Sent: Friday, August 08, 2008 10:39 AM
Subject: Vanuatu Update

Arrived back at Vuda Pt Marina Fiji to dress Sundowner and return her to the water from her hurrican hole. Our disappointment in Sundowners internal condition on our return to Savusavu Fiji after three months back in NZ made us more diligent in our preparation for a six month absence. So on our return this trip, we were pleasantly surprised and our time spent in cleaning down was considerably reduced. We used plenty of camphor and moth balls thoughout the boat, so much we could not sleep on it for the first night.

This picture is of four bus boys racing one another to be the first when the bus stops, to carry our luggage for $2.00 fijian. They pay $10 for the hire of the barrow for the day. We heard an interview from a girl who lived with some of these boys in the underground, she had been taken to a missionary to give birth. Most are from outer islands trying to make it in the city.

Kelly & Glenda joined us in Vuda and we did some Island hoping and land based trips before Alison & Adrian joined us for the leisure cruise across to Vanuatu.

We caught a beautiful fish called a dolphin fish. It glowed bright gold against the inky blue sea as it was being reeled in. On closer inspection it had iridescent blue spots. As the boys brought it on board, Adrian said before serving it with the fatal blow “It’s a shame to kill it” It could have tasted better but I think that was probably because we saw it in its glory and the sea is where they all should stay. Had I been hungry it probably would have tasted as beautiful as it looked.

We landed at Port Resolution, not a port as we know them but a bay with a number of villages round the shore line. The village houses were all made of platted grass mating with the two back corners squared off and a rounded front and dirt floors. We met a lady peace worker that had been there for twelve month teaching the village people business management. On the top of a cliff face with an excellent view of the bay the village were building huts for hire. I didn’t ask the nightly rates but they had running water to outside the door and a short walk away was a toilet and shower.

In her hut she had a huge collection of old batteries. She was giving out sweets to anyone who returned a dead battery, in the hope that the rechargeables she had hired out to people would get handed back in.

To clear customs etc. we had to make our way across the Island on the back of a truck to Lenakel. This took approx 2hrs each way. The view from the back of an uncovered truck can’t be beaten and the country we covered was varied and beautiful, very hard on the bottom tho. After going over the desert and thru the ash that drifted down from the volcano all the occupants on the back of the truck both white man and Ni Vans (Vanuatians) all emerged the same colour. Clearing Customs, Immigration, and Quarantine had to be done in the right order which meant going past one, to the other and then back again. They all seemed to be miles apart and took the best part of the morning. We returned to the boat with our fruit and veg we’d bought at the market and in the evening we took the same truck to the volcano. As other yachties have said before us ‘this is a must destination’ and agree it is an exhilarating experience.

What with all the OSH regs to-day, one would not be allowed to do in NZ what we did here. After a short walk from the truck we all lined up at the edge of the crater with our camera’s looking down into the crater and jumped backwards as it spewed ash and red hot rocks way up into the air. We got used to that after awhile but then it gave a great belch and a boom which startled us all into an instinctive run. We chuckled and laughed our way down the hill about the individuals response to being told by our guide not to move, stand still and look over your heads and dodge the rocks. After the falling rocks had fallen, thankfully missing us all, the next command was to leave the mountain. Yours truly didn’t need telling twice.

Left Port Resolution lunch time the next day and sailed over night arriving at Port Villa approx 1430hrs the following day. Had two lovely days of sun shine there before it turned to rain. A man called Jim drove us 1 ½ hrs down the coast to a new resort that opened six months ago where we had a very nice lunch. On our way there he detoured thru the very rich and the very poor areas. The very poor area is where the village people from the outer islands end up living while they try for jobs and a house to live in. Not nice.

