Aradonna's blog

On Monday we were collected by the bus at 8am for the Millenium Cave tour. After a long drive over bumpy muddy roads we arrived at the starting point which is a trek through the jungle. Fourteen of us were on this tour, with 5 local guides who were very professional, making sure the group stayed together and no one got left behind. The track through the jungle was very muddy and slippery due the recent rainy days and a couple of people, including Heather, went sliding over during the trek. It became fun to be a mud lark! Everyone had mud splatters all up their legs, so you could not tell the ones who had fallen over from the ones who hadn't - we were all covered in mud! We all had to cross a bridge made of bamboo, just bamboo poles all laid together in a pile between vertical bamboo poles supported by some other bamboo cross bars all tied together. It was very strong! After an hour and a half of mud trekking in the tropical jungle, surrounded by jungle birds, frogs and lizards, we reached the cave. The guides issued everyone a torch and off we went into the vast dark cave. Inside, the river was flowing through and we had to clamber over rocks and sometimes wade through water waist deep in the pitch black. Shining our torches high up to the roof of the cave we could see bats hanging and swallows flying. In places the cave was probably 3 stories high. Our guides helped everyone over large boulders, across gaps and through holes in the dark for 30 minutes and then we saw light coming through from the other end. What a beautiful sight! Emerging into the sunlight from the cave, the water we were wading through joined the main river running swiftly across the mouth of the cave. Getting across this fast flowing water was tricky - we formed a human chain and helped each other brace against the force of the water trying to sweep us away. Once on the opposi te bank we were all glad to have a rest and eat lunch which some porters had kindly transported for us.
After lunch we headed down stream though the canyon, clambering over boulders as big as cars and others that were the size of a bus. Water was rushing through the gaps in these slabs of rock as we kept our balance and scrambled over - sometimes having to jump across large gaps between boulders! After half an hour or so of canyoning, it was time for a swim down the rapids! This part of the canyon was the most spectacular. As we floated down the river being swept along at a steady pace, we looked up in amazement at the sheer rock walls of the gorge rising straight up on both sides of the river. Pretty ferns and trees hung down from little ledges above us and several waterfalls thundered down the rocks. It was fun to swim under the waterfalls and feel the jolting force of the water hammering down on your head and back. Several times as we floated down, we came close to rocky outcrops blocking most of the water flow and creating fast flowing tumbling water. We had to scramble to the side and climb around these areas that would have pummeled us if we had been swept over them. It was a thrill ride and it was stunning scenery. Sunlight streaking through the gap between the canyon walls in places, shining on the spray from waterfalls high above. Water glistening and dripping from tree ferns that clung to the sides of sheer rock here and there. Spectacular! We had almost an hour of running the river and we were in awe the whole way. At one point Heather joined a few of the others in the group and climbed high up a rocky ledge to jump off and plunge back down into the river. The force of landing from such a height sent each person down down down deep before popping back up again. What fun! The next part of the journey involved rock climbing to get back up the elevation we started at. Wooden ladders had been nailed to rocks in places to assist. Other parts of the ascent used knotted ropes to abseil up a couple of waterfalls. Looking back down the valley was incredible! Dense, lush, green tropical jungle, with a sheer rock canyon carving through it. It took about half an hour of almost vertical climbing to get to the top, but we made it. Wet, exhausted and exhilarated! After another muddy jungle trek we arrived back in the village to a very welcome sight. The locals had prepared delicious paw paw, lady finger bananas and juicy pompelmousse for us to munch on along with lemon leaf tea and coffee. In the bus on the way back the driver took us past the Vunaspef primary school. This school as well as a local kindergarten is funded from the proceeds of the Millenium Cave tours, which is a community business, run by locals, employing locals and putting money back into communit y projects. A wonderful experience and great to see this community effort. Before they started these tours in the year 2000, there was no primary school here, so children had to travel a long way to go to school and some never did. Now they have a local school to be proud of.
