Hi
from Clare, 13-2019 Blue Holes and Villages, Vanuatu 6th
November 2019
NO
FURTHER NORTH
Over
the past few weeks we have been slowly sailing north from Port Vila
stopping off at many beautiful bays and visiting local villages. Some
one hundred and fifty miles later we ended up in Peterson
Bay on the east side of Malakula Island. This is a beautiful bay and
said to have the best all round protection in Vanutu. It certainly
is
a peaceful spot and
it has two fresh water rivers to
explore with the dinghy, the
Forest River and Nalaiafu River.
 |
| Andrew motoring up the river |
THE
RIVER RUNS
We,
along with our American friends Ian and Cindy on Oyster Reach
travelled up Forest River on
day one, shortly after we had
dropped anchor in the bay. The
village people charge $5 per person to enter each
of the rivers.
Had we known this,
we should have gone
exploring the following
morning, taking
a cut lunch and having
sufficient time for a leisurely
swim in the fresh water blue
hole. We
enjoyed the trip and decided to travel the Nalaiafu River the
following day. This time we came
prepared with a cut lunch and our swimmers. We
motored up the river through
thick jungle
whilst listening to Kingfishers
and parrots. At
the end of the river we found the blue hole surrounded
by a lovely picnic area
 |
| Blue Hole Nalaiafu River |
These
blue holes
are found in several places in Vanuatu I think they
are formed when a fresh water
spring is filtered through limestone and
the blue cast to it is from the dissolved calcium carbonate.
Our swim in the
fresh water blue
hole was a pleasure and an
unexpected treat when sailing the ocean. We
enjoyed our lunch in the picnic area watching the kids having fun.
The local people have tied
ropes to the trees and the kids
swing out over the river. They
also climb high into the tree tops and do
pin drops into the river.
Both
rivers are beautiful but unfortunately
they are
being choked by a vine which was introduced
during WW2 from south west of the United States. It was suppose to
camouflage gun emplacements and war equipment should the Japanese
ever make it to Vanuatu.
It is disappointing to see
that the vine which was once useful and beautiful, now smothers
whole forests like a monstrous green wet blanket.
Smothering Vines
THE
VOLCANO ISLAND - AMBAE
We
would have enjoyed sailing further north but time was running out and
both Eye Candy and Oyster Reach needed to be back in Port Vila early
November. We hope to see further north early next year before
heading to Australia. We sailed forty five miles east to Vanihe Bay
on the island of Ambae. Once again we have found a well protected
bay from the S/E winds and we have spent five lovely days here
enjoying the local people and village.
Government Office
On
day one we had an escorted tour of the town by John an elderly gent
who was born in the village and has lived there all his life. We are
on the N/E corner of the island and the village here has shops, a
police station, a bank, government offices, churches, a hospital and
a primary school and a technical college. This is the main village on
the island and used to be the regional centre for Ambae, Pentecost
and Maewo. In August last year the people were evacuated due to a
treat from a volcano on the island. At that time the administrative
centre was moved to Pentecost Island where it remains today.
The people were away from here for three months before anyone was
allowed to return. Many people have still not returned as they have
found work on other islands and settled there.
Woodwork Shop at Secondary School
We
have been into the village a number of times mainly for a walk and a
chat to the locals. We are learning a few names and recognising the
people. Today I wanted some eggs but the store was closed. The owner
had shut shop and was doing her washing in a fresh water hole on the
beach. We stopped to talk to some locals loading a truck with
building supplies delivered by barge yesterday. I mentioned I needed
eggs and Bertha volunteered to run home and get me a dozen; I was
very glad to receive them. The people are very friendly and seem
quite contented in this tropical paradise. I would like to come back
here next year if we have time.
 |
| Village Transport |
MAEWO
ISLAND
We
anchored in Asanvani Bay to the sound of music, singing, dancing and
a guy on a loud speaker. The Women’s Union for the island was
having it’s annual swap meeting. Gifts were exchanged and a party
was in full swing with women from other villages staying overnight.
The following day after many canoes loaded with smiling woman had
departed we went into the village. We walked around the island
meeting the people and Chief Richard. We enjoy visiting the various
villages as the Vanuatu people are the most friendly we had found.
