OUR thoughts on VANUATU

If you have never been to Vanuatu, we believe you should put it high on your priority list of places to visit.  If you have been before but not in the past 4 or 5 years, it’s time to think of a return trip.  Vanuatu has become a “must visit” South Pacific destination over recent times. But first, a little history.  Although he wasn’t the first European to “discover” this place, Captain James Cook named this island group the “New Hebrides”.  Both the English and the French laid claim to it so, to avoid trouble, for around 75 years before Independence the New Hebrides and its predominantly Melanesian people were under the influence of joint British and French colonial rule. Vanuatu only gained its independence in 1980.  As a result of the colonial history, visitors will notice a French influence in street and place names and in the cuisine, especially in the country’s capital Port Vila which is located on the island of Efate, and in Luganville, the main town on the northern island of Espiritu Santo.  English, French and the local language, Bislama, are all Official Languages and are widely spoken alongside well over 100 other languages that are in daily use throughout the islands.  James A. Michener, the American author, was one of thousands of soldiers stationed in Vanuatu during WW11 and it was while living on Espiritu Santo that he wrote “Tales of The South Pacific” on which the musical “South Pacific” is based.  There is a definite Michener influence still to be found today. The cosmopolitan harbour-side capital Port Vila, the ancient and modern Melanesian culture, the great variety of natural attractions and a wide range of good quality tourist facilities add up to a wonderful holiday destination to explore and enjoy only 3 hours flying time from Auckland.

There are normally 3 direct flights a week between Auckland and Port Vila and there are also flights from Nadi and Noumea. There are extensive local services by air from Port Vila to all Vanuatu’s main islands.  It is a 50 minute flight between Port Vila and Luganville on the island of Santo to the north and a 40 minute flight between Port Vila and Lenarkel on the island of Tanna to the south. 

OUR Efate Island - Port Vila
OUR Efate Island - Around the Island
OUR Espirito Santo Island
OUR Tanna Island

Click here to download the April2011 issue of what to do in Vanuatu. Please note this file is 5MB and may take some time to download.

OUR Efate Island
Port Vila

The International Airport is only around 10 minutes drive from Port Vila.  The main places to stay are clustered around the town or within 10 km of the town, although there are very special places to stay on the 132 km ring road around the island too.  There is a wide range of accommodation types from spectacular boutique beach resorts and International-style resorts to city hotels and motels and Our Specialists know them all well.     

There is something quite different about the Port Vila area for a holiday and we’ll try to explain it for you.  In most South Pacific countries, the capital is built around a deep water harbour and usually on the side of the island that gets the highest rainfall; take Suva Fiji as a prime example of this. In many cases the resorts are a considerable distance away from the Capital.  Not so with Port Vila.  This charming Capital nestles on Port Vila Harbour and this harbour is the centre of recreation activity as well as providing a pretty backdrop to the town.  There are cruise ship visits almost every week and the cruise ships pass close to the town to berth nearby.  Cruising yachts, deep sea fishing boats and dive boats come and go and the locals use the harbour to get to and from town from their homes around the bay and on the islands scattered in the bay. There is sailing, parasailing, kayaking, jet boat rides and sunset cruises on the harbour.  It’s a great place to be.  One of Vanuatu’s many unusual tourist features is the resorts that are located on islands which are only a minute or two by boat off the mainland.  Around Port Vila, these are Hideaway Island Resort in Mele Bay, Erakor Island Resort opposite Le Lagon in the Erakor Lagoon and Iririki Island Resort which is right in the middle of Port Vila Harbour.  We love being able to stay at a resort on a tropical island but being able to pop over to town any time a downtown café or restaurant or a spot of shopping beckons and then taking the short trip back to the tropical island to continue to enjoy all the quietness and seclusion that an island resort offers. 

If the “Island near the city” concept doesn’t appeal there are plenty of places to stay in Port Vila Harbour like Moorings Hotel and The Grand Hotel and Casino – there are others and Our Specialists can match the best one to your requirements.  We have uptown and downtown hotels/motels/lodges too. A short drive away from Port Vila Harbour on a series of sheltered lagoons, there are major resorts like Warwick's Le Lagon, The Palms (soon to become a Holiday Inn) and a big selection of boutique resorts, some for families, others for couples only, some with self-catering units, others with intimate restaurants.  All of them facing one or other of several sheltered and linked lagoons and all of them very handy to Port Vila. Then there is Pango Point with one coastline on the harbour and the other facing the open sea and once again, there are lovely resorts here too. Around the point on the opposite side of Port Vila Harbour from Pango Point you enter Mele Bay. Here there are also small intimate resorts to be found and all of them only a few minutes from town. You don't need a rental car to get to these great spots as there is an excellent mini bus service in Port Vila - just hail the driver (the mini buses are not immediately recogniseable but licensed mini buses have a "B" at the beginning of their number plates) and for around $2 each the driver will take you door to door!