Yesterday we went on an organised dive with Allan Power Divers, to dive the wreck of the Coolidge. The guide was great, very informative and showed us the layout of the wreck before we went under water so we were familiar with what we were about to see. We were certainly aware that we were seeing and touching a piece of history. Some divers are very keen to see wrecks and get very enthusiastic about the historical significance and all that. We met a couple who had been for 6 dives on the Coolidge over the last 3 days and were about to do their seventh dive! It is a large ship, so they were doing more dives to see different rooms and compartments in the vessel. For us through, it was nice, but no matter which way we looked at it, it still looks like a huge lump of grey steel covered in crusty growth. We decided one dive was enough - we would rather dive to look at natural features and marvel at the underwater caves, arches, chimneys and walls that nature makes! Last night we went ashore to the resort to watch the entertainment. Over a glass of red wine we listened to a local string band play, complete with tea chest bass. They were great! Then came a puppet show using live people, but using heads, hands and feet from different put into carefully modeled clothes behind the scenes to make up a very short "person" who danced to the music. Crazy and very funny to watch. Very clever too! Then came the fire dancing. Wow! Dances twirled long sticks, with balls of fire on both ends. As they twirled the sticks to form a rim of fire, they leapt over and under the sticks and through the circles. One lady did a dance with long ropes, a ball of fire on the end of each. The dance was similar to the Maori poi dance, ropes swung in cirlces and criss crossing over and over to make two intertwining circles of fire. The male dances would sometimes breath a fire ball out of their mouths, shooting flames several meters out towards the crowd. They lit a bonfire and then completed the dancing with special flaming balls that sent sparks like fireworks out from the fire. As they spun these flaming balls on a long rope faster and faster and faster, they formed huge katherine wheels. Showers of orange parks flew out from the rim as they spun the rope so fast you could only see the rim of fire and the sparks, framing the dancer in the middle of the circle. Spectacular! We learned that all the performers from the band, puppet show and fire dancing were from the local youth centre which had been set up to help local youth learn new skills and hobbies. The youth centre also has classes in cooking and other useful skills. A fabulous initiative and a very entertaining result. Amazing talent from these young people.
Today we have enjoyed our first day of total sunshine in a while. The last week has had drizzle on and off - not that it made any difference to our activities of swimming in blue holes or floating down rapids! Had a nice dive on a coral garden today, just floated around appreciating what nature gives us. Thousands of tiny fish, a multitude of corals, a small turtle, some curious fish that want to look at us and some shy ones that try to hide. A lovely scene and a nice gentle dive. We had a few more swims today just to cool down and enjoy frolicking in the crystal clear water here. Tomorrow looks like a good day to sail up to Hog Harbour, so we will set off a little further north again in the morning.

On Friday we took the dinghy and motored up the river, to the Matevulu Blue Hole. A beautiful river that meanders for about 1km through tropical jungle, ending with a swimming hole that is somehow tinted blue even under a grey sky. Nice to have a fresh water swim, but the river trip was gorgeous with the overhanging trees and jungle vines reflecting in the mirror of the river. In the afternoon we walked a few km down the road to look at the Riri river from the bridge. Yesterday we decided to go upstream to the Matevulu Blue Hole again, but this time in our kayak. So, after baking some bread and pumping up the kayak, we set off. It was a brisk paddle at times to head upstream through the narrow parts, but restful where the river widened out and slowed down. Nice to take in the sounds of the jungle birds on the way. Coming back was a very easy ride, swept along by the river and pushed back out into the bay. An enjoyable ride. In the afternoon we motored around the island and the reefs in the dinghy to explore and spotted a turtle swimming by. Last night the crew of most of the yachts in the lagoon all met up for Happy Hour at the Oyster Island resort. Lots of stories, fun and laughter - a really good bunch! Based on the excellent reports we heard from fellow yachties we decided to take the dinghy up the Riri river today, to the Riri Blue Hole. We thoght it would be similar to Matevulu but our fellow yachties were right - this one is even better! The river has a sandy bottom and crystal clear water. All the way up the river it looks like you are in 2 inches of water but it is over 1m - it is just so clear! At the end of this river the Blue Hole is bigger, deeper and a more intense shade of blue. We had fun climbing up on the platform perched in a tree and swinging from the rope, across the blue hole and dropping with a splash! A stunning place and a really beautiful river trip. We are so very lucky.
