Leaving main island, Efate to southern island of Tanna

A mother bathing her kids at the base of the roaring volcano


Ekasup Village boy

Ekasup Village Chief

Ekasup Village Warrior


Ekasup Village Warrior

Ekasup Village boy
with his mom


Ekasup Village dancers

Bislama (the Egnlish based pidgin use throughout southern pacific islands

Black volcanic sand beach on Tanna Island

Mom with kids

Morning ":meeting"


The carved tree
fern figures

Smoke after each huge explosion of
Mount Asur

An explodingMount Asur


Yakel tribe warming up in the morning sun

The ritual afternoon dance

A very social occasion

Most live above the ground

Checking for insects?

Girls dressed up for the afternoon dance

Youngsters posing for a picture

Posing for the White Ghost!

A close-up pic

The village protecting tree fern figures

The "lounge"

Black volcanic ash
and rocks at the base

An exploding Mount Asur

Black volcanic sand beach

Tree ferns all over Tanna Island

Tree ferns

Island "resort" restaurant


My chalet on Tanna Island

Ferns

Wild pig morning kill

Note how soon after each other these missionary's babies died.

Efate pub

Tanna village

Bislama language

I have at least 150 more pics of Vanuatu. Let me know if you want to see more

My Most Memorable Experiences on Vanuatu:

• The raw power of planet earth!! Visiting the active volcano on Tanna Island was an experience of a lifetime!   For the past 100 years, Yasur has been graded Level 1 which allowed explorers like myself to climb up to the top of the crater to view the melting pot inside. When I arrived on the main island of Efate on June 27, 1999, I was informed by the National Tourist Office that the volcano has been upgraded to Level 3 which makes it too dangerous to climb up to the crater. When I arrived at the nearby village on Tanna Island, we were told that it now has been upgraded to a Level 4, the highest ever and that the area has been on high alert with no one allowed near the volcano. To make a long story short, we were let in after signing the necessary liability release forms.  We drove around the base of the volcano (which I only realized later how dangerous that was), to get to the bay behind the volcano to swim with the dugong (see pic below). The dugong is there 99% of the time...but on our day he might have been scared by the volcano's thunder and he did not turn up.   Viewing the power of the volcano at night from only 150 meters from the base, is a hair raising experience. First the glow, the the huge spray of fireworks, and then the thunder. This is repeated about once every 5 minutes, sometimes less, sometimes much more frequent. Huge red hot boulders, some as big as busses, shoot up high in the air with some rolling down the sides--remaining red hot in the night for up to 20 minutes!

• The friendly people! Wherever you go, people smile and initiate a conversation

• I went for a very challenging hike into the rugged tropical rain forests of Efate to visit the Mele-Maat falls. On the way to the falls, came across a local who made a fresh pig kill....I was glad to remind myself that the last cannibalism case was back in 1985!

• The small 6 seater light plane flight from Efate to Tanna took 70 minutes and took us over the Erromango Island. After checking in at the small Tanna Beach Resort, we left with a four wheel drive to the volcano. The next day I took the same four wheel drive and 3 guides to conquer the rainforests and after 60 minutes of slipping and sliding we arrived at the local Yakel tribal village.  Time has really been standing still here for many years!

• Drinking kava at the "red light district" of Port Villa. Every house with a kava bar displays a red lantern at the bar. Kava is a very popular intoxicating drink and is made from the roots of the Piper methysticum scrub (also called the Intoxicating pepper). Kava drinking is a ritual evening (sundowner) drink throughout the island, and the entire region. In some of the more traditional areas, such as Tanna Islands, pre-pubescent boys carefully wash the roots, then preparing them by chewing them into a mush and spitting the hard bits onto leaves. The mush is then placed into a container such as coconut, water added and thoroughly mixed with the hands. Then the mud coloured liquid is filtered through coconut fibres (hair). It is served in a coconut cup and drunk in the kava hut and only men may participate.  During this sermon, noise and conversation is kept to a minimum.    My experience: It tastes awful, made my mount and lips go numb (like after a dentist injection), and I think I started to hallucinate!  The thought of kava being prepared by humans chewing the roots and then spitted it out to make the drink, made me feel a bit sick...but on the positive note---it is chewed by pre-pubescent boys and not by old men with rotten teeth!!  After sitting and sipping in the dimly lit kava bar for about 15 minutes, I said farewell to my kava buddies and left..oops....almost drank too much....never again drinking kava!

• NEXT TRIP TO VANUATU:
  1. Checking up on Mount Yasur Volcano
  2. Visit active volcanoes on Ambrym Island
  3. Scuba diving on Santo Island in the north
  4. Attend  the early April land diving ceremonies (called naghol) on Pentecost Island