Vanuatu - ziplining and volcanos

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Tuesday 22 April

Up late (ish) this morning and wandered into town via bus for a late breakfast. Found our way to Nambawum where I had a fresh coconut and BLT and Stuart had eggs and one of the biggest strawberry milkshakes I have ever seen. Probably close to a litre of milk.

After breakfast we had a walk through town and the shops before heading back for a quick swim at the hotel pool.

We got picked up for our zipline tour at 1:30pm, the van was pretty full when it got to us and we were last in and made for a squishy trip. Van was filled mostly with Aussies and Kiwis from what I could tell.

It was probably about a 20 minute trip there, mostly on a dirt road going straight up the side of the hill. Rather steep, sheer drops off the side and no guard rails made me a nervous passenger.

At the top it was time to sign our lives away (literally) before getting fitted with harnesses and safety gear, including helmets and gloves. They were pretty thorough with checking everything, after we were fitted they had someone recheck everyone, and then as we latched on at the start they again checked everything was in order.

So, what is ziplining I hear you ask? And why would someone who is pretty scared of heights even think about doing it? Great reviews and thorough safety checks, coupled with it being something different and the fact that it sounded like fun.

It is described on their website as: "Soar through the jungle canopy and experience a fantastic buzz while on 6 ziplines and 2 suspension bridges. Zip platform to platform high in the trees and enjoy breathtaking views overlooking the ridgeline down to Mele Bay. Wobble across the suspension bridge and fly across our 80 meter canyon and back over the top of our seasonal waterfall. Its fantastic fun set in a beautiful location!"

The first one was probably the hardest. Once you were tied on, you had to walk to the edge, stand on your toes so that they could tighten the rope, then sit down and lift your feet. Gravity pretty much took over from there. The first one I was pretty petrified and didn't enjoy at all. Between being scared to step off and being scared of how I would get onto the platform on the other side.., well, there wasn't much time in the middle to enjoy anything else.

The first couple of ziplines were relatively short. The longer ones, even though they were over canyons and a lot higher, I enjoyed more as there was time to forget about the start and finish. I don't think the waterfall was flowing though, saw an area which looked like it could be a waterfall but there was no water.

One of the ziplines everyone that went ahead looked they they slowed down and almost didn't get to the platform, so that panicked me. The last thing I wanted was to have to monkey pull myself up to the platform, but thankfully that didn't happen.

There were also a couple of drawbridges which were just as scary, especially when the local guides come barging through rocking them like crazy!

But I made it safe and sound, saw some lovely views at the top too and was glad I did it after I finished, Stuart had fun too, although I think that was more seeing me petrified and my expressions.

Back in the crowded van for the trip back. Got dropped at the lodge just as it started to rain so we skipped the swim and opted for some chill time instead, before showering and heading out to dinner.

More successful with dinner this evening, chose to go to Exotic Thai which had good reviews on TripAdvisor and, after multiple checking of maps, discovered it wasn't too far away. Even got away with walking there, although the rain barely held off.

Ironically when we walked in the restaurant two people from the ziplining tour were eating there already!

Grabbed a table and ordered a couple of beers, along with curry puffs, honey chicken, Penang chicken and rice, super tasty. Penang chicken was hot but not too hot, until I either ate a chilli or something else with a huge bite of spice, still nice though, and balanced by the honey chicken which was no spice at all.

After dinner we walked back to the hotel, in the process getting rather wet from a downpour of rain, and stopped by a shop to pick up some snacks for tomorrow. Then it was back to the hotel where we spent a while re packing and sorting through bags. This meant packing an overnight bag for Tanna, plus a day bag which contained cameras, a towel, some wet weather and warm clothing, plus other essentials like sunscreen and mozzie repellent. Was a lot more complicated than it sounds though!

Then it was time for some crappy tv, internet, chocolate and sleep.

Wednesday 23 April

My alarm went off at 8am this morning, about five minutes after I woke up. Check out was at 10am so showered and double checked the bags for today plus emptied the safe and made sure everything was packed up. The only thing I wasn't able to find was my comb, which could be anywhere in the three or four bags now packed so I ran my fingers through my hair which kind of did the job and then tied it up.

Just before 10am we headed up to check out and leave our two big bags securely stored and out two overnight bags stored for the net hour and a half.

Also had to settle the bill, which came in at a lovely $500AUD, given we had charged the tours to the room. The hotel had this set up though where they allowed us to transfer money on the spot to their Aussie account, meaning that we could pay in Australian dollars and save on currency transfer fees, etc. Stuart picked up that bill.

Then it was a bus into town where we grabbed some breakfast at The Jungle Cafe. I had eggs Benedict with mushrooms and an orange juice, Stuart had pancakes with a milkshake.

From there it was time to pick up a rain poncho for Stuart in the event it poured (already raining on and off this morning) and I made a rather large bank withdrawal to pay for our overnight Tanna tours. There was a Westpac ATM in town which meant it was better for me to withdraw to save on some of the normal bank fees. But I withdrew 84,000 vatu, or about $1000 AUD.

From there it was a bus trip back to the hotel, getting in around 11:15am, and we got picked up dead on time at 11:30am. Another family were in the bus - a couple and their teenage boy, and we headed straight to the airport.