They are interested in our lifestyle and ask lots of questions, but
conclude that their simple lifestyle suits them.
 | ||
Waterfall on Maewo Island
|
PENTECOST
ISLAND
We
sailed ten miles south to Loltong Bay on Pentecost Island. To avoid
coral reefs, we followed the lead markers into the bay. The front
marker we could see with the binoculars but the back marker was
almost covered by bushes. Once on land we were quite amused to
discover that the front marker was embedded in a chunk of concrete
which could be moved anywhere. Andrew thinks it is for quick
relocation when unwanted tribes arrive:)
We
had drinks on Eye Candy that night with Ian and Cindy “Oyster
Reach” and caught up with Mark and crew Bianca on “Macushla”
Removal Front Lead Marker, Back Marker just visible under trees
The
following morning we said good bye to Mark as he was sailing north
and we were sailing south to Port Vila. We, along with Ian and Cindy
went ashore. Once again the community at Loltong Bay was extremely
welcoming. Matthew who manages the local yacht club is very
entrepreneurial and trades local fruit and vegetables for clothes,
ropes or anything else that is excess on visiting boats. The pace is
slow and we asked one guy “What do you do here” his answer was
“nothing” so we said “Is that good” and he answered “Yes”.
 |
| Yacht Club, Loltong Bay |
 |
| The Village Loltong Bay |
This
island, like others we have observed have some advanced facilities
which are now lying in disrepair. Pentcost for example had a hydro
power station which no longer works. This seems to be a common theme
throughout the islands and disappointing to see.
 |
| The Anchorage Loltong Bay |
Our
next little village was seven miles south in Bratnapne Bay. We
stopped here mainly because the snorkelling was said to be good. We
went ashore and introduced ourselves and got permission to snorkel the
bay. We had a tour of the town with one of the school teachers and
some of the children. We stopped at the shop and bought the kids an
ice cream – they were all smiles. I didn’t take the camera so
unfortunately no photos of this village.
 |
| Some of the pretty coral |
AMBRYM
ISLAND
Last
Friday we sailed 26.5 miles to Nopul on the N/E corner of Ambrym. It
was a sporty sail in 25 knots forward of the beam and lumpy two metre
waves. We were glad to drop the anchor and go ashore. We were hoping
that market day would be Saturday as we were running out of fresh
produce. We were out of luck as Friday is their market day and by
the time we got ashore the small market was sold out. The main town
of Olal is about an hours walk and so we set out the following
morning. Cindy was hoping that in Olal we might be able to find out
what date the ‘Back to My Roots’ festival would be held next
year on Ambrym. We walked to the next village and found Chief Sekor,
the chief for the area. He was happy to give us a guided tour to the
Festival Site deep in the forest where it is tabu to enter his hut.
This is where the chief performs ceremonial duties and also houses
some of the ceremonial masks. So here we were on this remote island,
in this sacred place, deep in the forest with the village chief and
Cindy asks “When is the Festival next year” the chief’s answer
was “You can look it up on our website”
 |
| Cindy "Oyster Reach" Chief Sekor, Clare "Eye Candy" outside Ceremonial Hut |
 |
| Photo taken at last year's Back to My Roots Festival |
We
continued walking through the forest, we would have been totally lost
without a guide. We saw Chief Sekor’s garden and visited his
sister’s house. Here a huge pig was caged waiting to be
transferred to another village for an upcoming ceremony. The poor
old pig would be killed and eaten and it’s tusk (it only had one,
the other had been broken off) would be worn as decoration by that
chief. We met our chief’s nephew who explained some of the culture
to us, including how many pigs were necessary to buy a bride from her
father. It appeared that brides from some islands are more expensive
than other islands.
Apparently
the Chief Sekor paid fifteen pigs plus fruit and vegetables for his
wife. The chief’s nephew spoke very good English as he lived
permanently on the Sunshine Coat in Queensland with his wife and
daughter and was back in his village on a holiday. It appears that
they live and move between two cultures and mange it very well.
 |
| The Chief's nephew and niece |
After
leaving the chief, we continued on to the village of Olal. We didn’t
stay long as we had been walking for three and a half hours and still
had an hour’s walk back to the boat. We had a quiet afternoon
recovering and then enjoyed a lovely dinner on ‘Oyster Reach’.
 |
| Chief Sekor's House |
SO
WHAT’S NEXT
We
are pinned in here waiting for a trough to pass. It is raining and a
swell is coming around the corner causing quite a jiggle. We are
using the time to clean out cupboards and lockers in preparation for
going home later this month. Hopefully we will continue our journey
south to Port Villa in a couple of days.
Love
Candy xx
