20130304-06 Port Vila, Efate Island, Vanuatu

20120304-06 PORT VILA, EFATE Island, VANUATU

Monday Oct 4 Port Vila
After such an early night last night we woke up very early and so after drinking tea and reading for a couple of hours, Terry woke up so then we had tea and coffee and sat on the deck watching all the early morning activity in Port Vila harbour. The water taxis going between the islands and the further reaches of the mainland and Port Vila are non stop starting around 5am in the morning. The sun rise is currently around 545 am so the taxis start as the sky lightens. The boats are open topped long boats that carry maybe 12 to 15 passengers with a small cabin at the front that always seem to have two men sitting on top.

I think the water taxis bring in folks to work in town and perhaps, even brings islanders with their produce for the market. The market in Port Vila actually runs 24 hours a day! It closes Saturday afternoon and reopens each Monday morning. It is very large and has a huge assortment of fruit and vegetables as well as some fish and meat, and a large eating and cooking area where folks buy their meals. Most of the sellers are ladies, again all dressed in their brightly coloured dresses hanging to their ankles. I have looked more closely at the dresses and they are round necked, with large puffy sleeves with a frill on and quite often tags hanging down form the sleeve hem, then the dress is 3 layers; one a bodice from the shoulders to the bust, another gathered layer that comes down to the knees and the last layer, again layered that goes from the knees to the floor - so lots of yardage in each dress.

We have lots of birds in front of our unit but they seem to be all swallows and what looks like a type of blackbird. They are very active all day long and you hear the first bird singing around 4am. We went for breakfast at 730 - a large buffet with many items. There is wonderful baguettes (influence of the French) along with baked beans, sausage, bacon and eggs (from the Brits!). There are cereals and yoghurt and lots of fruit but including, surprisingly enough lots of canned fruits: peaches, pears etc. There is also French toast and pancakes with coffee and tea. There is also tea bags and coffee in the rooms - instant coffee mind you and a kettle.

Breakfast is served in Micheners overlooking the harbour - so a nice breeze off the water overlooking Port Vila Harbour while we enjoyed breakfast. Amos, the Chef who does the eggs cooked to order each morning, is also hot like the rest of us with a soaking chef jacket - he always has a huge smile especially for Terry who introduced himself to Amos on our first morning.

So we decided this morning to go walkabout in Port Vila and get our bearings. We dressed as cooly and comfortable as possible and away we went. As we reached the dock in Port Vila we were approached by Taxi driver George who wanted to take us round the island for the day at a cost of 15000 Vatu (around $152). We told James we would consider that for tomorrow.

Our first stop was the Cultural Centre and Museum - about 3 or 4 blocks away next to the Houses of Parliament. As we walked along we were stopped by many vans with a "B" on their license plate which meant they were a "bus" - we understand the fares on the bus to be variable depending on how far you are going, the cheapest fare being 150 Vatu around $2 Cad. We enjoyed the walk to the Cultural Centre, taking photos of the Parliament Building situated on a hill overlooking the Harbour, with the bright red roof across the street from the Cultural Centre. 70% of the Government's income is from the import duties which accounts for the high cost of living in Vanuatu. Boy were we hot and wet by the time that we arrived at the Cultural centre!!

The entrance fee was 1000 Vatu each around $11 Cad. It was one large room with many glass cases with baskets and carvings inside, along with the shells which were once used as currency, and photos of the excavated burial grounds of Chief Roi Mata buried on Eretoka island (Hat Island) This may be of interest to you since this is where SURVIVOR VANUATU was filmed several years ago (off the Western coast of EFATE, the island in Vanuatu where the capital Port Vila is located and where we are staying). Also in the Museum is a display of photos with descriptions from what occurred in Vanuatu during WWII when the Japanese were moving South and threatening to reach the Northern Australian Coast. There were 10,000 USA soldiers stationed on the NorthWest coast of EFATE.

This entire area of the South Pacific has lots of WWII history (and underwater wrecks) much of which we will hear about and see during the next 3 weeks. On Iririki Island where we are staying, was apparently a British Hospital during WWII. There is a point on Esperito Santo called million dollar point and is famous for snorkelers and scuba divers. When the war ended the USA Army dumped all their equipment into the ocean rather than pay to take it back to the USA - so today Vanuatu has a huge underwater rusted rubbish ground courtesy of the USA. There is another event relating to the USA and Vanuatu when the USA offered to pave the road around Efate by the US Navy Seabee's who would be stationed aboard a navy boat. The Vanuatu requested confirmation that the navy boat would not be nuclear and the USA refused that confirmation, so Vanuatu turned down the offer!

