Trip to Vanuatu: Day 4

Breakfast was so extraordinarily delicious today that I had second helpings of everything. We had an early start for the day. Julie, the resort manager had arranged a taxi for us to travel the east coast of the island. We had a minimum of three locations in mind and a fourth if we had time.

Tusty, our driver was an extremely friendly local from another island of Vanuatu called Tana. As soon as we took off, he told us ask him anything about the island, good or bad. He was an encyclopaedia of the islands. He told us about the history, the customs, the traditions and a lot of other interesting things. They have a tradition that says every person has to have an "adoptive" father on every island and this father would deal with any problem the person had. Tusty told us about their unique wedding procedures which was fascinating. Apparently, when he decided to marry a girl of Santo, he had to get his "Santo father" to talk to the bride's father and if Tusty could pay 80000 vatu($950 AUD), he could buy her as a bride. He talked about the education, villagers, farmers and politics.

The scenery on the way to our first destination was mostly forests on both sides. There were also a lot of coconut plantations everywhere. We drove for a while before reaching the Champagne beach. The beach was apparently disputed property between two families and we had to pay a small entrance fee to go in.

Clean white sand beach

White sand beach

Dolphin Island on the left and Elephant Island on the right

Champagne beach is the cleanest beach in the world and had white sand. The beach faced two islands. The one on the left was called Dolphin island as it looked like a dolphin's nose and the one on the right was called Elephant island as it looked like an elephant's trunk. They were as magnificent as was the water. The water here was a pale blue and looked like sparkling champagne in a glass; the coast is shaped like a Champagne glass and hence the name.

We rushed to put on our snorkelling masks and taking our trusty noodles, we jumped into the water. The water was warm and cold at the same time and it felt amazing to see many schools of fishes quite close to the shore. Here also there were a lot of coral reefs but as the depths increased, we slowed down. We saw all sorts of fishes here, blue, green, yellow, black, silver and a strange looking fish thin as a needle(which I found later was called the crocodile needle fish). The corals here were shaped like huge rocks that we could sit on. We explored these for ages till the waves got stronger and I wanted to return to the beach.

Hubby dear wanted to explore the reefs a little longer and so started I started swimming towards the shore alone. Though I was asked to go over the reefs as it was shallow, I chose to go over the sand even though the waters were deeper here but the waves were calmer. I saw a few fishes but I was concentrating more on swimming as I felt like I was gasping for breath and didn't notice them till I saw something dark on the ocean floor. When I focused on the dark spot, I realised I was looking at a lone turtle on the sand. My fears vanished immediately and I was drawn to the turtle's movements. I felt so peaceful as I watched it wading ever so slowly on the sand. I floated on that spot for a long time making sure I wasn't dreaming or imagining this beautiful creature, which was an epitome of gracefulness. When I looked above the water to call hubby dear, it vanished but I'll never forget what I saw all my life.

Reefs we snorkelled in; view from the quay

When we finally made it to the beach, I was ecstatic about what I had seen and a little disappointed that he hadn't see it too. It had been a magnificent sight. We went along the beach for a walk as we had it almost completely to ourselves save for a small family. There was a quay where the cruise ship would be anchored in the next few days and the view from here was stunning. We spent around two hours on the beach before setting off to the next destination.

We saw many coconut shelters on the way. Tusty stopped at one of them. He explained that coconut farming and fishing were two main occupations on the island. The people did not climb the trees to collect as they were very tall and instead waited for them to fall off. They peeled off the hard shell and put the soft skin on top of a big furnace to soften them. Once the skin was soft, they would load them up in sacks and transport them to the town where they would be pressed to obtain fresh coconut oil.

Coconuts being softened on top of furnace

We arrived at Port Olry ready to jump into the waters again. But waves were rough and we could only explore the reefs just beyond the beach. Even here, there were a lot of tiny and big fishes. As lunch time approached, we could not snorkel anymore and settled to have food instead. I ordered this amazing veg pizza that was pretty good and filling. We took a stroll along this gorgeous beach from which I could see the other side of he Dolphin island.

Port Olry beach

Dolphin Island

Tall coconut trees

Waves at the end of the beach

I could not decide which beach I like better- Champagne beach or Port Olry. Port Orly had a small tree house and a small room for tourists to stay right on the beach. The beach had white sand again and was dazzling in the bright sun. There were many fishermen on canoes battling the strong wind in the water. There were hammocks to lie on and a cute wood carved table for two.

Hammocks on white sand

Table for two

After the stroll we got back to the little restaurant and the topic of coconut crabs came up with Tusty. We said we had never seen one and the lady there immediately brought out a live one from behind the restaurant. It was massive to say the least. It had a black hard shell and was a navy blue colour on the bottom. This crab usually picks the coconuts from the ground and breaks it down to eat the flesh within. The pincers on it had teeth like structures. Tusty told us to find a coral and when it was dangled in between the pincers, the crab snapped the coral like it was a mere twig. After admiring the beautiful and scary creature, we started towards our final destination.

Tusty holding the coconut crab

Tusty stopped at a local market on the side of the road. It was more of a shelter with a few fresh vegetables and fruits set by the vendors. The children playing behind them looked so happy without any toys and even waved at us. Tusty got us a few fresh coconuts to drink from later.

When we got to Nanda Blue Hole, we were the only visitors. We had to pay a small entrance fee and had the blue hole all to ourselves. The blue hole was blue in colour and had fresh water from the stream. There were many freshwater fishes but just one species. The blue hole was at least 70 feet deep and I was terrified of getting in even with my noodle. After persuading myself I put on my mask and got into the water still holding onto the wooden platform. At this time, Tusty threw a little piece of coconut into the water and suddenly hundreds of fishes swarmed near me and I forgot to be afraid.

Reflection of trees in the clear water

I let go of the wood and starting pushing myself towards the fishes. They were of all sizes and swam along with me. I looked down and couldn't see the bottom. Fear seized me again. I forced myself to face my fears and snorkel forward. The water was cold and  I felt like every cell in my body was awake. I snorkelled for a few minutes before fear took over again and I went back up the platform. It was only when I got out that a hermit crab was pulled off my dress from behind me. The restaurant had provided us with a fruit platter of papayas and bananas, which was refreshing after the swim. We admired the blue hole for a long time in the setting sun's rays.

It was time to go back to our temporary abode. It had been a long day. Tusty made the day so much more interesting with his intriguing  stories and chit-chat. We bid farewell to Tusty at the resort after which we had a little rest and then had dinner. It had been an great day full of experiences that we will never forget.