The sail from Fiji was lively especially the first 36 hours then
the seas and the winds settled and we enjoyed a more relaxing sail for the last
night into Anatom. As we sailed
around the south east corner of the reef to enter the anchorage at Anelghowhat a P&O Cruise ship was
approaching - we thought it best to give them right of way!
It was here that we checked into
Vanuatu with the customs and biosecurity officers having flown in for the
Cruise ship. The village of
Anelghowat was very hospitable providing beautiful fresh fruit for the rally
boats. We were invited to a village
double wedding on our second day
and on the third day we enjoyed a tour of the
village with demonstrations of traditional fishing techniques, food
preservation (for cyclone season), weaving, clothing and fire lighting. We then all took our dinghies to
Mystery Island for a feast with
some traditional dancing, kava drinking and a special presentation was made to
the incoming ICA leader Nigel and the outgoing leader, John.
Our next destination was the Island of Tanna where we walked the
rim of Mt Yasur volcano. On our
approach we could see the steam and ash clouds rising from the Volcano from
about 10 nautical miles out. Cran
landed a medium sized Skipjack Tuna on
the sail across, we had sashimi for lunch, made sushi for sundowners and smoked
the remainder on the beach the following day.
The Port Resolution Yacht Club organized transport (twin cabs with open
tray) which drove us to the bottom of Mt Yasur, which was an adventure in
itself. We rode in the back of
the ute, ducking low branches, bracing for the pot holes and gasping as the
climbed the mountain at the steam vents either side of the road. We use the word road in its most
basic sense, mostly deeply rutted tracks with no passing bays, so when we met
an oncoming vehicle it was often a game of bluff as to who would have to back
up or drive into the ditch.
At
the entry point we paid our entry fees and then were driven via a near vertical
route to just below the rim of the volcano.
From the car park (an ash field) it was a 10 minute walk/climb up a
stair case to the rim of the crater. OH and there was a post box on the stair
climb!!
Once we were at the rim of the crater we could walk
approximately one third of the way around the rim, a very unique sunset experience.
From various points and heights we
could see into the interior where 4 vents were active with red molten lava and
steam, then a rumble was followed by explosions of molten rock and ash which
was expelled high into the air. At
times there were big lumps of red rock flying through the air. Most went back into the crater but
some landed on the edge just below where we were standing when we first walked
up the to rim. Needless to say
we were quickly covered in ash and some of us wore face masks , others rain
jackets or ponchos, hats were handy to keep the ash out of your eyes.
One word to describe the experience "AWESOME”.
We arrived just
before sunset and once dark, the colors and fireworks were all the more
spectacular. When we departed at
6.30pm is was dark so torches were required to make the trek back around the
crater rim, less than 1 meter wide at times, down soft ash slopes (our joggers
will never look white again) and then down the steps to the car park.
When we arrived at our anchorage in Port Resolution the wind was
blowing from the south east. This
meant the ash from the volcano was blowing away from us to the north west. On the third day in Port Resolution
the wind turned westerly so the boat was covered in ash and any hatches left
just a little bit open - well there was ash in the boat as well. The problem with ash on the boat when
the wind changed was worth it for the experience. The ash is highly abrasive
and has to be hosed off not brushed or wiped, or vacuumed on the inside. We need to look at the winds for our
next volcano visit. During the
day the clouds of mist and dust rising from the volcano are visible from Port
Resolution, at night the red glow from the vents in the caldera are visible and
you can hear the explosions and rumbles continuously day and night. Around the anchorage are steaming
vents and bubbling pools of hot water. The
Vanuatu people cook in the hot pools - 10 mins to cook a whole pumpkin.
We departed Tanna for an overnight sail to Port Vila. Another
lively sail reaching 10 knots at times, no bad for us with two reefs in the
main! After securing a mooring
buoy we hit the shops of Port Vila. The
open air market has a large range of fresh fruit and vegetables as well as
snack foods e.g. locally grown peanuts as well as banana and sweet potato
chips. We restocked with fresh
supplies and visited the large supermarket on the top of the hill behind the
marina. We dined in style for
lunch at a great waterfront restaurant called Chill. Linen table cloths and serviettes,
air conditioning and a great lunch menu - the Vanuatu Beef is a must and we
enjoyed this with the obligatory bottle of Tusker. All this and a view of Port Vila
harbour!
