Ambryn and Pamma

Blog Report - 24 August 2011
Well it’s quite a while since we last wrote up a report for our blog site. A lot has happened – almost all good – and here are a few highlights ……
Visitors!! We have been incredibly lucky that people have made the effort to come over and see us. The first this year were Rachel and Andrew. We did some really good planning and had a great programme just ready to roll … we should have known better!
On the first day we were supposed to visit a kindy, catch a truck into Lakatoro for the markets, have lunch at the back of the markets, attend the opening of a new guest house and then stroll down to a Kava bar for a shell of kava. On the day we woke up to rain and it kept raining and raining. Finally there was a break and we caught the Education Truck into Lakatoro where it rained again. After walking in the rain for a bit we caught the Education truck to go back to Norsup – even this wasn’t straightforward. We got to the culvert over the river and found the river over the culvert. Our driver wasn’t dismayed he turned round and found another way through a coconut plantation which is the alternate route when the road is under water. Unfortunately the plantation was also largely underwater but our driver was nothing if not determined and we pushed on through. Shortly after us two trucks got washed downstream at the same place.
That night we had an outdoor kaekae with our Kastom family and were treated to some really amazing singing. Our family really made Rachel and Harry feel welcome and we felt proud both of our family and of the way that Rachel and Harry responded to them.
Still, this was only day one and day two which involved a truck ride to Walarano to watch Kastom dancing and eat Island food, was nailed down with preparations made weeks before. The arrangements started to unravel that night when our taxi driver told us he wouldn’t be able to take us after all. Plan B involved Maryann ringing around the taxis we knew until one agreed he would take us and ring us at 7.30am to confirm the price. Maryann rang him at 8am and after a little haggling over the price he said he would pick us up at 10am. At 11am Maryann rang the driver to find out that he had a problem with the wheel of the truck and he was fixing it.
At 12.30pm our Hostess in Walrano rang to confirm we were coming and on being told of our predicament said she would arrange a truck. Maryann duly rang our driver and told him not to bother picking us up. Almost immediately our Hostess rang back and said she couldn’t find a truck so we decided to walk and see what would happen.
Luckily we got a truck almost straightaway and the driver said he was going to Walarano. Well that wasn’t quite right. He stopped about half an hours walk from Walarano and turned off into the bush. So we walked. Finally got to Walarano at about 2.30pm – we think Rachel and Andrew thought it was worthwhile although the kava at the end of the dancing did seem more potent than usual.
It was an awesome visit from our point of view and in a sense they got to experience in a very short time what it can be like here.
Since then we have had visits from Maryann’s sister, Barbara with her cousin Christina; our friend Cherie and Margot, then, Mary Cumming and her sister Susan and we have been to Vila to spend time with Ben, Maryann Junior, Brooke and Johnny. We have really appreciated the visits and the opportunity for our friends and family to meet the wonderful people over here.
On the work side, it’s not all play over here, a lack of funding has restricted Maryann’s ability to get to all the kindis but any time we are travelling she manages to find out where the kindis are and make visits. She managed to get 11 cartons of books from Vila recently and most of these have been distributed throughout the Malampa Province. I have been running workshops on Malekula and recently journeyed off to Ambryn and Paama Island to run three workshops on each island with the Head Teachers and the Principals. So let me tell you about Ambryn and Paama ……
Ambryn first …. Ambryn is known as the Island of Black Magic to the extent that the schools often have difficulty recruiting teachers to come to Ambryn. We saw no sign of black magic and the locals just laughed about it. We made sure we took essential supplies like biscuits, nuts, dried fruit, cheddar cheese, coffee, milk powder and of course marmite. Oh, we also took the handouts for the workshops and the books for the kindis – about 40 kg overweight in all. We landed at Craig Cove in Ambryn and were taken to our guest house – not too bad actually. No electricity, a bucket shower and a waterseal toilet but all meals included and quite comfortable beds. We were happy. The next day we went with the Provincial Education Officer and visited schools in the West Ambryn area. The road was pretty rough but I had bought foam padding and Maryann rode inside the cab so all was good. We visited about 6 schools and kindis and it was clear that the teachers really felt good that we had made time to come over.
The next day was the first day of my workshops due to start at 8am We started at 8.30 with hymn singing, prayers and an opening speech from the PEO. The participants were enthusiastic about the workshops and we had a lot of fun and learning for the next two days. Maryann came in at the end of the first day and had them singing “Head, Shoulders …” in Maori. They enjoyed this so much that the next morning they asked for her to come back again. At the end they had a closing ceremony and Maryann and I were presented with two lovely mats. They really make you feel humble and privileged to be involved with them.
Then it was off to North Ambryn to spend time with our Kastom father, George at his village. This involved a three hour boat ride in a small outboard and it was well dark by the time we arrived. We were met at the beach and had a 40 minute trek in the dark up the hill to the village. George’s village is nestled in the hills amongst the bush and coconut plantations and George has nearly finished a three bedroom concrete block house. Of course there is no electricity, bucket showers and a long drop toilet but what an amazing time we had. We were made to feel very welcome and on the Saturday we spent almost the whole day at the SDA church about two hours walk away. George’s son, David, (our brother by Kastom) is the Pastor at the Church. The afternoon ended with Maryann and me at the front of the Church being interviewed by the congregation – some good questions too, like what is the difference between Anglican and SDA? David’s 3 yr old daughter is about as cute as we have seen – hope you like the photo. It took a while before she would interact with us – not used to white folk.