A Company called Digicel, selling Cell phones with solar recharging is making a big impression on the population thru out the Island of Vanuatu at present. While we were there they had their big opening which included Vanuatu’s biggest star Vanessa Quai singing with other local stars with a very expensive fire works display just like the one Picton had at Xmass. All along the street during the day Ni’van’s (Vanuatun’s) lined up to buy solar cell phones for $50.00 NZD. It was funny watching some older men huddled to-gether on the street giggling while playing with their cell phones. I asked the locals if this was a good thing for them and the reply was yes. E.g. it meant they would be able to ring their families in the outer villages and islands - the village people were able to ring the shipping companies to find out when the boats were due to collect their produce bound for Port Villa market. Apparently at present the boats are very un-reliable and the village people take their produce to the wharf or beach in the case of Port Resolution and others to find the boat does not turn up.

Spent three days on Tomman Island, just off the south/west corner of Malakula. These people live in similar huts to those on Tanna (Port Resolution) but are made from the bamboo poles which they slit open, flatten, then weave to make the platted wall panels. Unlike Fiji they have a door in the door jamb and windows which are normally closed. I put this down to the weather which we find is cooler than Fiji. My swim wear is not being worn every day here. Rod made most of the men look small and as you can see by the picture these two Chief’s were not big men - in any way!. The one on the right was from another Island and the pick of the two I thought.

The huts have dirt floors and are built very low even I have to duck to go in. They bucket their water from a large communal hole which I thought would have been salty.

We were there to attend a grading ceremony at which the villagers give food gifts to prove their worthiness to be graded up in the village ranking. On the first day we were invited to breakfast which consisted of a cold drink of very sweet lemon tea and the Fijian breakfast biscuit with pawpaw.

The pig and the yam plays a big part in their lives so they were the predominant gift. Approx 20 pigs were presented and killed. The women slit the chest and pulled the pigs heart out and the men club theirs between the eyes with this tool shaped at one end like a penis. The men’s pigs are not bled so the meat goes very dark. The men are not allowed to eat the women’s pigs and visa versa. For every pig killed a large stone was placed in this special place that to us now looked like a grave yard. They have a grading system for the chiefs also and the higher the chief the more pig tusks they wear and the bigger the stone. The ceremony involves dancing, killing of pigs, building a house, lighting a fire without matches, giving and eating. We lear’nt a lot about their customs and this ranking is an old custom they say they want to keep alive. Of course the white man pays to see these ceremonies so it is income to them. They fed us lunch each day which consisted of rice, yams, taro, tiny reef fish and freshly baked pork, pampumus or something like that. It’s a very large juicy grape fruit. The pigs get cut up into lumps that can be speared with a stick and cooked as you see in the picture.

Rod and I arrived with a large yellow fin tuna but we did’nt get a higher rank in the pecking order and presented with a pigs tusk. That could be something to be thankful for. Maybe next time when we don’t get to see our food killed and prepared. The chief did greet us with a hongi tho. At the end of the three days we were given a small leg of pork, yam and taro. We gave the leg of pork to another yachty. When it’s time to leave the kids all rush down to our dinghy to help carry it into the water and push us off.

Spent a few day in the Maskelyne Islands and almost a week in Port Sandwich. Got to know John in Port Sandwich quite well, he would stop and talk for an hour or so on his way past to his vegy garden. John would drop off vegys, fruit, eggs etc but would not take money in return, but he would accept clothes. Thank you to those back in Waikawa that provided us with those. He was the chairmen of the Committee that provided carpentry tools with grants from NZ for a school in his village. While in Port Sandwich we took the dinghy up the river thru the mangroves and walked 45 minutes to an interior village where they were celebrating Inderpendance Day. A ten man string band was playing and they were all dancing, but with clothes on this time. Our form of dancing got a laugh or two from the locals.

Stopped off at Port Stanley a couple of days to snookle on the coloured calms. The clams would be approx 18in long and the flesh was all colours – one clam had green flesh, another purple, another was brown sort of oblong stripes etc. They are protected and have a lot of growing to do yet. Would be good to go back in a few years time.

Sundowner is going well and all is well on board.

Hope everyone back home are well and the WBC is going strong.

We are sending this email from Luganville.

Rod Lucas & Shirley Sprozen

Sundowner kp 44 274

Surundu Bay,

Espiritu Santo,

Vanuatu

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