This afternoon we decided to go for a walk to Matevulu village and we took along some seeds in case we found some people who needed seeds for their gardens. The signs we not so clear and we had to guess which way to go at a fork in the road. The road we chose took us to Matevulu College instead of the village, it turns out this was a lucky find! The college is a full boarding school for over 400 students and is set well away from any village and a few km inland, so is quite isolated from the usual community life here. The grounds are neatly groomed and beside the school is the teachers compound. There are 31 teachers and they all have a house next to the school. Children help with cooking duties, do their own laundry and other tasks to help them be self sufficient adults one day. The list of school rules on the notice board is very strict! We got talking to a couple of teachers who were doing some administration work on their day off (Sunday) at the school. The two teachers we happened to bump into, Mr Pong and Mr Issac, were the agriculture teachers. We asked them about their lessons and they explained that the students learning agriculture helped to plant vege gardens to feed all the children at the school. They were planting 1000 seedlings per week but needed more to have enough food for the children. We asked what they were planting and discovered that the only steady supply of seeds they had was for Bok Choy, but they wished they had some other varieties of seeds to grow. When we opened our back pack and produced several packets of watermelon and pumpkin seeds for them, they were astonished! Wow! They could not believe it! With big smiles and many many thank yous they kept shaking our hands and shaking their heads and saying wow! They explained to us that getting seeds was difficult and many times teachers were bu ying seeds from their own money just to keep supply of seeds for their nursery. They were truly very grateful. Mr Pong took us for a tour of the school and showed us the nursery and the gardens planted by the children. He insisted we take some Bok Choy with us by way of thank you, and later as we walked with our bunch of Bok Choy, one of the students proudly told us that he had planted it and helped it grow. A fabulous experience - we were so happy that we took this wrong turn and ended up at the school.
Tomorrow we have made arrangements with Bob and Sue to go on the Millenium Caves tour, which should be a great trip trekking through the jungle, along bamboo bridges, down cascades to a massive cave full of bats followed by a float down the rapids! If we survive this, we have booked to go diving with Bob and Sue on the wreck of the USS President Coolidge on Tuesday. This wreck dates from WWII where the USS President Coolidge was part of a fleet of more than 100 ships stationed here by the Allies. For three years, to September 1945 more than 500,000 military personnel, mainly American, were stationed here. Roads were laid, runways, wharves, jetties, offices, accommodation blocks, military hospitals and workshops built. Much of this infrastructure can still be seen today, though most of it in disrepair! On 26 October 1942 the Coolidge, a 22,000 ton luxury liner, converted to a troopship was bringing 5440 US troops to Santo. Approaching the base trhough the wrong entrance the ship struck two of their own defense mines! The captain attempted to save the ship by running her aground, allowing most of the troops to make it ashore. Only 5 lives were lost. The wreck is now a prime dive site, so we will have a look!

With a tropical cyclone lingering in the north, this anchorage gives us protection from all sides, just in case we need it! We are watching the progress of the cyclone brewing in the Solomons, it does not seem to be heading our way, but we still might have some strong winds as it passes by. It was s bit tricky getting in to the lagoon, we touched the bottom on the first attempt and had to reverse off the shallow patch in the channel. Had to wait until almost full tide to get enough depth of water in the passage, but inside the lagoon there is plenty of room and we are anchored in 12m of water. Sharing the lagoon with Trigger, Mawari and 3 other yachts, but plenty of room for several more. As we anchored a dugong surfaced behind us to welcome us into the bay.
The lagoon is behind Oyster island, which is behind a reef, which in turn is behind another chain of little islands protecting us from the sea. There is almost no wind at all in the anchorage and no swell. The entrance is marked by channel markers and the passage at high tide is clear of obstacles, but nothing like the charts! The track we made on our electronic charts (Navionics) coming in shows us travelling over reefs and land to get in, but the charts do not resemble reality! There is a river running from the lagoon up to the Blue Holes swimming spot which we will explore one day soon, plus there is a resort with a nice restaurant on Oyster Island which will beckon us over for sure. An idyllic spot, with easy access to the main road and buses into town if we happen to run out of paw paws. We do have a wonderful life!

