Vanuatu and New Caledonia  August - October, 2005

After checking out of Fiji from Lautoka we went through the reef passage just after dark. We had a fairly uneventful sail and made landfall in Port Vila, Vanuatu four days later on August 1st.

Vanuatu (pronounced van-wah-too) means Our Land.

We have spent the last six weeks in Vanuatu sailing around the islands. The people make the visit to Vanuatu with their warmth and friendliness.

Vanuatu before Independence from Britain and France was known as the New Hebrides. James Cook gave it this name during his explorations of the islands because the rugged islands reminded him of the Hebrides group of islands off the Scottish west coast.

We checked into Port Vila and had a pleasant five days catching up on some sleep and provisioning the boat again. 

Leaving Port Vila we made our way up the Islands and visited quite a few villages enroute. Villagers paddle their outrigger canoes out to welcome us and made us feel  really welcome. Unlike other South Pacific countries we have visited we found it is very rare that you see a villager with a boat and outboard, what a way of life - no stress! It seems that the rural population is engaged in subsistence farming and the markets are full of fresh vegetables.

At one village one child offered me vegetables for pens, pencils and exercise books.  Education is very important and even the smallest village has a school. Crafts and carvings contribute to the village economy, one sailor friend called it, "canoe economy"! We bought a mask and two carved tamtams while we were on Ambrym. Wood is the main carved material, objects are also made from tree ferns, stone and coral.

On one of the islands Ambrym, Peter spent a whole day hiking up to an active volcano with Rik Dove (Dikenga) another Bluewater Cruising Canadian. They hired a guide from the nearest village, and found it was well worth it for all the information and local folklore about the island, the people and village life. Also it would have been difficult to find the right path up to the volcano, and they would probably have got lost in the process.

Peter and Rik, following the guide thrashed through the jungle, crossed lava beds, ash plains and scrambled up barren ash ridges to get to the Volcano. They came back dusty, tired and foot sore after having an incredible day out. Peter describes standing on the rim and looking 800 feet vertically down into the vast caldera, and watching the earth vent, bubble and fume was truly amazing. I didn't go as it was 10 hours of really strenuous hiking about 22 kilometers round trip with a lot of uphill.

                                                                                                 Volcano

Inactive small cone

We went into Luganville on the Island of Espiritu Santo, which is about half way up the island chain of Vanuatu.

We have seen some great coral reefs, crystal clear aquamarine water, and deserted beaches, volcanoes and the gentle dugong in Lamen Bay, Epi Island. The dugong (sea cow) is one of the world's herbivorous marine mammals. The dugong at Lamen Bay is called Bondas and is about 10 feet in length with large jowls that vacuum the seabed munching on sea grass. On this diet the dugong can weigh up to 420 kg!!!! We snorkeled to the dugong and were able to swim around him without any problems.

                                          Dugong - picture courtesy of Rik Dove                                     Our friend Mark with a dinghy load of village kids

                                                                  Peter holding a beach conference with the local movers and shakers.     

From our most northerly anchorage  we turned south again,calling at Louganville and various other anchorages as we beat back down through the islands to Port Villa. We left Vanuatu for New Caledonia after clearing customs with a small supply of duty free. Much to small!!. We made the passage in the company of James on 'Shirley'

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                                            Matarua on passage to New Caledonia as photographed by James on Shirley

New Caledonia

Arrived in New Caledonia on September 26th. We spent just over a week in Noumea.  Became tourists and wandered all over Noumea.  Saw the old Colonial buildings, the surrounding beaches, and went (not Peter) window shopping in the Parisian dress shops.  We cycled to the  Botannical and Zoological Gardens, and  the Acquarium.

Coffee with the locals in the market each morning was a riot.  Cream cakes and the fresh bread were excellent for elevenses.  Had to leave before we became too fat!!!!

Thoroughly enjoyed our short time back in Mini France.

Left New Caledonia on October 4th for Bundaberg, Australia. Forcast was for South Easterlies at 15 to 20 knots for the next 4 days. Perfect. The first day out we made a good run of 150 miles, very pleasant. Unfortunatly good times did'nt last and the wind backed into the east leaving us with a  hard beat to make our Landfall.