We spent a couple of hours at the Museum and even saw a demonstration of Sand drawings - these are traditionally from the northern islands of Vanuatu (like Malakula and Ambae) and used to tell stories, history, and even declarations of love by drawing designs in the sand - the most expert islanders being able to do this in one continuous movement without lifting their stick from the sand.

Then we walked down the hill into town, passing a huge soccer pitch and bleachers. Passing a school there were boys playing basket ball, and we also understand that baseball is popular, perhaps a left over from all the Americans stationed here during WWII. Port Vila is not so busy that it feels like most cities but certainly there are lots of mini buses and private cars, we only saw a few motorbikes and scooters. In town we checked out a few stores and found the Tropik ? store with its' own brand of teeshirts (along with lots of Billabong from Australia) and the designs were very bright, strong and tribal - Terry is now the proud owner of two although we could have easily bought more! Port Vila is advertised as being cosmopolitan with clothes and designs that you might find on the streets of Europe. Well I think that is stretching it, but there were a few stores with interesting clothing designs and jewellery. There was a small store with some original carvings and jewellry from the other melanesian Islands (Papua New Guinea, Solomons, New Caledonia) and high prices. We even found a small back street store tucked away in the very back of a small dark hot centre where they were printing and embroidering caps and shirts, and they had a Survivor VANUATU logo that they would heat set on a tshirt or cap for you!

We asked where we could get a cold drink by the water and were given directions to 1 2 3. We wandered along the shore past a large market with ladies in their traditional dresses selling sarongs, tshirts, shirts and dresses, and close by we saw tables, chairs and picnic tables under in the shade with small counters to buy drinks and food from so this is where we headed, and they also had WIFI. Terry asked for the password for the WIFI and was told number 1 - we weren't sure whether we had to enter "#1" or "1" or "number one" so we tried all 3 unsuccessfully - then we looked at the menu and the restaurant was called "NAMBAWAN" - so we tried this and it worked perfectly! Later as we toured the island we saw NAMBATU and NAMABATRI!. Yes, it's taking us awhile but we're getting used to the Bislama pidgin English here in Vanuatu! There are 105 languages here in Vanuatu, with a maximum of 5,000 people speaking any one of these languages.

I can tell you that the ice cold Coke and TUSKER beer at Namabawan were very much appreciated - as was the WIFI (when we finally got connected) and caught up on our emails. Then we had a slow wander back along the waterfront and the Main Street in Port Vila to the dock for the IRIRIKI resort. As we came in to Iririki we could see a rain storm coming, so we went back to the unit by van to stay dry! It was already late afternoon and we spent the next several hours on the balcony watching the water activity with the boats coming and going. There was a huge container ship come in - and we are lucky because our unit and balcony faces straight up the entrance channel to the Port Vila harbour. The container ship came in with a tug very slowly, and right in front of us he turns to go to our left in front of the Iririki island to the main wharf in port Vila. There is also a small and shallower channel (if the ship didn't make the turn and continued straight ahead) which leads into the centre of Port Vila and this is where all the small boats enter Port Vila.

From our balcony we spent hours watching rain storms come and go, we can see the mountain range behind Port Vila from our balcony, the planes take off and land - this has turned out to be the perfect location for us to enjoy Port Vila and the activities here, which is why we chose it of course! The pricing is between $300 to $400 per night. Even when we were checking out hotels and resorts in Vanuatu we thought there were very few value properties, and some of them are quite a way out from town, The Iririki has a snorkel spot here (snorkel gear included) and tell us that this is the best snorkel location on the island of Efate. We crashed early and are really enjoying the relax and getting our internal clocks slowly acclimatized to Vanuatu time (19 hours ahead of Vancouver). The sunset is setting around 610pm and we did see a little colour on the clouds from the balcony.


TUESDAY MARCH 5 - TOUR AROUND THE ISLAND OF EFATE
We had woken a couple of times during the night, and had tea and coffee, but managed to get back to sleep and sleep through until 5am - for more tea and coffee! We weren't sure whether we wanted to hang out at the resort and try the swimming pool and snorkel, or whether to rent a car and drive around the island which is approximately a 180 km drive.