We arrived in Espiritu Santo, locally known just as Santo Island, on Sunday afternoon. After a blustery couple of days sailing we were looking forward to dropping anchor in a calm sheltered bay. We poked our nose into the channel towards Luganville Bay, saw the wind funneling through the channel and yachts hobby-horsing around in the chop. Decided instead to opt for Palikulo Bay. Well sheltered from the waves and swell, we still had the wind howling through the bay and shrieking through the rigging, but at least we were out of the roll and pitch we had put up with for two days. Monday was town day, a day on land to do some essentials. First, we needed to find Immigration to extend our visas before we became overstayers. By 8.30am we were on shore and walking the 12km towards town. About an hour later we got picked up by a passing ute and had a ride in the tray of the ute the rest of the way. Luckily the driver knew where the Immigration building was. All we knew was it was a blue bui lding, somewhere on the main road. When the ute stopped outside we could see it was a blue building, but there were absolutely no identifying signs on the structure at all! Nothing on the door either, but when we sent inside we saw a fellow wearing an Immigration Officer uniform, so guessed we had come to the right place. After checking all of our forms and photos and passports about three times over, we were then advised that they could not accept our money at this office becasue they had no cashier. We were given a payment slip and instructed to walk 15 minutes down the road to the Government Cashier office to pay the fee (6000 vatu each, approx NZ$90 each), then we would need to get a receipt from the cashier and bring it back to the immigration office as proof of payment. At that time, Immigration would then issue our visa extension. OK, we asked, where exactly is this building and is it signposted? We were told, it is on the main road, about 2 blocks before you get to the supermarket. Very helpful as we had no idea where the supermarket was, but presumably if we got the to supermarket we would know we had gone too far! Thankfully we found said building, paid our fee and returned to Immigration just after 11am. If we hadn't made it before 11.30 we would have had to wait until 1.30pm as they close for lunch for 2 hours. Upon return a second Immigration officer completed yet more paperwork and then asked us why we wanted to stay longer, he said he needed a valid reason why we had to be in Vanuatu for a longer time! Incredulous, Heather replied: "because you have 83 islands and we have only seen 14 of them so far". That seemed to do the trick and our passports were duly returned, allowing us to stay until we fly out in August. At the Immigration office we also met fellow sailors from Dreamtime, who we had met in Gulf Harbour and seen briefly in Port Vila a month ago.
Next it was off into town to complete various errands, including a visit to the produce market. The market in Port Vila had been swimming in bok choy and not much else, due to many crops being destroyed by cyclone Pam. What little fruit they had was extremely expensive and usually wind damaged. Here in Santo, they were not hammered by the cyclone and the produce market had everything you would expect, at reasonable prices. Paw paw for 20 vatu each (about NZ 30 cents), bunches of bananas, bags of tomatoes - it was a pleasure to stock up! By the time we had completed our errands and loaded up our backpacks with fresh fruit and veges, plus some local beef from the butcher and some essentials from the supermarket, we were glad to hop into a taxi and be driven back to Palikulo Bay. The road was built by the Americans who had based themselves in this area during WWII and looks like it has had no maintenance since that time, so it is a little bumpy. Vehicles swerve from one side of the road to the other to drive around the potholes, so it is a little hair raising with oncoming traffic on the wrong side of the road, but still faster than walking! By the time we got back to the boat at 4pm we were bushed! Today we listened to the weather forecast, which was for more wind and more wind. These conditions are no good for diving the areas we are keen to dive here and we were growing tired of hearing the wind in the rigging, so decided to explore other anchorages. First stop was Aese Island, much more sheltered than Palikulo and with a pretty bay. A walk over the island to the other side revealed many relics of WWII rusting and overgrown, left abandoned. The island would be a botanists paradise, with so many different trees, grasses, vines and bushes. Wild lemon trees, brambles and many tiny flowering plants producing minute bursts of yellow, pink and purple. Swallows, bats and various other jungle birds swirled around us as we walked. A white sandy beach on the seaward side held some rugged rock pools at low tide. We watched an eel hunting for tiny fish, darting in and out the miniature caves formed in the volcanic rocks. We found plenty of life, but no sign of human habitation on this is land. After a yummy lunch that included paw paw and fresh coconut, we snorkled the bay and discovered a vast coral garden, teeming with fish in a multitude of intense colours. Beautiful! This anchorage, we decided, was much better than Palikulo Bay and we would come back here if our next stop was not suitable. Our next stop was Surundu Bay, with an entrance through a gap in the reef and a wriggle through some shallow patches. Fortunately, once we were through the gap in the reef, the water was calm and clear, so we could clearly see the patches to avoid. We dropped anchor in 5m of water, and looked around us. Flat, calm serenity! No sign of wind here at all and just one other boat in the bay! After a walk through the village and a few donations of seeds and fishing hooks, we returned to Aradonna and invited the French couple from the other yacht over for drinks. It turns out we were in Wallis Island together with them last year! They have recently spent a lot of time in New Caledonia and shared some of their favourite spots with us which will be very helpful for our visit to New Caledonia later this year.
Another wonderful day in paradise. And, at some stage, when the wind stops blowing outside, we will venture out again and do some more diving.