March 7, 2013 MALAKULA, VANUATU

Thursday March 7, 2013 MALAKULA, VANUATU
TSIRI Lagoon, Ten Stick Island for snorkelling

We slept well last night in our large bed in the very front stateroom on deck 4, #419 the same floor as the Leda lounge, waking up a couple of times to a slight bump as we hit a larger wave but the Orion cruises well and certainly very stable to date. Around 6am we were awake and checking outside the window (shaped rather like a large oval shaped porthole) but couldn't see land. After pulling our stuff together for the day's activities on Malakula Island we headed up to deck 6 to the Galaxy lounge for a coffee - they serve continental breakfast here from 630 - 730am, after which the regular full breakfast is served at the back of deck 6 outdoors at the Delphinus Outdoor Cafe from 730-9am.

Teddy, one of our very favourite waiters from Orion II last year on our Borneo trip, was there to make us a superb Caffe latte and we watched Malakula come into view. With binoculars we could see a few folks on the shore by a very large outrigger canoe - I think the islanders are as excited as us. We were told that no commercial tourism has every come to this village - they have had an occasional anthropologist or such here but no tourists so we are very excited. We will be going aboard the zodiacs for a wet landing at 1030am and will be welcomed by a cultural performance and guided village tour.

MALAKULA is the second largest island in the Vanuatu group with a population of over 30,000, and was once known as the Cannibal Islands due to the fierce reputation of the predominant tribal groups known as the big and small Nambas. Malakula is the most diverse, culturally and linguistically, with over 30 distinct languages spoken. It is separated from the islands of Espiritu Santo and Malo by the Bougainville Strait and the capital of Malampa Province, Lakarato, is situated on it' s Eastern shore - Lakatoro is the largest settlement on the island of Malakula.

Malakula is very fortunate in that sandalwood does not grow on the island, so it attracted little interest from the ruthless sea traders in the 1800's and this left the culture virtually intact and unscathed by slaving and the Western diseases introduced into other islands in the South Pacific. As we came into the bay and Captain Vincent anchored we could see a few villagers on the distant shore watching us arrive - they had a huge outrigger canoe with red ribbon-like decoration of some sort on the front. We thought that perhaps they would be amongst the villagers welcoming us when we went to shore, but that turned out not to be the case. The land is quite steep and mountainous here and absolutely jammed with palm trees - all you can see is layer after layer of mountain ridges, covered in palm and other tropical trees including fig and banyan, obviously with deep valleys in-between and misty rain showers in many of those valleys.

We had a 9am orientation by Mick Fogg (Marine Biologist, Skipper, Engineer, First Mate & Expedition Leader and with Orion since 2006) and Mark (Harry) Christensen (Marine Biologist for zodiac boardings, wet and dry landings on beaches in the zodiacs, and also to be given our top quality snorkel gear (mask, snorkel and fins in a net bag) that we would retain for use until disembarkation. Then it was time to fill our reusable blue Orion water bottles at the filling stations to take ashore with us. Orion is very ecology minded and they believe that they save a minimum of 1,000 plastic water bottles each week due to the clients using the refillable water bottles that we are provided with on day 1 when we embark on the Orion. Mick also mentioned that dehydration is one of the biggest sicknesses or events that they have to deal with since clients do not drink enough and after being on shore in the 35 plus temperatures they pass out. On shore Orion takes everything that the clients might need in a day including sunscreen, water, towels, and bug repellant.

At 10:30am, 10 passengers at a time we all got into the zodiacs and headed towards the beach which was on the other side of the bay. It was quite a long zodiac ride with some good swells, which is why we had anchored where we had so that Orion was protected from the swells. At the beach our zodiac driver (and all the others) were directed around the shallow reef which obviously protected the shore but might not be so kind to the zodiacs! We all moved to the front to disembark, sitting on the pontoons and facing backwards to watch for any large waves coming in, then swinging our legs over into the shallow water - this is called a wet landing.

There were villagers all up and down the beach, the ladies together, the kids together, and the men together - all sitting in the shade under the trees. Two small elders welcomed us wearing just a few banana leaves around their private parts and holding a stick with banana leaves on it. Then we walked under an arch of palm leaves decorated with bright red hibiscus flowers and there was a table made from bamboo where they had laid out a fresh coconut for every passenger with a hole drilled in it with a straw to drink the coconut milk. There were also two ladies with flowers - and they placed a flower behind the ear of every client as they gave us our coconut. All the helpers (except for the two elders who met us) were wearing green shirts or muumuu dresses. Later in the morning I asked our lady guide who walked us around a nature trail if the green shirts and dresses were new, and she told me they were all brand new and had been made for this morning's visit by the ORION and its' passengers.

