VANUATU 2005      click photos to enlarge                                   return to home page

We sailed into Port Resolution on the Island of Tanna in the archipelago nation of Vanuatu on Sept.8 after a day and a half of sailing from the Loyaty Islands in New Caledonia.  Another beautiful spot in Oceania.      Vanuatu means "our land" , the people are called Ni-Vanuatu. It is them and their custom that make this place extremely unique and special to the South Pacific.  Another attraction is the strong connection and role the island of Espiritu Santo played as the stronghold for the Americans and allies to base themselves from during their desperate holding action against the Japanese in the Solomons during WWII.  But before I get ahead of myself let us start with our first stop; Tanna.  All of the islands emerged from volcanic action but one of the worlds most accessible and magnificent active volcanos, Mt. Yasur, is on the island of Tanna.  We got a ride along with some other yachties in the back of a truck up to the base of the volcano one evening. We then climbed up  the  rest of  the way and  sat close enough to

market day, Tanna

small namba village,  Malekula

natural waterfall, Efate

small boy, Tanna

ride to Mt. Yasur, Tanna

exploding lava, Mt. Yasur

feel the shaking of the earth, hear the explosions and witness the molten

regurgitation of the earth's center.  So many  of our experiences in Vanuatu were like this one, as if we were in the middle of a National Geographic magazine.  From the island of Tanna to the island of Efate,  Epi, Malekula, Ambrym, Maewo and Espiritu Santo, each one of them is rich in custom tradition, history, art and geological wonder.      We had several opportunities to see a variety of ceremonial dances from the different islands and participate in the Rom festival and the art of trading for some fabulous carvings on Ambrym.  In the Maskelyne islands just south of Malekula,  we were fortunate enough to meet the head schoolmaster and snorkel at his giant clam project and on Maewo we visited with the charismatic cook Nixon and his Father, Chief Nelson at their yacht club at the gorgeous, Asanvari Bay.

Tamtam carvings on Ambrym

the Rom Dance, Rom Festival, Ambrym

Richard's hands show the size of the giant clams, Maskelyne Island

Namba men eat dinner, Malekula

people of Ambrym, Rom festival

pig killing ceremony, Rom festival,Ambrym

Playing Tam Tams during the Rom Festival, Ambrym

women of the Namba village, Malekula

Banam Bay, Malekula

Without a doubt one of the highlights of our stay in Vanuatu was our time on the island of Espiritu Santo. Steeped with history of WWII our visit here transported us in time back to the 1940's when as many as 45,000 U.S. troops were stationed here where the town of Luganville stands today. In the very spot where "Amazing Grace" was moored hundreds of U.S. battleships, destroyers and troop carriers sat at anchor awaiting orders to move North to various locations in the Soloman Islands and the Coral Sea to stop the South Pacific invasion of the Japanese.

Richard plays music with the band at Asanvari yacht club, Maewo

Asanvari yacht club, Maewo

pig skinning, Rom fesival, Ambrym

It was here that James Michener was stationed during the war and here where he was inspired by many stories for his book "Tales of the South Pacific" and thus the  musical "The South Pacific".  We had and took the opportunity to dive on the worlds most accessible ship wreck, the S.S. President Coolidge, and snorkle what they call "million dollar point" where U. S. troops dumped hundreds of jeeps, earth moving equipment and much more when they were moving out of the area at the end of WWII.  We even salvaged for ourselves 2 old cocacola bottles with the date 1945 on it.    Click the following 4 links for pictures of the President Coolidge and other Vanuatu websites;   Coolidge as a luxury liner,   the sinking Coolidge 1,  the sinking Coolidge 2, & more on Vanuatu        We ended our stay there with a terrific party given for the yachts sailing with the Port 2 Port rally put on every year sailing from Vanuatu to Bundaberg, Australia.  We had a very good passage with a 3 day stop at Chesterfield Reef,  plenty of chatter on the radios and a week of fun and parties upon our arrival in Bundy.

Bislama, a pidgin English is now the National language of Vanuatu. We had great fun trying to speak and decipher it during our stay there.  See if you can translate the notice pictured at the right we found posted on a door at the local hospital in Port Vila, Efate, the capital of Vanuatu.  Click the photo to enlarge.

Espiritu Santo

Asanvari Village, Meawo

swimming hole, Espiritu Santo

Asanvari Village