After paying for the tour, getting weighed and sorting out departure taxes, it was time to sit in the lovely domestic airport terminal for a while. Think hard plastic seats, no air con, 70s style tables and chairs and lack of security. Oh, not to mention Ruby's Cafe which still had Christmas tinsel up along with what looked like part of a table cloth above the counter.

We were told there was a slight delay to the take off time, and then a while later it started pouring down, typical tropical downpour. That was when the pilot said that we were delayed because we couldn't fly in the rain. Granted, we were only flying in a Cessna which is about a six seater, but still! So we sat a while longer, eventually 'boarding' at around 1:20pm or so.

There were five of us plus the French pilot in total, a couple and their teenage child from northern NSW coast plus the two of us, so we squished into the plane, myself and Kim taking the two rear seats, Nathan acting as 'co-pilot' and Stuart and Aidan in the middle. We all had a window seat too which was a bonus, but no in-flight service.

We had to tie our life jackets around our waist so they were readily accessible and I had the honour of locking the rear door before we took off.

The flight was about an hour, rather bumpy in parts due to the weather and some pretty strong cross winds as we came in to land at Tanna. The pilot spent a lot of the flight madly texting on his phone and generally not seeming to pay much attention to anything at all. Reassuring.

When we landed at Tanna there was a fire truck and what I can only assume were firies sitting and waiting, but no control tower from what I could see. Airport was pretty tiny. Quick toilet stop while the pilot locked up the plane before hopping into two 4WDs and driving the five minutes to the hotel. Met with a welcome juice and shown to our rooms, where we had time to sunscreen up and check we had everything before ordering dinner for late this evening on the way out the door (we were behind schedule).

From there it was a terribly bumpy 4WD trip up to the volcano. And it was proper four wheel driving too, at one point I am pretty sure we came close to getting bogged. It was a two hour trip and for a good hour of it it pelted down with rain, lots of fog too so we thought the the trip may end up being a wash out.

Stopped at a couple of places at the base of the mountain for some photos before driving round to the other side and starting the rather steep climb.

Round to one side for some views in the strong wind before walking up a slippery, very ashy side of the volcano to a higher viewing point. Before we started we were given some advice from our guide on what to do I if it erupted, which included telling us not to run. Yeah right. Like that advice would have been followed should it have been needed!

The second vantage point proved much more interesting and we spent considerably more time there taking lots of photos, playing with the different lenses and settings. We also opted, after the previous two steep walks, not to go for the third one to the next vantage point, only Aidan and Nathan went ahead. So thousands of photos later and some very impressive lava sightings and mini eruptions, it was pitch black.

The volcano, known as Mount Yasur, is 361m tall and regarded as the world's most accessible volcano. It is also fairly active, with sand-like dunes around it made up of ash from ash rain built up over years and years.

We then made our way down the volcano side with torches on the pitch black, and it was quick slippery too, back to the 4WDs where we re-boarded for the two hour very bumpy journey back to the hotel.

Arrived back, dumped gear in the room before heading for a late dinner. Stuart had a satay chicken and I had a thai green curry, both were nice but average, accompanied by a beer. Then we grabbed a bottle of water and headed back to the room to shower and relax before going to sleep.

Thursday 24 April

Alarm went off at 7am this morning, got up, grabbed a shower and packed before heading down to breakfast. Breakfast again consisted of a ridiculous amount of fruit, plus some toast with butter and peanut butter.

Then we checked out and settled our account before jumping in a ute for the short drive to the airport. Paid our departure tax, stowed our luggage, put on our life vests and jumped into essentially the same seats in the Cessna as the previous day. Sebastian our pilot taxied out to the runway, revved the engines and then turned around and went back. We then disembarked, unloaded our luggage, took off our life vests and walked back into the departure lounge.

Sebastian then got on the phone to get another plane to us, at the same time as conducting some tests on the plane, which really just seemed to be a lot of revving from where we sat. But I would much rather be on a safe and working plane than ditched in the ocean somewhere!

From there we ended up sitting back in the departure lounge for about 20 minutes before eventually being transferred back to the resort where we stayed. The five of us sat out the back on some lounges having a chat before we were told at around 10:15am or so that we were heading back. Back into the utes, into the departure lounge for another 10 minutes while they finished refueling. The chief pilot walked past and introduced himself and explained it had been water in the fuel lines, all had now burnt off and all was sorted. So it was back into the same plane off on an hour journey back across to Port Vila. I had a nice nap on the noisy plane again which I clearly needed after the eventful morning, and we landed in Vila a bit before midday.

From there it was into a minivan. They agreed to let us swing past Fatamura and pick up our big bags and then drop us at our new accommodation, Mangoes, which saved us having to hassle with taxis or whatever.

Mangoes was the more expensive of our two accommodations and we were lucky enough to be able to check in when we got there. Stored some of our things away before heading down to the restaurant for lunch.

We then opted to walk down into town where I bought a comb, having still not found mine and having survived for two days without one I was in dire need, plus some souvenirs and drinks as we were even out of water.

Then it was a bus back up the hill the Mangoes and time to use our private plunge pool overlooking the lagoon. There are also three other pools in the complex and I plan to use at least one of them to get myself a cocktail.

Spent the most of the afternoon by the pool, reading and learning to live without wifi. Well, I did, Stuart spent some time trying to work out how to get wifi and how much it would cost. And then we got wifi and all was good with the world again.

We grabbed dinner at the restaurant - I had fish, Stuart had chicken and then we watched some very crappy tv.

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