Over breakfast we decided to get the car. It turns out today March 5 is National Chief's Day in Vanuatu and a public holiday. We asked at the Iririki if that meant that there would be major celebrations in port Vila and on the island in general. The response was perhaps, probably - at each village on the island where some villages might be very small - but nobody seemed to know for sure. Port Vila has a much larger population so they thought there might be a gathering at the Chief's place which is behind the Cultural Centre. There was nothing in the paper, but the one thing for sure was that it was a National Holiday and many things would be closed. We had the lady at the Tour Desk phone Budget Car Rental - no answer, they were closed. We did manage to get someone right away at World Motors to rent a car and they would pick us up right away from the Iririki dock in Port Vila. She asked if we were going to drive around the island, and when we said yes told us we would need a 4 wheel drive not a compact.

At the World car office we had to wait for the white Jimmy to be washed because the car Shelley picked us up in (which we were supposed to get) was making a funny noise. So after signing all the paperwork and charging our credit card for 8,000 Vatu (around $88) we set off - oh yes, we only get 100 free km, every extra km will cost us 25 Vatu, around 26 cents. First we drove through town and stopped at a fabric store we had passed earlier - we spent just 10 minutes there before continuing on our way! We drove East (they drive on the right hand side of the road here like home in Canada) with a large sign on the dash saying "KEEP RIGHT" this would be for all the Aussies and New Zealanders who are the majority of tourists here and drive on the left side of the road at home!

The main road around the island is paved and a good road, Each time you take a side road it is potholed dirt and coral and very rough - hence the need for the 4 wheel drive. On the island everywhere is owned including all the beaches - so you are not allowed to enjoy any beach without paying the locals who will arrive as soon as you do! The costs are posted and in general are 330 Vatu ($3) for an adult, 500 Vatu for a car and 1,000 Vatu or more for small buses and more for large buses. Most of the beaches on the island of Efate are from coral, so not fine white sand. Many are actually ironshore rock. The island is volcanic (it is most definitely in the Pacific ring of fire) and you are always advised to wear water shoes of some sort since there are lots of rocks, urchins etc in the water. Along most of the roads there are barbed wire fences, or tall hedges and brick walls - especially in areas where the developers are selling lots. As a result there are many miles where you see nothing but fences and hedges, not the ocean or views. Efate is unbelievably green and lush - the growth is unbelievable and when they say that the interior is impassable rain forest you have no problem believing it! At one point we passed a manganese mine site, unused since 1974 when manganese prices declined - that is just 39 years ago and the equipment left there is so overgrown you would think it had been abandoned a 100 years or more!

The developers have been active in Efate and much land has been presumably purchased from the locals, and has now been divided into lots and is up for sale - lots of it is water front and much of it is a long way from nowhere! The Vanautu people are lovely and very friendly - they almost without fail raise their hand to greet you with a huge smile as you drive by.

There is not a lot to see and do around the island. There is the Blue Hole, a pretty area with azur waters due to the white sandstone underneath. One beach area is set up for tourists and promoted as being able to snorkel and see turtles, manatees and dolphins in the area. In general the drive was very quiet - I don't believe we saw more than 4 other vehicles that may have had tourists in them. We saw quite a few locals walking together and we suspect on the way to where their clan gathers to celebrate Chief Day. There were 3 or 4 small groups of young men walking along the middle of the road carrying their machetes or pangas - and seeing the growth here we understand why! They probably have to cut down trees, grasses and ivy every day of the year to keep any area passable!

We stopped at the recommended BEACHCOMBER INN at the top NorthEast end of the island - and we were the only people there. It was in definite need of repairs but the lady serving was friendly and outside on the grass were 3 local men playing Vanuatu tunes (along with Yu Are My Sunshine). There was one chap with a guitar which had only 2 strings, one chap with a square wooden box and one string on the top, and an older gentleman in a wheelchair who sang - it was a very pleasant stop for a cold drink by the village of Bauiatu. Also in this area is where the USA had an airstrip during WWII but I think everything is so overgrown now it has disappeared under the ivy and bush! We did pass the fresh water hole right next to the highway which is what provided 10,000 soldiers with fresh water during WWI - when we passed it there were half a dozen locals sitting in it gaily waving at us as we passed by!

Shortly after we started to gain altitude as we headed across the top of Efate towards the Western Coast.



Cheers ..... Jan Umbach
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