Trip to Santo

Island journeys so far...

On Friday I flew up to Luganville on the island of Espirtu Santo for the day. The principal purpose of the trip was to conduct skills assessments for new students who will be enrolling in a new course next year but while I was there I took advantage of the opportunity to meet with industry representatives and visit a couple of resorts where graduates from our first program in Santo are now working.


Western cost of Efate flying to Espiritu Santo

The flight to Santo took approximately 40 minutes long enough to write a page in my journal.  I now have a blog and a journal and I wonder how long before the journal is left behind by the blog, this is much easier and it the humidity there's no chance of the ink smudging on the paper. The inflight service was a brief as the flight - a plastic cup of juice and a lolly. Like many airports in the Pacific there is no such thing as disembarking at the gate rather passengers descend the exit stair of the plane and walk across the tarmac. I rather enjoy the experience, not sure why perhaps because it seems a rather old-fashioned thing to do. The airport was abzuzz with people waiting for the return flight to Port Vila. Here is shot from my seat 12D of Malakula Island which is between Efate and Santo.



Rather indistinct view of Malakula Island on the way up to Santo

















Luganville is rather quaint, it has the feel of a large country town and I understand from people who live the politics and the culture of same. Driving in from the airport is very different to the approach to Port Vila from Bauerfield International Airport as the island is flat by comparison and the main road, particularly in the middle of the town is quite wide hence the "country twon" feel. I think it would be an interesting place back in the 1950s and 1960s and up until indepedence with the strong French influence that was apparently present. One can almost see the plantation owners driving into town on a Friday afternoon with their wives for dinner at the local club. I suspect this location and the French plantation owners of previous times might have been the inspiration for Emile Debecq in South Pacific.

The Village de Santo was the first hospitality stop and I had breakfast there (and returned later for lunch). I ordered the petite breakfast (no bacon) and this is what I was served...

it was delicious... the maple syrup around the edge was a nice touch.

I spent most of my time out at the Vanuatu Maritime Training Centre where the students came for the skills assessment and interviews. The MTC is on the other side of Luganville from the airport near the Beachfront and Coral Quays Resorts. Unfortunately the Captain Superintendent of the college was overseas and I was not able to meet him but I met his deputy, Zakariah, who was from Fiji. Students from all over Vanuatu study at the MTC as it is the only maritime training centre in the country and the college offers a range of short and longer-term courses. The facilities all looked pretty good and the internet access in the room I used was excellent so I caught up on a bit of international news surfing the web in between interviews.



In the afternoon I stopped off at the Beachfront Resort for more skills assessments and interviews and I got chatting to the proprietor who has some big plans for the resort. The location is fantastic right opposite Aore Island and once the pool goes in I think it will be a nice place to say. I saw a fine tam-tam pole near the bar while I was there. I'll need to do some research on the tam-tam but they are quite distinctive and different islands use different designs, basically they are 'totem' type carvings on the outer surface and with a hollowed out the centre leaving a slit down the front. The hollowed out log gives the deep resonance of drums when hit with sticks.

Tam-tam pole at Beachfront Resort, Luganville, Espiritu Santo

The Apartment

Update: I managed to secure sufficient internet time to load a couple of images for this post, see below. The comment box is open to all if you would like respond but remember anyone can see your comments so please consider others when replying.

There are many great locations for accommodation in Port Vila and depending on what you want and there is something to suit all tastes and budgets. I am staying on the northern edge of Port Vila in the Bayview Apartments. The rent includes everything - power, gas, wirleess internet - and is about 500m from work so I have a nice walk up the hill each morning and a pleasant walk home down the hill each afternoon.

The internal appointments are fine for my needs. the furniture looks reasonably new, the native wall hanging is more than bearable and the balcony stretches the width of the apartment. As you know I like my cooking and I was pleased to the the oven and stove are more than serviceable, there is air-conditioning but I don't use it much as I prefer the fans. Vanuatu is sub-tropical with average temperatures around 22-28C each day although it is a little humid at the moment as the wet season approaches so every now and again I turn on the cooling for a little relief. Outside there is a swimming pool and a nice terrace. The apartment overlooks the Walter Lini Highway (The Rev. Dr. W.H. Lini is known as the father of independence and has a public holiday in his honour). The noise from the highway, if you could call it that, is lopud most days but non unbearable. Here are some interior shots - those of you who are interested in interior design look away now...

Interior view of apartment looking towards the lagoon



Interior shot with kitchen and breakfast bar

 Note the indigenous (I think by way of Bali) wall hanging. I thought of putting tea candles in each of the baskets and then realised the decoration would go up in flames and so thought better of it. I actually don't mind it now and it would like good with lights in it.
Anyway onto the view...

The absolute jewel in the crown for this apartment is the view across Vila Bay. At the end of the day there is a beautiful sunset and in the morning the rising sun casts a bright light across the lagoon and out into the sea. I like to eat my breakfast each morning looking out at the water. This evening I watched a cruise lights ablaze sail slowly out the bay and make its way back to Australia. Here is a ship coming into the harbour last week early in the morning...



I think it's the P&O Sea Princess, there were three cruise visits to Port Vila that week.

Early morning (06:00) looking from the balcony



Typical Port Vila sunset



Nambawan blog post blong mi lo Vanautu

As the title suggests this the my first blog post in Vanuatu. I thought it would be a good idea to create a blog for family and friends so I can share my experiences living and working here in Port Vila. This is the fourth time in two years I have visited Vanuatu and each time I have stayed in the capital. In fact, the last time I was here was the shortest of any visit to another country - all of 36 hours. Now I am here for an extended period of time and although I am pretty busy with work there will certainly be time to visit all around the island of Efate, that's where I am at the moment and perhaps even make a couple of trips to the outer islands such as Tanna or Santo

I arrived here a couple of weeks ago and have been busy settling into my new role, well not quite new role more of an expansion of what I was previously doing before I left home to come out here. I didn't realise how time consuming it was to organise accommodation and the other mundane things one needs to do when establishing a new base. Finding the apartment was the easy bit but setting up the kitchen and the bathroom, organising internet connection (not least so I can write posts at home each night) and so on has taken me longer than I thought but I am happy to say that things are organised the way I like them. The apartment especially, it's nothing flash but the view each morning and evening is pretty spectacular - the subject of a future post to be sure. And so before the internet connection drops out for the umpteenth time tonight I will close here and post again tomorrow. But before I do here are a couple of pictures of various sights around Port Vila and the island of Efate.



A view of the lagoon from The Moorings, Port Vila



Beach sign for the protection of the mama turtle, North Coast Efate



The wing of the Air Vanuatu Boeing 787-800 nearing Bauerfield International Aiport, Port Vila