Blogs from Tanna, Vanuatu, Oceania
September 27th 2010
Sadly it was time to leave Tanna. Prince was sorry to see us leave and Peter looked like he was going to cry, Stella was going to check our luggage to make sure we hadn't stolen them! The plane was delayed so we spent a couple of hot humid hours at the airport. At Port Vila we made our way to the Boat House. A lovely, nearly finished house on the water not far from town. We have our own private beach with beanbags to watch the sunset. We had the excellent Merguez sausages from the supermarket and French bread. ... read more
Vanuatu - Day 7 - Black Sand Beach - Tanna Island
Published: October 9th 2010Oceania » Vanuatu » Tanna
September 26th 2010
We took a 4x4 to the black sand beach. It was the best sand ever! Powder fine and glinting black. The beach was long and just beautiful, with perfect rollers crashing in. Behind was the dirt road with coconut groves and steep jungle covered hills behind. There was a little thatched shelter on the edge of the beach where we had our picnic lunch. Tom and Grace immediately made friends with the local kids who were there for a day out. Peter came with his sister. Everyone played with the blow-up boards and in the rip. They made sand sculptures of crocodiles and we made one of a kangaroo. Tom then showed them the drag-stick game. We ate baked bean sandwiches. All too soon it was time to go home and we stopped quickly at some ... read more
Vanuatu - Day 6 - Custom Village and making friends
Published: October 9th 2010Oceania » Vanuatu » Tanna
September 25th 2010
In the morning we went to Louinio a custom village about half an hour from the resort. We were met by a young woman in a grass top and skirt. She explained how they were made, which involved stripping the fibre from some vines, soaking them in the sea for a couple of weeks and then weaving them into the clothes. We walked down to the welcome hut and were showed various plants on the way. We were taken to a garden and were told how it all works. Children are given a small patch to look after, this gets bigger as they get older. They do crop rotation, alternating yams and the other vegetables. They also feed pigs and chickens. The pigs are fed coconut flesh with juice from a special leaf to help them ... read more
Vanuatu - Day 5 - Market, Volcano and Custom dance
Published: October 9th 2010Oceania » Vanuatu » Tanna
September 24th 2010
In the morning we walked down to the market in Lenakel. We saw some older ladies under a tree stripping banana leaves to make baskets and mats. The market was under a huge banyan tree. For sale there were taro, cava roots, banana, carrots, yam, tomatoes, sweet potato, sweet bread, pawpaw, peanuts, bread fruit, coconuts and live chickens (that Grace wanted to save!). Tom had some sweet bread wrapped in banana leaf, we bought some peanuts, a pawpaw to ripen and some tomatoes. We also bought a big woven bag for the beach and a small pretty one for Grace. Sum drove us home and Tom and Grace stood in the back of the ute. After lunch we went to Mt Yasur volcano. It was a long and very bumpy drive, over the mountains in the ... read more
Vanuatu- Day 4 - From Port Vila to Tanna Lodge - Tanna Island
Published: October 9th 2010Oceania » Vanuatu » Tanna
September 23rd 2010
The plane ride was fine and very quick. when we arrived it was a bit bumpy. we were picked up by Sum and taken to the resort. We were welcomed with a fresh pawpaw juice (pureed pawpaw with a bit of lime). The bungalow was made of concrete with a thatched roof. it is right in front of the ocean and the waves are extremely loud. the first night none of us slept very well. It sounded like bombs were going off! ... read more
September 9th 2010
September 9 2010 Tanna Island, Vanuatu - Unbelievable Hi guys, greetings from the nav station on Sunboy as we motor sail from the island of Tanna in Vanuatu bound for Noumea in New Caledonia. We made it into Tanna last Friday morning quite early and were helped into the anchorage from Norm who is sailing solo on a massive 80 foot sloop. We met Norm in Tahiti and he is just an amazing guy, 65 years of age, an Australian by birth but has lived and worked all over the world and sails this huge boat so easily and so relaxed he makes even the most competent cruiser look on with awe. Anyway, Norm guided us in through the pass and we got the pick down on the volcanic sand bottom without a problem. The anchorage ... read more
August 27th 2010
Awe. Terror. Excitement. Fear. Amazement. Disbelief. Never before have I experience all these emotions coursing through me simultaneously. But then, never before have I stood on the craters edge of an erupting volcano. Every time the bubbling lava pool let out an ear deafening blast followed by a fountain of bright orange lava shooting 300 feet into the air, my body would want to run but my mind couldn’t get enough of this natural firework show. In response to each eruption, my conflicting emotions would burst to the surface in the form of uncontrollable giggles. Giggles of terror! When we set sail from Fiji to Vanuatu, we planned to arrive on the island of Tanna where we could check into the country and see Mt Yasur, an easily accessible active volcano. We heard from other cruisers ... read more
August 17th 2010
It’s amazing how sailing can be so much more enjoyable when you aren’t seasick! I found that out the hard way. After stocking up on supplies and preparing the boat, my aunt, uncle and I set sail for Vanuatu. I knew there was a good chance I might get seasick on our first open water passage of four days but hoped my seasickness patch would work its magic. It also didn’t help hearing the horror stories the night before our departure talking amidst other cruisers at the island bar. Some of them still got unbearably seasick after sailing for years. Years! And here I was with what, maybe six days of actual sailing experience. That thought alone made my stomach feel queasy. But when the moment of truth came and we motored out beyond the reefs ... read more
August 12th 2010
Alright, where to begin. My flight from Tanna to Port Villa was supposed to fly out at 10am. When we got to the airport we were told there was a delay. Apparently, the workers had decided to go on strike 30 minutes before our check-in and were refusing to refuel or load the baggage. The president of Air Vanuatu had to fly down settle things. About 4 hours later we were taking off. We arrived in Port Villa and the police escorted us all aside to get statements for their investigation...Whatever that means. A few hours later we were on our plane to go from Port Villa to Nadi, Fiji. As we were taxiing on the runway to turn around and take off it felt like all the tires on one side of the plane exploded. ... read more
May 11th 2010
At the airport the guy on the desk said he new of a place we could stay, some new bungalows so we booked that for one night, then we got talking to the owner of one of the 2 expensive resorts on Tanna and a photographer that was going to take pictures of the volcano for a new tour they were setting up. They told us how there were no tourists at the moment, talked about the tour and somehow it ended up that Andy invited us along. The owner Huey kept saying we should stay at his place but we knew the price (about 300 AU per night plus), were we booked was (we thought) 40. In the end he said he would match our current price just to get people there, so we agreed ... read more
