Vanuatu is a South Pacific Ocean nation made up of 83 islands that stretch across 1,300 kilometers. Port Vila is the capital and economic centre, on the island of Efate. This is where we’re flying to and spending 5 nights. This brings my total countries visited to 75 out of a possible 266 (countries and territories per the BEEN app!) – still a lot to go!
The population of Vanuatu is around 300,000 people. Efate is the most populous (with over 60,000 people) and the third largest island, and it can be driven around in 3 to 4 hours. We are staying at Fatumaru lodge which is the first drop from the airport pick up (hooray!).
We arrive late and it’s dark so next morning I’m excited to see the view from our room and balcony.
It’s gorgeous out here in our “back garden”!
We walk into town which is very close … about ten minutes and check out what’s in our immediate area. There are plenty of beachside bars and cafes, I don’t think we’ll be short of places to eat and drink. There a tsunami emergency board explaining what alerts will be signaled and what you need to do in the case of a tsunami… yikes!
The walk along the water into town is stunning….
Always love a place name sign….
It’s such a beautiful pathway along the seafront I can’t help stopping to take photos.. hard to capture how nice it is.
The obligatory selfie!
We stop and have some eggs for breakfast at The Boathouse café and continue to explore town. We walk to the far end where there is a big Bon Marché and stock up on a few essentials… t-bags and tonic mainly!!
We pass the parliament (as you’d expect in the capital city).
We dip our feet in the water and watch some kids jump in from a small pier:
It’s Shane’s birthday today and he loves a good local market so we decide to get some lunch there. Local fish curry with a view.
We hit the bottle-o to grab a few beverages for the room… there’s some craft cider hiding in a craft beer box that’ll work for me!!! Then it’s time to walk back to our place for a little rest. Again I’m amazed by the clear water and beautiful colours along the way.
Such clean and clear water so close to a capital town!
Did I mention how good the lodge is … our room opens out onto the water … so nice….
There’s also a nice pool at the front but we won’t spend much time in here when we can walk into the fresh water on our doorstep.
Which is exactly what we do to refresh ourselves after the morning exploring of the town in the hot weather. The temperature of the water is fab – almost like a bath!
Time for a G&T on the balcony to watch the sun go down…
A beautiful sunset tonight.
Tonight we have booked a birthday dinner at L’Houstalet Restaurant which is the oldest restaurant in Port Vila and a bit of an institution. We try out the local bus as it’s a bit of a walk and are delighted how easy it works out. There are loads of mini buses (identified by a “B” on the reg) and you basically tell them where you want to go. It costs 150 vatu which is a little over a euro.
There is flying fox on the menu – that’s a bat 😱 and that’s exactly what the birthday boy orders (of course!). I settle for a prawn and mushroom gratin which sounds odd but is really delicious. We have some nice French white wine and it’s all round a lovely place and a lovely meal. We catch a bus home which has one other passenger who tells us we will be having a quick stop so the driver can pick up his dinner!
Next morning we start out with a pastry from Le Fournil De Vila and a dip in the water. The tide is out so we can venture a little further. It is perfect for me as it’s calm and not too deep. I love it!
We head out for a walk and visit the national museum.
To be honest it is probably the worst national museum I’ve ever been in. You can hardly see some of the exhibits as they’re behind worn and dirty displays. We persevere and look around the whole place (it’s very small) and we do learn some new things. We learn that Vanuatu means “Our Land Forever” and that the native people told stories through sand paintings.
After that riveting hour in the museum it’s time for lunch so we walk (for ages in blistering heat!) to a fish shop and restaurant called La Touque Á Poissons”. It’s nearly 2pm when we get there and we’ve missed a lot of the specials but we settle for what’s left which includes a “fish finger” which was essentially a huge piece of beautiful battered white fish. We also try our first local beer – Tucker.
On our way back home we stop at a Thai massage place I spotted earlier and they’re able to fit me in. I have an hour of hands-on torture (ah no it was great!) for less than €20!
Tonight we hit Banyan beach bar which has been recommended to us and it is just lovely.
We sit on the sand by the water and have a beer and a cider while some appetiser treats are handed out – nice!
There’s live music by a guy singing country music and although he’s fudging over a lot of the words he’s actually very good.
When the fire gets going we have to make an exit as it is roasting!!!
We head off to get something handy for dinner and end up at Dolphins which is a 24/7 roadside cafe and bottle shop!!! They’re very happy to see us and would you believe there is more live music just for us!! It’s so nice and laid back.
We’ve ordered food but not sure what the drink situation is so Shane heads up to the “bar” to negotiate some beverages…. An Australian white wine and a local beer – happy days. There’s an optional kava that Shane partakes in but it doesn’t have the ritual that we partook in in Fiji… still like drinking muddy water though!
Our “handy” bite of prawns and chips arrives and it is a big portion of prawns – it’s gorgeous!
Next morning we wake up to a huge cruise ship arriving ….
Glad we’re not heading downtown to potential throngs from the ship, we pick up a higher car and set off around the island. You can cover the whole island in 2 to 3 hours. There are a number of stop off points suggested to visit but in all honesty there are no signs anywhere and we miss the first few!!! The scenery is beautiful though.
Our little car struggles on the hills and there are potholes everywhere, but we manage and it’s lovely to see the island in its entirety.