If you are staying on the "mainland" you are still welcome to visit the small islands near the city and that makes a great day out, just go to the jetty and the island boat will be there shortly to pick you up. Iririki Island Resort will charge you the equivalent of around $20 per person for a "Day Pass" which you pay for on arrival at the island's security centre. You get a full credit of this amount in the Island's food and bar outlets.

Apart from water–borne activities there are plenty of other activities to be enjoyed around Port Vila. There are excellent restaurants and cafes, local markets, casinos, clubs, pubs, supermarkets, boutiques and shops.  A few minutes south you come across Club Hippique which is a high quality and very professional horse-riding operation. They specialise in rainforest rides, swim horses etc. Bordering on Mele Bay you’ll find the 18 holes Port Vila Golf and Country Club and visitors are welcome to play on this well-maintained course.  Not too far past the Golf Club you come to The Cascades which is a wonderful waterfall area where the fresh, clear water runs off the plateau and down to the ocean in a series of lovely cascades – it’s a great spot to visit, play and picnic.  Don’t overlook the cultural aspect of Vanuatu either.  The resorts will offer special cultural events and they are great.  However, do consider the tour out to Ekasup Village on the Erakor peninsular to take part in the whole experience of custom dancing, learn about the old ways of life in Vanuatu, bush medicine, the coconut tree of life and hear about what part cannibalism played in the history of the people.

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OUR Efate
Around the Island.

A trip around Efate is a good day trip from Port Vila, but a better idea is to spend a night or two (or more), at one of several very special spots along the way.  Our Specialists can organise a rental car for you. The road right around the island is 132 km long and around 60% of it is currently sealed and the remainder is kept in good order.  Even when the whole ring road is sealed it is still a good idea to take a 4WD as you will want to get off the bitumen to see Eton Beach, Banana Bay, White Sands etc. Travelling clockwise from Port Vila you pass around Mele Bay.  Have a look at Nippers Bar – you will want to come back here another day, then climb the steep grade up Klem’s Hill to the top of the plateau.  The views over Hideaway Island and Mele Bay are spectacular from the top of Klem’s Hill.   The road will take you across the island and you’ll soon arrive at the coast again where the road overlooks the aptly-named “Hat Island” and Lelepa Island which forms the western end of Havannah Harbour.  Havannah Harbour is a sheltered deep-water harbour with crystal clear water where dugongs and dolphins live and play.  There is an excellent day trip from Port Vila that takes you to the village and caves on Lelepa Island. The road dips back to sea level and you will soon arrive at Samoa Point and the deluxe up-market couples only resort “The Havannah”.  What a great spot.  You could spend your entire holiday here or take a short break from Port Vila – Our Specialists can assist you with a booking at The Havannah (Enjoy the “resident” dugongs).  On the circle Island drive, you might decide to stay for lunch – it’s a perfect setting.  Close by is Port Havannah and this is the jumping off spot for The Tranquillity Island Eco Tourism & Dive Resort where you can stay in rustic cabins or you may decide to come back another day on a Coongoola Day trip to Tranquillity Island Resort for great swimming, a BBQ lunch and get up close and personal to the turtles.    The road climbs back up on to the plateau and comes down again at Siviri.  Siviri, where there are some interesting caves, marks the eastern end of Havannah Harbour.  You get lovely views of large off-shore islands here.  Soon you will arrive at the jumping off point for Kakula Island.  Now, here is something a bit interesting.  Kakula is a perfect tropical island which is destined for a top-end tourism development, but meantime, there is an opportunity to stay and experience this wonderful island in comfortable accommodation and enjoy great meals.  Our Specialists have details – this place has to be experienced to be believed.  The sealed road ends at Beachcomber Hot Springs which is 55 km from Port Vila and this will probably be the time for lunch.  Lunch here and take time out for a dip in their pools which are filled from natural hot springs.  After lunch the road follows the coast past villages, through beautiful forests, past the disused mine, wharf and village at Forari then across to Eton where there is a lovely beach for your last break before travelling through coconut plantations where Vanuatu Beef cattle graze amongst the palms. Turn off the bitumen road to take in the beautiful south coast beaches, before regaining the sealed road after you have passed the Banana Bay beaches and Tamanu Beach Club which is 15 minutes from town and Eratap Beach Resort 10 minutes from Port Vila.