Apparently the villagers had decided that for ORION, for the very first time, they wanted to do their authentic ceremonial dances in the place where it is sacred to them, and the only place where they can do this dances according to their rites. So this was a very special event - most dances and performances that you see in Vanuatu may have the performers in costume doing a dance but traditionally they can only perform their authentic dances in a special place. When the missionaries had arrived, the natives were living in the area where we were today. The missionaries had moved them all to the village that they live in today - which is quite a ways away given that there are no roads or vehicles in this part of the island. But it is amazing how quickly things change, because just over the other side of this ridge of mountains on the island of MALAKULA there is an airstrip, and we saw Air Vanuatu fly overhead and seemingly disappear into the foliage as it ducked down to a landing strip somewhere!

So we walked up the short trail to the ceremonial place where the villagers had made benches out of stones and bamboo, under a thin layer of branches for some shade. In the middle of this circular area were 3 drummers with fantastic tree drums, one about 20 feet high, behind foliage so that they would not detract from the dancers. The dances are traditional and it was explained to us by local man George that the 4 dances that we were about to enjoy were based on octopus and pigeons, which is where many of the villagers in the area came from. (Later in the day George told us his family came from a shark, and had a shark tattoo on his arm). The dances were very special, with men (no women at all) entering the circle and dancing around the drummers - most wore little on their bodies apart from bamboo covering their penises, banana or other leaves around their waists, many had paintings on their skin, but nearly all carried large to huge headdresses which had eyes painted on them - many very tall and pointed with several sets of eyes. It was the villagers who had decided that they wanted to do their dances in their ceremonial grounds which had been uncovered in 1980 and they use infrequently for ceremonial purposes. I'm not sure how long the dances lasted, maybe 1 1/2 hours and we were watched by a large number of villagers, men, women and children who also sat around and were as engrossed and enthralled by the dancers as were we.

After the dances were finished, the last dance involved all the dancers coming in and dancing together. There is no singing at all, but more a calling, kind of like a hoot, and each one changing their pace to match the drummers as they drummed faster and slower. Some of the men had what appeared to be black shells strung around their ankles which clicked as they hopped up and down. It was very special and thoroughly enjoyable. Afterwards we were taken in small groups of 8, to walk around a nature trail starting at the ceremonial grounds where our very quiet and shy guide Marion explained the various trees and shrubs and what they were used for. She also showed us a set of teeth which she said they had uncovered while clearing the trail while getting ready for our visit!

The locals here are known as the Small Nambas (on Malakula Island there are Big Nambas in the north and here in the south west are the Small Nambas. So what does Nambas mean? It means the covering over the penis made of banana leaf. And here they are small (normal) but in the north enlarged with clay to be much longer. The Nambas displayed their head dresses from the dances and they were available to purchase, but unless you lived in Aussie and were getting off the ship in Cairns there was no way to get these head dresses in your luggage on the plane! Two young men were also chopping thin slices of kava root, which were then being pounded in a bowl of water (the shredded kava root being removed after the juice had been extracted) and then we were invited to share in the drinking of the kava. We politely refused after having shared Kava in Fiji many years ago. Back at the beach everyone was sitting back in their groups under the trees and there were some items available for purchase. mostly shells and fruit.

The zodiac ride back to the Orion was quite long and bumpy and we were glad to get back on board around 12:45pm and after a quick change into dry clothes we had green salad, pasta and mango ice cream (yummy) for lunch before heading back down to the Marina deck at the back of the ship on level 3 ready to head out for the adventures of the afternoon to TSIRI LAGOON.


As we were waiting to board the zodiacs, we were startled by a huge outrigger full of Nambas (maybe 20+) come rowing around the side of the Orion! The Captain was at the bow and he was counting in time to keep the rowers together - they were all paddling hard and wearing matching sarongs around their waist - in the middle of the outrigger were two Nambas with conch shells, standing and blowing into the sky! It was awesome, and gave you chills to watch! They paddled then across the back of the Orion and over towards the other side of the bay. This was the outrigger that we had seen early in the morning on the beach with our binoculars as the Orion came into the bay and anchored. A short while later, George (a local Namba on our zodiac who was leading the lagoon tour) told us that they had made the outrigger in the village especially for the Orion's visit and had only finished it the day before - now how special is that?

Half of the passengers loaded onto the zodiacs for a cruise around the TSIRI lagoon in the mangroves - the entrance from the bay is somewhat hidden and whenever there is a hurricane all the small boats enter the lagoon since the mangroves protect them. Before we entered the lagoon we cruised over to the outrigger for photos of the Nambas in their brand new outrigger! Funnily enough, at the front of the Outrigger next to the Captain was a Namba with a camera (or cell phone) taking pictures of us in our zodiacs. Of interest is that the locals call these storms hurricanes whereas every where else in the South Pacific they are called cyclones. There have been an average of 2 hurricanes a year over the last 20 years!