After two days in Port Vila we started to head north, our
destination being Ambrym for the Back to the Roots Festival. It was a day hop firstly to Havanna
Harbour where we continued birthday celebrations for Debbie on Zest. She celebrated her birthday in style
and her twin sons and husband
cooked up a storm. We had a pot
luck dinner where everyone brings something to share. It all worked, the pasta stroganoff
being the highlight!! The
following day we sailed to Epi Island to Lamen Bay for our overnight anchorage
then to Ambrym Island for the festival.
Our sail north was lively at times but mostly good winds and the
anchorages were beautiful, it was a shame to be staying just one night. The currents between the islands were
quite strong, we had 3 to 4 knots against us at one stage between Epi and Paama
Islands. Cran caught a 1.3 m
Wahoo just off Ambrym Island as we sailed north.
Saturday August 26 was one of those special days which will stay
in our memories forever. We were
fortunate to experience the famous Rom Dance along with a couple of other
dances related to grading ceremonies. We
thought we had missed it as the festival had started a day earlier than
advertised and have since discovered that there are a few web sites with
differing information. Luckily
Zest arrived a day before us and attended the second day where the Rom Dance
was performed. We went to the
third day thinking that we would see some custom dancing, however, because
there was such a large crowd of Europeans the Chief decided to repeat the Rom
Dance plus a few others that we had missed.
We were very lucky and thank Chris and Debbie on Zest for talking to the
chief on our behalf.
We also saw
one of the the Maghe or Grade-taking ceremonies and dance where the man who
wants to move up a level in the community, as one part of the ceremony, has to
stand on top of a high bamboo platform and have rocks and coconuts thrown at
him - but only by men who are equal or a higher ranking to himself.
The dancing was fantastic and the
ground was vibrating with their stomping feet and amazing Tamtam drums. We have some good photos and videos
to share with you.
There was also a food demonstration that you would have enjoyed. The men cooked breadfruit on an open
fire and grated coconuts into a large bowl.
They then peeled the blackened breadfruit and kneaded the cooked flesh
with a young smooth green coconut on a beautiful long low table that had been
oiled with freshly grated coconut. Once
the breadfruit resembled smooth cooking dough it was shaped then flattened to
look like a large thick crusted pizza. This
was then sliced with sharpened sticks. While
this was happening another man started to squeeze the coconut milk from the
grated coconut and it was placed in a coconut shell with a rock that had been
heated in the fire. The fresh
coconut milk turned to thick coconut cream as it sizzled over the hot rock. This thick milk was then poured over
the breadfruit and we were invited to eat strait from the table. It was delicious and not a skerrick
was left.
There were some interesting carvings for sale including
traditional bow and arrow sets, bamboo flutes decorated with geometrical
designs, stone carvings and small Tamtam drums. We purchased a flute, will just have
to learn how to play it now!!
Our anchorage on Ambrym at Nopul was excellent and there is a
coral/sandy beach to land the dinghies. At night we can see the red glow in the
sky of the volcanos of Mt Benbro and Mt Marum. I snorkeled on the reef off the beach
with Kate from Blue Summit, while Cran and Steve smoked some Wahoo and
Mahi-Mahi to the great interest of the local women and children. We gave them a taste and they were
not quite sure as it was moist and had a manuka honey and ginger dressing, a
new taste for them. When they
cook fish it is tough and overcooked, probably because they have no
refrigeration. That evening we
went to a small restaurant about at 30 min walk away for early dinner. Fruit
bat on the menu (wings and head included) - we gave that one a miss, however
the the pizza, various sweet potato and taro dishes, cucumber salad, rice and
chicken, orange and pampelmos platter were more attractive.
Monday August 28 we headed north to Espiritu Santu and anchored
off Ratoua Island Resort, where we enjoyed a beautiful lunch with our friends
Caroline and Gus. We
caught up with them in New Zealand after a few years of loosing touch. They had purchased a new Jeaneau in
France, sailed her through the Med, across the Atlantic through the Panama
Canal and across the Pacific to NZ then north to Vanuatu. They will now make Vanuatu their home
and will spend the next 12 months building a home here on Aore Island just
south of Luganville. Their boat
has just sold so it will be a motor boat for the next few years until the
oceans beckon one again. This will be the outlook front their front verandah, a view you'd never tire of , as a water view it is dynamic and always changing.
We leave for New Caledonia tomorrow morning and will do a further update to Vanuatu with some photos in and around Port Vila.
Like all countries we have visited this year, Vanuatu has been a great experience, the people are very welcoming and appreciate you coming. WE WILL BE BACK.
