Vanuatu

29th October 2007

We arrived in Vanuatu after a rough four day sail from Fiji, lots of rain storms and uncomfortable seas meant that we got little sleep and soaked to the bone. However, arriving at the Island of Tanna, one of the southern islands of the Vanuatu chain, made it all worth while. The beautiful sweeping bay of Port Resolution, named by Captain Cook after his ship, with it’s mountainous backdrop was a welcoming sight and a place we immediately fell in love with. We met up with some friends on a Canadian boat who were heading out that day and they gave us the typical cruiser flyby download of information on what we had to see and more importantly where we probably shouldn’t eat! I’d heard about the island of Tanna and it’s volcano many years ago when I first discovered sailing in Australia. It seemed like yet another unobtainable dream to actually sail there one day. Finally arriving and sitting at anchor in Port Resolution held a certain special significance for me….I’d made it and anything is possible!
Once we felt recovered enough from the trip we inflated the dingy and headed ashore to start exploring. First we had to meet the chief of the village to let our presence be known and be introduced to the community. We were given a tour and were amazed at how perfectly kept everything was, no rubbish lying around and perfectly maintained gardens and tracks. The locals live in ‘cyclone proof’ huts made from wood and grass, most of which lack the luxury of running water and electricity although this doesn’t seem to hinder them one bit. They have a great community mind set where everything is shared equally whether it is work that has to be done or money made, it’s all equally distributed. This appears to work extremely well and we never experienced any sign of jealousy or competition within the village, when someone needed a new house all the men stopped what they were doing and got together to built a new one…..If only that would work in the rest of the world!To get ourselves and the boat checked in to Vanuatu we had to take a four hour truck ride to Tannas capital which just so happened to be on the opposite side of the island. This turned out to be a blessing in disguise as it allowed us to see the diversity of the land and the people living there. From lush rainforest to baron volcanic plateau’s the scenery changed constantly and each view was more beautiful than the last. The check in process was slow but thorough and we were cleared both in and out at the same time, so no need to come back! This gave us time to grab some lunch of boiled chicken and rice and check out the local market so the guys could buy Kava root to take back to the chief. On the return trip we felt a lot more relaxed that the check in was complete and we could sit back, enjoy the trip and wave at all the friendly faces we passed.
The number one reason to visit Tanna is without a doubt to experience ‘Mount Yasur’ the most accessible active volcano in the world. From the anchorage we could see it glowing all night and were desperate to get up there to take a closer look! The best time to go is just before sunset as you get to see the transition between day and night. We arrived about six o’clock, stopping at the car park to post our postcards in the worlds only Volcano Post, before hiking the last few hundred meters to the edge of the crater. There was nothing that could prepare us for the enormity of what we were to see as we looked down into the boiling mouth of a live volcano.
Molten Lava was being blasted hundreds of feet into the air and then landing on the ridges with a whack of rock hitting rock right in front of us. It gave off the sound of a hundred jet engines starting up as the ground shuddered beneath our feet with every eruption! Amazingly there were no restrictions what so every except our guides telling us where to stand, no protection from shooting lava except our own fear. As darkness fell, the fireworks really started to begin giving us a view of nature’s power at it best. After two hours watching the show our guide had to drag us away as he was getting cold and was worried we’d stay all night if we had the chance…..he was right and it was an experience we'll never forget!