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OUR Espirito Santo Island
Santo has always been known as a great place to SCUBA dive and snorkel and it certainly is that, but Santo has a great deal of interest for all visitors and some great places to stay.  Santo has two close-by off-shore islands with very good resorts, namely Bokissa Eco Island Resort and Aore Island Resort.  There are hotels in and around the town of Luganville and out along the east coast there is the wonderful Moyyen House By the Sea. Our Specialists can help you decide which one suits your requirements best.  The beach and island resorts of Santo are ideal spots for a honeymoon, (whether first or second or third) and are great for serious relaxation and unwinding in a quality setting.   

Don’t overlook Santo’s natural features either.  Kayaking the sheltered bays, swimming in the amazing Blue Hole or enjoying the magic Champagne Beach are “don’t miss” experiences.  Champagne Beach is such a perfect beach that cruise ships make special stops here on South Pacific itineraries and if you are staying on Santo you can drive up there any time you like. Diving the wreck of the “President Coolidge” or Million Dollar Point is a must for experienced SCUBA divers.  If you are at all interested in outdoor pursuits don’t miss the Millennium Caves, it’s a day trip to remember.

On Santo you can still see fragments of the Allied troop bases that existed here during WWII.  It was on Santo that James A Michener gazing out to the distant Ambae Island and watching it disappear and reappear in the sea mist wrote his epic “Tales of the South Pacific” and in his imagination, named the island “Bali Hai”.  From May through October each year the luxury small ship “Island Passage” sails weekly from Luganville on 6 day cruises to Champagne Beach and Hog Harbour and that take in Maewo Island and Bali Hai (Ambae).  The cruise to Champagne Beach, Maewo and Ambae is a perfect way to round out a trip to Santo.  For the remainder of the year “Island Escape Cruises, cruise Auckland’s Hauraki Gulf, The Bay of Islands and Nelson Regions.   

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OUR Tanna Island
“Natural” is a word that springs to mind when describing our thoughts of experiences to be had in Tanna.  Tanna has a wonderful history full of stories of ancient people and cargo cults etc handed down over the generations by people, some of whom still live the natural way far off in the “Deep Bush” and who are only ever visited by outsiders (if ever) strictly on their own terms. You can visit the fringes of some of the villages of these people and the experience can be very rewarding indeed.  Tanna is a volcanic island so the coastline is craggy and dotted with small inlets, some with white sand coves and some with black volcanic sand.  The snorkelling in these inlets is some of the best you will find anywhere. The surrounding forest and bush is ancient and lovely natural features abound such as waterfalls, swimming holes and the like. How much time should you allocate to Tanna?  Well, as usual, the longer you can stay the better but allow at least 2 nights as the minimum and that isn’t really long enough.  It takes 1 night to visit the amazing Yasur Volcano which is best experienced at dusk.  Yasur is on the south-east coast of Tanna and there is quite a long and sometimes bumpy ride to get there.  You need to take an organised tour as you simply wouldn’t easily find your own way there and back.  You travel through forests then over the wide dark-grey ash plain before arriving at Yasur around dusk.  You park just under the crater rim and take an easy walk up to the crater.  If Yasur is performing (and it usually is) be prepared for an amazing experience.

Because of its natural charm, visitors to Tanna won’t feel the need for expensive luxury accommodation in order to totally relax and unwind.  Our recommended properties all offer comfortable bungalows with good facilities and good dining. 

Summing up Vanuatu is quite a challenge.  A visit to Vanuatu is rewarding with a few days spent staying in the town or somewhere in the vicinity of Port Vila, but, as you can see, there is a whole lot more that this destination has to offer.  Melanesian Culture is something that many Kiwis know little about and learning something of this is a rewarding bonus while enjoying a South Pacific Island holiday trip.  The gentle French influence adds to the experience too and you are spoilt for choice between Port Vila, around Efate, Santo and Tanna and all the different opportunities for enjoyment these choices bring.  Get on up there to Vanuatu – it’s a great place for a holiday!

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