We have bid farewell to Australia and we’re now in Vanuatu, staying with Lu (or Lulu as she’s known by locals!) an old school friend, who happens to live in this amazing, out the way place. Vanuatu is an archipelago of over 80 islands in the South Pacific. Lu lives on Efate Island in Havannah Harbour, a beautiful spot about 30 km North of Port Vila, the capital city.

Lu picked us up from the airport and drove us to the house which she and her partner Tim built. It’s right on the beach, with amazing views over Havannah Harbour towards Moso and Lelepa Islands. These islands create a wonderfully sheltered bay, perfect for boating. It’s hard to believe, as I sit here looking over the peaceful and deserted bay, but during the Second World War, it was home to an entire fleet of the U.S. navy. They came here after Pearl Harbour.  An airstrip was constructed where Lu and Tim’s house stands now. Apparently, pieces of green glass from wartime coke bottles wash up on the shore to this day.

Vanuatu was badly affected by Cyclone Pam in 2015, which in some areas wiped out 95% of buildings, crops and plantations. Lu and the other overseas residents and visitors of Efate were very involved in efforts to get food, shelter and water to those worst affected. It was obviously a terrible time. However, it did have an upside in that it brought people closer together. Lu seems to know everyone in the neighbourhood. Two friends, Katty and John, kindly offered to take us out for the day in their boat with some other friends, Annie and Brian, and Lu and Tim’s lovely dog Hilltop. Hilltop is very used to being in boats, having travelled all round the islands in the aftermath of the Cyclone.

We set off towards Erotoka or Hat Island, so called because (surprise, surprise) it looks like a hat! Apparently, this uninhabited island is the burial site for Chief Roi Mata. The exact story is difficult to separate from the web of myths and legends around it, but at some time in the past, possibly the 13^th century, Chief Roi Mata was known as a great peacemaker who brought the tribes of Vanuatu together. Legend has it that this great Chief was poisoned by his own brother and taken to the island to be buried so that his ghost could not take revenge. He was buried with members of his family and entourage. When the burial site was found by a French archaeologist in the 1960’s, they discovered that many of his entourage were buried alive. Today the island is a sacred site and it is forbidden to visit unescorted.

After touring round Hat Island, we went snorkelling off Lelepa Island. The water was warm and the coral was beautifully colourful. We threw some bread in the water and thousands of fish of all different sizes came up to feed. Fortunately no sharks!

 

After our snorkel, Katty announced that we were going to see dolphins. John drove the boat at 6.4 knots and Katty banged on the side of the boat. I’m not sure whether this was an elaborate hoax, but within a few minutes we began to see fins popping out of the water. Soon we were surrounded by dolphins racing along by the side of the boat and leaping into the air. It’s hard to judge how many there were but perhaps twenty to thirty. It was a stunning sight.  Hilltop was whimpering with excitement and we had to restrain her from leaping in!

After the boat trip, we nipped home for a quick shower and change and then headed back out to a waterside restaurant for fresh lobster, squid and crabs. The perfect end to a perfect day!