It’s very quiet with virtually no tourists so even though there’s a huge cruise ship in town we see no impact. It feels like it’s just us two driving around the island.
We come across a sign for a market and ask a guy on the side of the road where this market is. He points to a stall right where we’ve pulled in – this is it!!! We realise it’s just a couple of stalls with some women and food that they’ve cooked in their houses and they’ve come down to the main road to sell.
We have a plate of food and eat it by the water. We have pumpkin, manioc, two different types of fish – flying fish and tuna, some sort of home-made coleslaw, a meat tamale and some orange cordial… all of this eating with our hands
These lovely local ladies were as happy to serve it as we were to eat it. They also happily smiled for a photo!
We drive on through more coconut palms ….
…..and turn off for access to a beautiful white sand serene beach which has some beautiful views to some other islands.
As we’re leaving a man passes on the dirt road in a car and tells us we are in his land! He corrects himself to say it’s actually his wife’s land. We apologise but he goes on to tell us we are very welcome and so are our friends!! Quite bizarre – we thought he might kill us!! ah not really but maybe look for money… he didn’t even do that – such nice people the Vanuatu locals.
Another beautiful stop along the seafront and a view to a distinct looking island across the way. Hoping we’re not on someones private land…..
Next it’s on to an official stop on the island tour – Eton beach. This is renowned as the most beautiful beach on the island. There’s a charge to park but we happily pay the 500 VT per person to go in. It is a very beautiful beach.
The clear turquoise water doesn’t get too deep so I am very happy and can swim and float around for ages.
There’s some good swimming to be done and I’m delighted I remembered my underwater camera.
Next stop is the famous blue Lagoon it’s only about 2 1/2 km beyond Beach. It’s called out as one of the main highlights on the island. Honestly if you’re not a child who likes swimming on a rope and jumping into water it’s just it’s too scary for me to get into
Shane swims the whole length of the lagoon with no place to rest until he gets to the edge where I am and where I plan to stay!
Time to head back for a sundowner and a freshen up. As we’re walking downtown, we pass what we thought was just a Pizza Hot sign but is actually a French restaurant called Au Faré and we peep in to check out the menu… maybe for tomorrow but we are enticed to stay. There is a beautiful table for two by the water and the menu looks good. We have a lovely French Sauvignon blanc and I have a delicious seafood pasta. There’s live music at Reefers bar next-door which is hard not to hear but then the restaurant has its own live music with a really lovely lady singer.
Next day we take advantage of the two day minimum car hire and head out in the car again in search of some good beaches. They shouldn’t be too hard to find as the island is covered in them. We stop in town for some breakfast at Nambawan (no.1!) and order a croque madame which let’s just say is not to the French standards. As we’re leaving the lady asked us if we enjoyed our food and said “we have no chef today so we are trying our best” – explains a lot!!!
We drive along the small peninsula north of Port Villa where we know there are beautiful beaches but it’s hard to get to them. They may be attached to private resorts or just be private land. Eventually we get to Honeymoon Beach which is absolutely gorgeous.
There is plenty of fish to see so and I’ve brought my snorkeling gear so I’m delighted.
The underwater camera works a treat although I may have zoomed in for our underwater selfie!
It’s really comfortable snorkeling as the coral is right off the beach and you don’t have to go deep to see lots of fish.
It’s hard to get me out of the water once I’m comfortable and get into it…..
Relaxing to dry off after a successful swim and snorkel….. such a beautiful tranquil beach….
We eventually leave and drive on some more rural roads. We even see a wild pig run across the road. Actually we’d seen a couple yesterday today… all part of the joy of the island ring road.
On another leg of the peninsula we pass the port.
Lovely views all the way around to lands end where no doubt is a lovely beach is a private resort. No signs explaining no through road but that is then norm here in Port Villa.
We spot a nice looking cafe which has a view of the water so stop for some lunch. Fish curry and a giant portion of fish fried rice. Very tasty and there’s some crazy hot chilli to go with it.
Fish fried rice!
We get back in the car and after a quick stop at the Bon Marche for a few final essentials and then we drive to Mele. This is the first stop we missed yesterday on our drive. From here you take the ferry to Hideaway Island
We walk along the sandy beach and at the furthest point where you can see Hideaway island.
The water comes in from both sides at this point. By the way this island is also known as Survivor island as the first couple of seasons of Survivor were filmed here.
I can’t resist jumping in for another swim. It’s lovely and calm and it’s so warm. There are a few kids in the water and a few mammys. A little girl around 8 years old says hello and asks me what my name is. Her name is Amy and she wants to know where my kids are!! 🤣
Time to head back home and get the sand from the day off us. Once we’re packed and organised it’s time for some final sundowners on the balcony.
We head out for a small bite as we’re not overly hungry since the big lunch. We go to Reefers, the bar and grill next door to where we were last night for dinner. It’s a bit quieter tonight with no live music and it’s much nicer than I was expecting.
We share some tuna tateki which I’ve never had before and it is delicious.
It’s an early start next morning as we’re on the 7am flight back to Sydney. One last photo of the property in the early morning sun (sunrise was at 5am) and we head to the airport.
Yet again there are no signs for rental car return so we park it out front, pop the keys in the return box in the arrivals hall and hope they find it!!!
Goodbye Vanuatu, it has been a beautiful South Pacific island adventure.
odohertyelaine 
Fantastic 🤩
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