In the lagoon we saw a family of 5 pelicans which George told us have been there for the last 12 months and came up from New Zealand - the first time that they have ever been seen here. The villagers first thought about killing the pelicans, concerned that they would eat all the fish in the lagoon, but eventually agreed to coexist with them - so far so good. There are many villages along the Coast here and they all rely on the lagoon and the food it provides to them. Some villages are only one extended family, but other villages are larger and comprised of many families. Before independence there used to be a large palm plantation here producing copra After independence some Kiwis came to the now defunct copra existence and set up a beef farm for the villagers, and they also teach the local boys how to work the farm, and then send them to work on the farms in New Zealand.

We were so lucky to see three local men, with their two small blonde haired young boys, catching fish in a palm trap that they had set up along the side of the lagoon. The fish swim in between the palm leaves and the men shoot them with a crude hand made bow and arrow! It was amazing to watch! Before heading back to Orion we stopped at the South West Bay Malakula Yacht Club! This is a tiny thatched hut with several flags from around the world hung inside - and apparently each year 1 or 2 yachts find their way into the lagoon on their sails through Vanuatu and come to visit - buying some fresh fruits and participating in a kava ceremony! It is run by a local village family. While there we also watched them call their pigs from the forest and then chop coconuts in half for the pigs to eat the coconut meat. Then it was back across the entrance to the lagoon into South West Bay, where our zodiac captain Justin (who works in Orion head offices) steered us carefully across the breaking waves as the water left the lagoon as the tide went out.

We had a rather interesting event as two outrigger canoes and several men from the village at the entrance to the lagoon tried to block the exit of our zodiacs and were quite belligerent about it. Eventually we passed and George got off the zodiac to talk to the villagers. A second group of zodiacs were heading back to the lagoon after we returned, and we learned later that the villagers wanted all the clients to visit every village around the bay - this would have taken many days! But eventually Justin participated in meetings with the various committees and all was well that ends well, and they gave Justin a woven sleeping mat as a sign of peace and goodwill! Back on board someone quipped that now no one would have to look after clean sheets for Justin for the rest of the cruise.

Justin has visited these villages several times on the Orion, and at other times on his own and stayed in the village - he has a respected relationship with them and is very respectful of them. He told us about the time that Namba George went out and caught flying fox (shot with a rifle)for dinner - a specialty here. The flying fox (bones, black fur and all) were cooked and curried in the pot, and Justin said it was awful - no way that he could eat it, so at every opportunity Justin (eating just the rice and curry sauce) kept throwing chunks of the flying fox out of the window opening in the straw hut - the dogs were eating this and eventually the dogs were standing up at the opening looking for more! George, his host, apparently kept saying, I have no idea what is wrong with those dogs tonight standing at the window! Justin showed us photos of the flying foxes that had ben caught and his cooked dinner, there is no way that I could have taken a single bite!

After our lagoon cruise there was the chance to snorkel on Ten Stick Island off the aft of the Orion. But everything during the day had taken longer than planned and we had been advised that in the islands here the schedule is always tentative since the locals manage the itinerary and quite often it can be somewhat different than planned, and communication prior to arrival is very difficult. The beach on Ten Stick Island is very steep, dropping off to 80 feet in just a few metres from the shore - the crew had gone over to set up the beach side facilities after lunch - but by the time we came back from the lagoon tour it was already late afternoon and time for our shower! I don't think many folks made it over to Ten Stick island!

All in all it was an amazing and very special day, and in the lounge as we relived the day with Justin and Mick Fogg at the microphone we knew how lucky we were, and they are telling us it will be just as special as we head North to the Solomon Islands and Papua New Guinea. Our 730pm seafood extravaganza on the back deck Delphinus Cafe was moved 10 minutes before it was due to commence as a huge downpour soaked the backdeck - the poor staff had to work double time to get everything moved back downstairs to the Constellation main restaurant. Dinner was excellent, every type of seafood that you could imagine including salmon, scallops, white fish, Moreton Bay bugs (like crayfish), prawns, bouillabaisse, and we really enjoyed the company of Joyce and Arthur (the other 2 Canadians on board from Toronto) and Kelly and ? from Sidney - an amazing range of interesting topics were covered as we ate!

We also found out that there had been an announcement yesterday that ORION Expedition Cruiseline had been purchased by USA based Lindblad Expeditions and would take ownership on March 2014 and Orion Sarina Blatton, founder & Managing Director, was leaving at the end of April 2013. Wow!!! We need to find out more about this, and are glad that Orion are not bankrupt with us having to figure out how to get home from South West Bay Malakula in Vanuatu!! Bratton said the move is amicable and timely and that she plans to travel and work on her golf handicap .... mmmm??? We sure think the huge money spent in the unsuccessful acquisition and disposition of the ORION II may have something to do with this! It certainly looks as though Lindblad will run out the existing itineraries until March 2014. ORION has a huge repeat clientele - 76 of 93 passengers on this cruise have cruised with Orion before and for one couple on this cruise this is their 15th cruise on Orion. Lindblad has 5 ships all of which are called National Geographic something (Explorer, Endeavour, Sea Lion, Sea Bird, Islander) and Lindblad also charters 5 other ships for seasonal expeditions.


Cheers ..... Jan Umbach
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