Nomads Moorings Hotel Port Vila

That evening we flew back to Port Vila. It was approaching the end of our vacation and we were definitely on a high after our experiences in Tanna and Santo. But before flying back home we made time to finally visit the Mele Mele Cascades, and we were glad we decided to do it. From the entrance to the cascades, the path took us up through forested cover, passing fast flowing small cascades and slightly turquoise pools, up ...

... tried kava for the first time. It looks a lot like muddy water and has a very strong after taste. It wasn't very strong though, so I didn't feel anything more than a few minutes of numb lips. I went with Dorothy and Rose, two ni-vanuatu girls that also live with Jess and Sam. Dorothy is like a nanny to Jess and Sam's 2 and a half month old son, Jackson, and Rose is a 16 year old who lives with Jess and Sam during the week so she can go to ...

... a fun adventure of buggies breaking down.  We had a great tour group and made a good time of it. The best was when another buggy broke down for the twentieth time, our tour guide took us to the international airport in Vanuatu and we had a beer stop.  The buggy ride allowed us to see the island, get muddy, go swimming and meet some new friends. Lots of good times on the buggy ride and it was a great end to Kim's birthday. 

Hot and steamy - incredibly humid and sticky. We disembarked and ran the gauntlet of local stalls selling sarongs and plastic leis and caught a minibus/taxi into town for $3. There's not much to Port Vila - just one street about a kilometre long with a local food market at one end and Duty Free shops at the other. Port Vila is very much like I remember Fiji from 20 years ago. Rustic, tropical, underdeveloped and easy going. Not pretentious at all. The shopkeepers were not ...

... some unknown reason. I stuffed myself silly as usual and took a big nap by the beach. The training ended at 3:30p and some of us went snorkeling right in front of the 'classroom'. Absolutely awesome snorkeling. I guesstimate the visibility at more than 50 ft. There is a slight reef drop off 20-30 meters out. The underwater landscape is just gorgeous.

... Their weren't many people about, maybe because of it being a Sunday I thought. I carried on down to the beach where I met a young lad called Henry who was 14yrs old. After introducing myself to him, he offered to show me around his village, to which I gladly accepted. He first showed me the fishing boats the men build & use every day. They cut down local trees & then hollow out the inside, they also attach a side float to balance the boat in ...

... are (again relatively speaking) just as respected as men and are given as many opportunities as men are, which again is not the case in most parts of the world. For example, one night in Brisbane when I went out to a grocery store, I started a conversation with the store manager and mentioned to him how I had seen so many Arabs in the area and asked how they were perceived. He said that most grocery store owners like having them come because they ...

... to correct their work. Rubbers, rulers, and tip-ex are passed around and thrown across the room with regularity. The most alarming thing thrown around is razor blades, used to sharpen their pencils they throw these around the room or put them in their mouths all the time and you have to have eyes in the back of your head to catch them doing this. They love colouring pencils and when I run word games and competitions in class they will always pick the colouring ...

Thursday, November 20th, Tanna, Vanuatu A wonderful night's sleep with all of the glass shutters (with screens!) open and mosquito nets over our beds. Went to breakfast overlooking the ocean, lots of fire roasted toast with butter and vegemite, as well as tea and juice and fresh fruit. While there the plane flew in and later a couple came in - newlyweds, I'm guessing. She was in such awe with the resort that she held her hand over her chin and it ...

... find that this was no longer the Luron Guesthouse and I had in fact camped in some random person's garden - oops! So they said no problem and offered to take me down to the new Luron Guesthouse (turns out the bank re-possessed this one). They called me a cab even though I said I didn't want one so the poor cab driver was left frustrated outside as we walked down the road to my new accomodation - I have to stay ...