VANUATU - Weird or Wot
Barry McKnight & Roger Cowland
Vanuatu is probably one of the lesser known islands of the South Pacific. This would be certainly true in Australia where the number one holiday destination in that area has always been Fiji, but when political upheaval hit that tiny republic we began to think of alternative holiday destinations. When we saw a holiday package deal for Vanuatu that included two flying for the price of one, we thought it too good an opportunity to let pass by. Like most people we knew little about Vanuatu and found ourselves in for a pleasant surprise. Our airline tickets allowed us to do some duty free shopping before we left so we went and bought ourselves a Sony Digital 8 camera each. One of the reasons for buying the Digital 8 cameras was that they had a 20 times zoom lens, which when fitted with a 2times accessory lens gave us a 40 times zoom - which would be great for shooting wildlife. Armed with our new cameras, we packed our bags and were on our way…. Our hotel, the Melanesian in Pt Vila on the main island of Efate was absolutely ideal. It was very relaxed and casual with a room that had full cooking facilities, a nice balcony overlooking a garden, and was only ten minutes walk to the town. The only minus was that food was expensive. A couple we were touring with said that a cup of coffee at their hotel was $7. Fortunately for us a continental breakfast was part of the package for our hotel. We thought it would be very basic but it was one of those help yourself arrangements where you could eat as much as you wanted, with a large choice of food. This meant that if we had a good breakfast we didn't need anything for the rest of the day until our evening meal which was usually cooked in our unit. Vanuatu used to be known as the New Hebrides and was jointly governed by Britain and France(which is why food is expensive!). It would also account for the unusual nature of the place. Since the islands gained independence in 1980 English has become the preferred language. It would seem that they still have a lot to learn though. We laughed at one sign that said.. “PUBLIC NOTICE . PLEASE TABU BLONG TEKEM SAND BEACH. BLONG KAREM SELF IS : TANK YU TUMAS…. ?? Unfortunately there was quite a bit of rain about for a few days but when it cleared up we took an eight hour tour of the island.
Our first stop was at a soft drink factory which was quite interesting, as soft drink factories go. We were offered sample tastes but one lady had such a bad reaction that she pulled a face and handed it back to the Hibiscus flower behind the ear male who had offered it to her. We politely declined sampling any further drinks!...Once out of the city the roads deteriorated and became some of the worst that we had ever experienced. Many bridges had been washed away during recent typhoons so our little mini bus had to cross by the river beds.
The next stop was the Mele Cascades. However after two days of rain the streams that we had to cross to get there were somewhat swollen, so the guides formed a chain to assist we tourists to cross without being swept away. We then trekked along paths of thick, slippery mud leading us through dense forest. The silence of the forest was gradually replaced by a roaring sound as we eventually arrived at the river. From here we had to wade up stream climbing a number of smaller rapidly flowing cascades to be able to observe the main falls. Everyone was a little damp from the spray so some of our group took the opportunity to cool off in the large rock pools, while others climbed higher through the cascading water. That looked a bit risky so we contented ourselves with filming the natural beauty of this area. Going back down was still tricky and Roger misjudged his footing and had an unexpected swim after all - as did a couple of other tourists!. Fortunately the camera was wrapped up well in his backpack and didn't get wet. It was the beginning of a rather weird day. At another place we visited a local residence beside a stream which had large eels in it which could be hand fed. Later the owner chappie showed us his pet Green Lizard. While we were admiring it he suddenly popped into his mouth, head first - much to the horror of the other tourists. It kicked its legs about, but seemed quite okay when he pulled it out again. He had a big grin on hid face - like a cat that had just swallowed the canary. A visit to a native village was next on the agenda but when walking to visit the village, a large group of native men came charging out of the forest shouting war cries and brandishing vicious weapons. They then surrounded the couple ahead of us and began a chanting song as they danced around the startled tourists. Later, after lunch, we visited a fire walker who was summoned by a lady blowing a large Conch shell. She had previously showed us how hot the rocks were by pouring water on them which immediately sizzled and was converted to steam. A bare footed gentleman then came out of one of the huts and proceeded to walk up and down the hot rocks. After he concluded the exercise he then showed us the unharmed soles of his feet and poured more water on the rocks to show us that they were still hot. The rocks still sizzled but the soles of his feet appeared quite normal. I had the bizarre thought that if he lay down with his feet in the air, would the soles of his feet sizzle if water was poured on them!!.
