Visitors

The Kirk and Montgomery Families
The Kirk and Montgomery families dropped in during September 2000. We were friends with them when we lived on the South Coast of NSW back in the late 80's. This picture was taken at the top of the cliff at the bottom of our garden. During their visit we spent one morning at Hideaway Island snorkelling and another at the Mele Cascades. Here we can be seen hiking our way along the rapids to the waterfalls. On the way it started to pour with rain so our guide cut down huge taro leaves for us to use as umbrellas. The rain didn't last for long but we kept carrying them just in case of another downpour. Once we got to the waterfalls there was plenty of time for a refreshing swim and some group photos.



The guys from the Solomon Islands
During November 2000 Geoff went to Santo for our Church's National Assembly. Whilst there he made friends with these guys (l-r Fred, Ps Leddley, Stephen, Geoff & Ferguson) from the Solomon Islands who stayed overnight at our place on their way home.
Two weeks later we had another Solomon Islands visitor, Lemmie, who was also on his way home from Santo.
The Onyewuenyi Family
We spent time over Christmas with Roy, Nonye, Sylvia and Ike. Originally from Nigeria, Roy is now working as a Doctor in Santo as an Australian Volunteer. Nonye and the children still live in Sydney but come over during school holidays to spend time with Roy.
Brother Puppet
"Brother Puppet" Paul MacDonald (on the left with Ps Steven from Ekipe) stayed with us a couple of times during his 3 months in Vanuatu. Paul has visited Vanuatu 6 times now to do puppet shows and on this latest trip set up a used clothing store to help raise money for the church. He intends to ship clothes over from Australia on a regular basis.
Pastor Raynold Bori
Pastor Raynold from our head church in Luganville came over for a cuppa during a visit to Efate.
The Hallam Family
The Hallam Family spent a week in Santo and a week on Efate doing puppet, magic and balloon sculpting shows. They were a real hit with children and adults alike.
The Sheen Family
Phil and Sharon Sheen with their children Emma, Alex and Isaac, arrived for a week in March 2001. This was Phil's third trip to Vanuatu and Sharon's second. They had previously come as members of mission teams from Australia. It was wonderful to spend time with them and catch up on all the news from Singleton. Despite rain caused by the approach of Cyclone Sose (which passed though two days after the Sheens went home) we still managed to have a great time. Geoff was able to get a couple of afternoons off work so we could all visit some of the beautiful sites around Port Vila. During their stay we went to Hideaway, Iririki, and Erakor Islands and the Cascades. Plus they also joined us for a Service at our church. The photos at right were taken at Hideaway and Iririki Islands and the Cascades.



The Obeid Family
In April Geoff's sister Susan and our niece and nephew, Sarrah and Sam visited. Here we all are at beautiful Eton Beach.
One highlight of their visit was a tour around the Island. We hired a bus and driver and visited the Blue Hole, Eton Beach, Forari Wharf, Undine Bay and various WWII sites. Here we are pictured with George the bus driver who gave us a coconut demonstration at Undine Bay.
At Havannah Harbour, where the Americans had a Naval Base during the war, we visited a roadside stall selling war mementos and shells.
Once again Geoff managed to take an afternoon off and we chartered a yacht which sailed us over to Paradise Cove for some snorkelling and shell collecting. We sailed back through a beautiful sunset.
Inside the 'Blue Sub' which takes you for a quick tour to view the coral gardens around Iririki Island in the Harbour.
Karen's Brother David
Karen's brother David spent 10 days with us during June 2001. During that time we had shocking weather with only one really sunny day and rain and clouds the rest of the time. Never the less David still managed to get in lots of snorkelling, fishing, trips to the market, a visit to the boys' school, a trip around Efate and we also went to a Vanessa Quai concert. The top photo shows David and Jeremy in the 'jungle' below our house making their way down to the lagoon. Unfortunately the fishing there failed to yield even a bite. All the fish must be on the other side of the lagoon as there are always locals in their outriggers fishing over there.

