Vanuatu

When it rains it pours. The last year wasn't great. The law of attraction does seem to exist in positive and negative ways. My lantern was empty so I needed new fuel to shine again. To start we went on holiday to Vanuatu. It was about 26 C and a cool sea breeze made it just about right. We stayed at Port Villa on the island of Efate. Vanuatu consist of 83 island. The official language is Bislama (a form of pidgin english) and is spoken next to English and French.
Bislama got some funny frases like Gat hed (got head) means to be intelligent.

The island is peaceful and beautiful. We stayed at a resort with self contained apartments and a gorgeous beach and pool. A place to relax and that's what we did.

We love to explore so we booked a few trips. We went on the Congoola day cruise. A bit above our budget but it was all worth it. We hang out with some Australians. I don't know why the kiwis and Australians dislike each other as we had a great time with them. OK one sheep joke but I killed it with my look and then everything was fine. We also had dinner with them at their resort at night.

After a bus drive from Port Villa we stepped aboard 23m yacht and sailed across to a turtle conservation project. I made friends with one of the turtles, who is going to be released when he is old enough. After that we went to Sun and Moon bay and I snorkelled for the first time in my life.
Loved it to see the beautiful coral reef and saw lots of Nimo's and other colourful tropical fish.
Unfortunately I had to get out as the salt water entered my goggles and sting my eyes.

We also went for a trip to the Secret Garden where we learned a lot about the history and culture
of Vanuatu. There was a lot of black magic on the islands and we learned that missionaries changed a lot. They stopped cannibalism and having more than one wife. It is only less than fifty years ago in 1969 that a men was put in the oven on Malekula island. So now you know where to send your mother in law when you can't get along ;)  Our guide also showed us a construction used for the bungee jump on one of the islands. That's where AJ Hacket got the idea from and than brought it to NZ.  My husband got to hold a life coconut crab and we really enjoyed holding the iguana's, who are quite tame.

Another trip brought us to Ekasup Village, a "kastum" village where we learnt about the local customs and culture. We were treated with a dance performance and fire walking. It was absolutely fantastic. Most villagers actually live in the village a bit further down the road in huts, where poverty is very visible. The excellent show brings in a bit of income so they can send some of their children to school.
The contrast between the rich and the poor is enormous. The prices of resorts, meals, supermarkets
trips etc are the same and sometimes higher than in New Zealand, so lots of money comes into the island. It doesn't rubs off on the people. Many don't have an education so can't get a job and the people who work often earn only about $300 per month. The money must disappears in the pockets of some and probably a lot goes to foreigners as well. Vanuatu is a tax paradise and there is money laundering and organised crime.

We also had a swim in the blue Lagoon on our around the island trip and a visit to a WW2 museum
where a local passionately showed us his findings from WW2. Vanuatu was overrun by Americans coordinating defenses against the Japanese in the Solomon Islands, Papua New Guinea, and beyond.

Oh love to come back one day. The Pacific and it's people are very healing.