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Living
Island
Tripping
Vanuatu
General Info
| | Island
Tripping....
Around
Efate...  Click
a photo to enlarge
| We live on Efate Island , which is about halfway down the Vanuatu
group.
To give you an idea of what there is to do around Efate, we have included our
own 'Around Efate Tour', see the map below. Starting at Port Vila, imagine
you are going for a drive around the Island in an anti-clockwise
direction. Position your mouse over a place name and click to see
some photos and read a description of each place. (Don't forget to click
on the thumbnails of the photos to see an expanded version). In real life the
road can be very dusty and bumpy and a complete circuit of the island takes all
day. You of course shall complete the journey in comfort and in record
time.
We hope you enjoy tripping around our lovely island. |
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Port Vila
| Port Vila, is our home town. Located on
beautiful Port Vila Harbour, Vila is the capital of Vanuatu. Here
you will find, Parliament, Government Offices, the cultural centre, a
hospital, good supermarkets, duty free shopping, the markets, tourism
activities, nice restaurants and resorts. Every second week the
Pacific Sky cruise ship docks, bringing in loads of tourists.
Because of the large numbers of expatriate workers and tourists, Port Vila
is an expensive place to eat, sleep and live in. |
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Iririki
Island
| Iririki Island is located just across from
downtown Port Vila. Catch the free ferry across and laze on the
sandy beach facing town, or snorkel at the cove on the other side of the
Island facing Ifira Island and the open sea. This is an adults only
resort so children are restricted to the beach and snorkelling area.
So if you want to eat at the restaurant you will need to find a
babysitter. |
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Erakor
Island
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Ekasup
Cultural Village
| On the other side of Erakor Lagoon from our house lies Ekasup
Cultural Village where you can take part in an excellent cultural tour which lasts
for about two hours. Ekasup is constructed to resemble a
traditional village, the villagers wear traditional clothes and share
stories and information about, food storage, cooking, hunting,
weaving, cannibilism, cyclone survival and other areas of the kastom
lifestyle. At the end of the tour a kastom dance is performed
and there is an opportunity to buy some handicrafts. Another
thing we really like about this village is that it is owned and run by
Ni-Vanuatu, so all entry fees go to help the local people. |
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Lolima
Cascades
| If the gates are closed, prepare for an hour and a half of
walking to get to these spectacular falls. Behind the main falls is
a cave with stalactites and stalagmites. A waterproof torch would be
handy for exploring. |
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Eratap
| There is a beach near Eratap Village and Castaway Island
which is
a destination for sea kayaking tours. The snorkelling is supposed to
be good but we haven't yet found our way to the beach. |
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Blue
Water Resort
| This year we plan to have a little family holiday at this
lower budget resort. It offers swimming in the lagoon and at the
beach, an aquarium with sharks, turtles and Chully the baby dugong plus aviaries with birds and
flying foxes. |
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Rentabao
| The church we attend in Port Vila, has a sister church at Rentabao.
We have attended several church services there and twice have stayed overnight.
The church is located where the road crosses the river. Here, the water is calm,
making it a lovely spot for baptisms. Hidden further
upstream are some cascades and waterfalls that are not frequented by
tourists. |
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Eton
Blue Hole
| This deep 'blue hole' is fed by the nearby ocean. The
water is crystal clear and fish can sometimes be seen swimming below. |
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Eton Beach
| Eton Beach is an absolutely beautiful spot to
spend a day. The water is clear and the creek that flows in on the
right-hand side of the beach, means that at times you are swimming in
fresh rather than saltwater. An entry fee goes towards helping the
nearby village of Eton. |
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Forari
| In the 1960's and 70's a town of 1000 people was located at
Forari to support the Manganese Mine which operated nearby. Now the
jungle has reclaimed the buildings, with only some roofs and electricity
poles remaining visible above the carpet of jungle vines. The photo
at right shows what remains of the abandoned wharf and gantry that was
used to load waiting ships. The huge gantry was blown over in 1992
during Cyclone Prima. |
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Epao Village
| Our friends Jayne and Carolyn, also with AVI, are spending
two years teaching and living at Epao Village. Karen made one
overnight visit in March 2001, helped in the classroom and took some
photographs for Carolyn to make into a pre-reader for her year 1 students. |
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Undine Bay
| A pretty spot at the north of the Island. The sandy
beach offers good snorkelling and nice views of Emao, Nguna, Pele and
Kakula Islands. |
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Siviri
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If you book on a round island tour you may be taken to
Siviri to see one of the local men walk across the hot coals. Near
the village is also located a large cave. Inside there are bats,
limestone formations and a freshwater lake. Scuba divers once
explored 5 kms of underwater tunnels before turning back..
The road between Siviri and Ulei is really steep and
corrugated. During the 'wet season' it is impossible to drive up the
worst of the hills so vehicles can only travel around the island in an
anti-clockwise direction.
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Ulei
| American Naval boats were based at Havannah Harbour during
World War Two. Around Ulei are many reminders of the American's time
here. There is the wreckage of a plane, a concrete slab left from
the mess hall, a concrete water reservoir and of course lots of empty coke
bottles. By the side of the ride you can find roadside stalls
selling war memorabilia such as bullets and coke bottles, as well as
shells and bamboo flutes. |
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Havannah Harbour
| A couple of sailing tour groups offer day trips
cruising around Havannah Harbour. You will get to snorkel over the
reef, visit Moso Island for lunch and another snorkel, pat the sea
turtles in the breeding tanks, and watch the dolphins swim beside the bow of
the ship. It poured on the day we went but we still managed to have
a great time, especially the boys who enjoyed jumping from the roof of the
yacht into the water. |
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Clem's Hill
| From the look-out at the top of Clem's Hill you
get a superb view over Mele, Hideaway Island and Port Vila. The man
who lives at the top of the hill keeps green iguanas (just like our pet
Ziggy only much bigger). The kids will enjoy having a hold of these
gentle creatures. There is a small entry fee. |
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Mele
Cascades
| At the base of Clem's Hill lies the beautiful
Mele Cascades. Folk from the nearby Mele village maintain lovely
gardens, good walking tracks and modern toilets (much nicer than the pit
toilets at most other places). There is a custom entry fee, which
does seem high but helps raise money for the village and they will supply
you with a guide who will take you up to the big waterfall. If you
have small children or are not feeling so energetic the lower pools near
the picnic area are lovely too. |
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Mele Botanical Gardens
| At this relatively new attraction, you can spend
an interesting afternoon looking at the plants and reading about Vanuatu
culture and history. On display are traditionally constructed houses
from the various islands and demonstrations of weaving, dancing, magic and
carving happen from time to time. To keep the kids occupied, they also
have lizards, crabs, birds, snakes, flying foxes and turtles.
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Hideaway Island
| Located about 15 minutes drive from our house is
Hideaway Island. Once again you can catch a free ferry over to the
resort, however you will have to pay an entry fee to visit the
Island. The reef is located just offshore and the snorkelling is
brilliant. There are plenty of tame fish that will eat from your
hand and the coral is spectacular. The bungalows are hidden in the
centre of the island, but the restaurant is located right next to the
beach. |
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Devil's Point
| Devil's Point probably got it's name from the treacherous
waters offshore, however there is a small sheltered cove that offers some
good snorkelling. |
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Well that's the end of our journey. Of course we haven't shown you all
the sights, just the ones that we have so far been to. Additional photos
will be added at a later stage so call again sometime.
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