouds are going (there is a strong wind blowing over the crater). They going there, because you have an amazing look into the crater to the surface, where the lava is swimming. Then you wait for the night to take pictures with fantastic colors from the out spitting lava. That´s a real adventure! Usually every five or ten minutes you will see an eruption. At first you feel a blast before the eruption and the rumbling thunder. During taking pictures you have to watch out also for lava-bombs, that you not get hidden by one (would be not so nice – 99% they going straight up and falling down in the crater).
I decided for my return to Efate to book a flight and not taking the ship again. I flew with Vanuatu Airways back to Port Vila for 11.200,- Vatu = 100,-€ (show your International flight ticket, maybe you get a 20% discount!)
This entry was posted on Mittwoch, Februar 23rd, 2011 at 12:32 and is filed under H - Vanuatu - Efate + Tanna. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed.
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