Efate was a huge American base during WWII and as we drove past where they had their airfield we could see the rusty remains of tanks in the mangroves. There were also numerous roadside stalls selling empty old classic shaped Coke bottles. Apparently when the Yanks departed, they left behind a massive dump containing thousands of Coke bottles. There is also the remains of a large ship beneath the sea just off the coast that was sunk there during the war and has now become a popular dive site. While travelling through the picturesque country side I got to chatting with the attractive young lady beside me whose name was Carol. In the course of conversation she asked me where I came from. I answered that, though living in Sydney now, I originally came from a town in Queensland called Mount Morgan. She then replied that her husband once had a great uncle there named Patterson who was a Mining Engineer and had something to do with the Boy Scouts. It was only later after the bus hit a large bump that it clicked. He was not a Mining Engineer, but Chief Surveyor, and leader of the Boys Brigade(similar to the Boy Scouts) - and my boss in the early days when I was a cadet surveyor. Unfortunately he had a sudden stroke and died when I was in my early Twenties. He was a truly great man, a good boss and enormously respected. We all agreed that it was an amazing coincidence. Later in the afternoon as we were returning to Port Vila Carol asked if we were professional cameramen as she had a friend in the film industry named Barbara Gibbs. Well, another coincidence here as Roger knew Barbara quite well as she worked for Kennedy Miller, the producers of the “Mad Max” series and recently the “Babe” films. As we were driving through the Pt Vila streets on the way to our respective hotels, Carol mentioned to Roger that her father was once an engineer at a place in Sydney called Colorfilm, had he heard of it? Roger said he sure had, as he worked there with her father for 17 years until Colorfilm closed in the early nineties. Unfortunately at this point we had reached Carol’s hotel and she exited the bus looking a bit dazed at the amazing whammy of multiple coincidences. A sort of 6 degrees of separation whittled down to one or two! Weird! When we got back to our hotel our phone rang and it was Carol to say that her husband (who was in Vanuatu as a consulting engineer on a project for the Government) wanted to meet us and would we like to go to dinner that night. As we waited in the foyer Carol arrived first, then Andrew, her husband, appeared walking down the stairs. It gave me a strange feeling as the resemblance to his great uncle was uncanny. We went to Rossi's, a top restaurant in Pt Vila, and enjoyed a very nice meal and talked for hours as we looked out over the South Pacific ocean. Carol & Andrew live in Cairns, where Andrew is involved in the big foreshore redevelopment, and have invited us to call on them on our next trip north. One of the greatest differences between Vanuatu and Bali is the people. In Bali from the moment you step off the plane until you depart again you become the target for all the street vendors who want to sell you something. You learn to walk about saying “No! No! No! continually. For some it can be extremely irritating. In Vanuatu the people go their own separate ways. They do their own thing, and do not bother the tourists at all. Occasionally you may get a shy “Hello!”, but mostly they go about their own business. Even in the large city markets there is no pressure to buy anything - though I must say that when I was taking a shot of a women’s Bra made of two coco - nut halves the lady at the stall said “Buy for wife Sir!”. I answered her by saying “I don’t think it is really her style!”…Later that day we took a ride in a small semi - submersible boat called “The Blue Sub”. Clearly the owner was young and not familiar with the Beatles pop group. Still we could imagine it was a yellow submarine and sing the chorus a few times as we sailed along beneath the water. As Vanuatu is situated in the warmer Pacific zone it abounds in beautiful coral reefs. Unfortunately there was not much hard coral to see in the polluted waters of the harbour but there were some nice colourful fish and soft corals about. As we returned to the wharf and attached the Blue Sub to its mooring, I noticed a small raft like craft with seats and large umbrella in the middle beside a freighter. Everything was bright pink, including the seats and umbrella. The craft (surprise! surprise!) was called “The Pink Lady”. A group of people sat on the seats and looked as if they were about to have a picnic. A man(probably the captain) started the small outboard motor and they put - putted away out into the harbour. Later in the afternoon we saw it again as we walked out on the small hill that overlooked the harbour to see the sunset. There it was in the harbour waters below sailing along in the golden shimmering water. As our holiday was coming to a close we thought we should get some footage of the night life in Port Vila. The liveliest place was the Post Office Hotel. The main bar was absolutely crowded with what would have to be young Aussies. Now this is something that Bali and Vanuatu definitely have in common. Young Aussies behaving badly. It was a constant source of embarrassment in Bali and here it was again in Vanuatu. Although I must admit the guy doing an imitation of a chicken dancing on the dance floor was kinda funny. Later we turned the camera on at the entrance to one of the street bars to get some music and atmosphere and a young male jumped up on the bar and dropped his shorts to show us his bare bottom. This was quickly followed by a girl who joined him on the counter and bared her breasts. Well we came to Vanuatu to film the local culture, but this was not really what we had in mind! On the last night the hotel had one of their Vanuatu culture nights with lots of singing and dancing. These special nights that the hotel frequently staged for guests were really great and gave us the opportunity to record the local singing and dancing. However this night they added a bonus feature and had a table set up for guests to sample the local alcoholic type beverage called Kava. It is made from the root of the Kava plant and is said to taste pretty horrible. However despite this we decided to give it a go! It was not easy, but we did manage to drink a small glass each despite discovering that all we heard about it was true. It did taste like muddy water! Feeling quite proud of the fact that we did at least sample this legendary awful drink we set out for one last look at this unusual city. It was a beautiful night, with the stars seeming to shine brighter, and twinkle more. Music drifted about the city and people smiled as they walked past. That night I had the best night’s sleep that I have ever had. Roger said the same thing. I have a very low tolerance for alcohol which usually results in severe headaches if I have too much. There was none of that with Kava. I have since read that it has a sedative effect, and is quite the opposite to alcohol. The drink was apparently banned in the New Hebrides until they gained their independence. In an effort to curb the domestic violence which was rife in the community with the availability of alcohol, the new government put a high tax on alcohol, but legalised the much cheaper Kava and opened many Kava bars. The incidence of domestic violence decreased dramatically. In 2006 an international survey was held and the people of Vanuatu were named the happiest in the world.
