Blogs from Efate, Vanuatu, Oceania - page 2

So today I touched down in Vanuatu (17th Aug) it's some time in the evening here... must remember to change time on my phone. I feel like i've been travelling for years. It was so good to finally have a shower and brush my teeth after finally putting my bags down. Flight from London to Dubai went fine. Dubai to Brisbane was fine, I just didn't remember how long it took.. it went on forever.. was at least 12 hours flying.. the good thing was that it wasn't fully booked and i managed to secure 3 seats to myself next to a window... so yeah I was able to lie down and get a fair amount of sleep. Might go off on a rant now but I hate Australian customs, it's the most fuss in the ... read more

Turtles, turtles everywhere! The Kustom owners at Chrystal Blue Lagoon sure know a great location when they see it. We spent the day out there and discovered a turtle hatchery full of very cute little babies. We swam and snorkled in the lagoon and got up close and personal with lots of colourful sealife. Exhausted and ready to eat, the over-water restaurant was calling. Friendly staff happily prepared the most delicious seafood platter, freshly caught in the waters below. The other Gypsy taste tested Vanuatu's famously tender organic beef, BBQ’d to perfection … he wasn’t disappointed. Established and managed by local ni-Vanuatu Kustom owners on Turtle Bay Beach, just 20 minutes drive from Port Vila, Crystal Blue offers conference facilities, restaurant, workshop and a chapel (just in case the tropical ambience gets you in the marrying ... read more

Hey, Here're some pictures from my Vanuatu trip! It was really awesome, but quite adventurous. The full pacific experience inclusive earthquake and a tropical cyclone. Unfortunately, the sea was quite rough after the cyclone, which affected the visibility underwater for some days. I also got stuck on Efate (Main Island) as all flights where canceled, because of the weather. Nevertheless, it was really amazing. Very nice and very friendly people!! Made many new friends... The second part has the better UW pictures, which were taken several days after the cyclone, when the sea got quiet. Yu play play gut! Lukim yu! Stefan ... read more

Back in Efate again - at least this time it is not raining - WOW it looks so much nicer. As usual we had nothing booked on arriving at airport, after trying one place (too expensive) we ened up at the Nirvana. Great place but empty - as usual we were the only guests. This place had a coral beach, although the same issue of only being able to swim at high tide. We worked out the last day would be great as the tide would be high around 10am, it was really not warm enough to swim prior to that. On our way to this resort we went past a Surf shop - and yes they DO surf. I had never heard of surfing in Vanuatu - but then I had not heard anything much ... read more

While most people are familiar with Tahiti, not so many have been to some of the more remote South Pacific islands. Although on the surface most of these islands look the same—palm trees, sand and verdant mountains--they are in fact very different both culturally and economically. So as we hopscotch across the Pacific we get to experience Polynesian, Melanesian, French, English and Indian lifestyles and influences. Our first port was supposed to be Samoa. However, en route we encountered the tail end of a cyclone and had to cancel that call. We had been looking forward to visiting the fabled Aggie Grey’s hotel and also to check out the effects of the recent tsunami. The tsunami struck without warning in September and caused tremendous damage and loss of life. I’m sure an infusion of tourist dollars ... read more