A fishing trip near the main wharf brought better results claiming a couple of big trevally, however the catch was given away to the fellow who gave them permission to fish on the Kastom land. The photo at right shows David, Mark (an AVI teacher) and Sam (one of Mark's students) with their catch.
At right David is shown at School Assembly with Jeremy's class in the background. Below L-R David, Simon and Jeremy with Ziggy, ready to snorkel at Erakor Island and a couple of underwater shots of 'snorkelman'. Pretty tricky hey?

The Vallance Family
The Vallance family were our old neighbours in Singleton and they came in July 2001 for two weeks, spending one week at Crown Plaza and then one week with us. This was their first trip overseas and they had a great time experiencing another culture, enjoying the touristy things and made lots of friends amongst their fellow guests and the local staff at the resort.
When they weren't catching the local buses, everyone enjoyed travelling 'Vanuatu style' in the back of the ute with the wind blowing through their hair and the chance to wave to the locals.
The photo at right shows Debbie, Karen and Leiman dressed up in their Island dresses. (The normal everyday dress for Ni-Vanuatu women.) Below, during one of their trips to the markets Deb shows off a nice shirt, Lindsay holds up a dead flying fox (a local delicacy) and Debbie, Kyle and Jeremy check out the coconuts. Other highlights of their visit were trips to the Cascades and Hideaway and a bus trip around Efate Island. They also came to church with us and Debbie and Kyle visited the school, while Mark and Lindsay went fishing. Fortunately the Smol Bag Theatre Company was presenting a series of shows during their stay and we were able to enjoy a fantastic evening of plays telling the old kastom stories of Vanuatu. The Vallances had such a good time that they are already planning a return visit and hope to keep in touch with some of the Ni-Van friends they made while staying at the resort.



The photo at right shows us enjoying our last meal together before they had to catch their plane home. We feasted on tuluk, lap lap, manioc, clams, octopus and chicken brought home from the markets wrapped in banana leaves.
The photos below were taken at the Mele Botanical Gardens where we saw a kastom magic show and were entertained with singing and sand drawing.

The Flynn Family
A couple of days after the Vallances went home Geoff's other sister Jennie with Kirsten and Aaron arrived to spend 5 days. During their stay they were able to see part of the boy's school sports day. The photo at right shows them seated in the grandstand. Other activites were a visit to Ekasup Cultural Village, snorkelling at Erakor and Hideaway, a walk and swim at the Cascades and some shopping. The boys enjoyed spending time with their cousins on the computer and playing games during our times spent at home between sightseeing trips.


Geoff's Mum and Dad
Geoff's Mum and Dad returned in June 2002 for a quick weekend visit taking advantage of a special package offered by Le Meridien Resort. This was their second visit, unfortunately we lost the photos from their earlier trip. The weather was fairly ordinary but we had a nice time catching up. During their stay they got to meet Ziggy and Iggy our iguanas, but judging from the first two photos the grandchildren brought bigger smiles to the face of Grandpa than our pets did. The other photos were taken in town admiring one of the CBD carvings and after lunch at one of the restaurants on a very windy day.




David and Julie
Karen's brother David also returned for a second visit and this time brought Julie. Unfortunately the bad weather hung around for a lot of their stay but they still managed to get out and do a bit of snorkelling and visited the Ekasup Cultural Village.


The Barrow Family
The Barrow family from Bomaderry arrived for a twelve day visit in September. Sixteen years ago we spent 3 weeks in Samoa and 2 weeks in Fiji with Kerrie and Peter. This trip was a chance to relive some of the old memories and show them and their children what life is like for us in Vanuatu. The weather was great for the first half of their holiday and we visited Hideaway, hired a bus to go around the island and went sailing in Havannah Harbour. The photos on the right were taken during our bus trip around the island. The bus was owned and driven by Kanas one of our friends from church. Kanas and his bus also featured in Karen's Thong Pong movie that she made with the boys and their friends during July/August. The top photo was taken at the Blue Hole. The next two at a cave on the northside of the island near Kanas' village. The fourth photo shows an old abandoned tank from the war and the final photo was taken when we got home.