Sunday we went walkabout and visited a kindi about half an hour’s walk away. Again Maryann delivered books but we get the feeling that the fact we took the time to visit meant more to them than the books. Something about valuing relationships ahead of material things I think. That night when we got back the village put on an evening meal for us – heaps of food and apparently so easily arranged. David, the Pastor walked 2 hours to the village from his church to spend the evening with us and then walked back in the dark, through the bush without even a torch. How many of us would walk four hours to spend a couple of hours with new friends? It just continues to blow us away. The next day we chartered a small boat to take us back to Craig Cove.
After another night we flew to Paama – small boat trip to a village called Liro and into our guest house for the next five nights. The accommodation was ok but the fact that there were no meals supplied threw us a bit – we hadn’t expected that. With no market and no place to buy meat we lived on spaghetti, baked beans and noodles for the next five nights. Someone did find us a loaf of bread and we already had breakfast crackers which went well with our cheddar cheese and marmite.
The workshops were to start the following morning at 8am an although we didn’t start until about 9.30 the opening was done in style – prayers, a talk from the Pastor and speeches from the Area Secretary and the Zone Curriculum Adviser. The speech from the Area Secretary was very good and he spoke about the importance of Teachers setting examples for the students, parents and community. A nice segue into leadership. Again the participants were incredibly enthusiastic and open – boy, I wish some of my workshops in NZ had had such positive people! Once again Maryann was a hit with her singing. When not leading the singing at the workshop Maryann teamed up with a local Key Teacher and walked out to the Teacher’s Kindi – abut a 40 minute walk. At the end of the workshop we had another closing ceremony involving prayers, speeches and presentation of gifts to Maryann and me. They certainly know how to make a facilitator feel valued.
Next morning, Friday, Maryann and I walked out from the village for about an hour and a half to a Kindi called Vaueli. This proved to be an amazing kindi – large, airy, well stocked storeroom and two teachers. Unfortunately they only had 7 children. The other 20 or so had gone to a private church kindi with the NTM religion. The NTM people were in the process of building a kindi and intend to build a school as well. We are not sure if they will actually be allowed to do this given the new Education Policy. Such a shame to see such a marvelous kindi being underused when there are kindis all over the Malampa that are too small or in need of repair.
Saturday we pretty much just chilled out except for a two hour walk to the airport and back via the inland track. That night we apparently had three earthquakes although we only felt the last one at 5.20am. We did think about the possibility of tsunamis but were sufficiently motivated by the thought of vegetables, fruit and meat waiting for us back in Norsup that we caught the small boat to the airport for our flight home. When we arrived at the airport we got a text message to say that the tsunami warning had passed – we didn’t even know that there had been an official warning although I had decided that if the tide was way out when we went down to our boat we would stay on land.
Overall this was a great experience – a bit tougher than we have become used to in our relative luxury at Norsup but the friendliness and positive attitude of the people we met and worked with was outstanding. It sort of reminded us why we are doing this and I know I came back really pleased that we had made the effort.

Hi Everyone,
A bit late but this report is all about the “Manbush Walk!” What a stunning time – I am still trying to process it all. I know that whatever I write here will fall far short of doing justice to this experience. What I am going to do is run through the four days in chronological order and then make a few comments about the guide, the porters and the villagers that were so good to us on the way ……
We didn’t leave on time but then the time was only an arbitrary standard which was only ever going to be a starting point so we weren’t worried and in any case Robert, our guide, kept in touch with us to let us know where he was. The truck ride was as far as Unua and then we started walking. There were two porters, Kevin and Alan, who carried nearly all of our gear – we were left with sleeping mattresses, food for eating while walking and our water. We started off with a couple of river crossings – nothing too scary as you can see by the photos and in fact the water had a lovely cooling effect. Robert decided that the river was “strong tumas” for us to follow the valley route so we were taken up over the hills – a good taste of what was to come later. We walked into our first village, Melken, just on dusk and were taken to a Nakamal. (A special place of cultural significance) Here was our first surprise! Robert had arranged for a special Kastom ceremony and we stood waiting, not knowing what we were waiting for. After a few minutes we heard a noise and detected movement in the bush on the edge of the Nakamal. Out came this masked figure completely covered from head to foot with fronds and branches. He was carrying a heavy bamboo pole. This figure made threatening movements towards us and then without warning struck our guide a very solid blow with the bamboo pole. It clearly hurt Robert and, quite frankly gave us cause for concern. Fortunately the figure retreated into the bushes and we discovered that Robert had taken the blow on our behalf. By now it was dark and we walked for the next 40 minutes by torchlight to Lambure village, our destination for the night.
When we arrived at Lambure we were each given salus salus and invited to have a “snack” before “resting smol” until kaekae. The snack was more pomplemouse and bananas than we could eat and coconuts that had been prepared with bamboo straws – very welcome. Time for a swim – in separate areas – and then a short time later it was Kaekae which consisted of island cabis, manioc laplap (Maryann’s favourite) and as many freshwater prawns as we could eat cooked inside bamboo. A very impressive end to a great first day.
The next morning it was up to a breakfast of coffee and freshly made bread – again more than we could eat. After breakfast we packed up, returned our gear to the porters and prepared to leave but we weren’t allowed to leave without a speech from the village Chief thanking us for stopping with them and helping them earn some money – very humbling. The walk started with us walking through the same river about seven times before we hit the hills. What made the hills more challenging was that much of the track from “place blo gliss” – bloody slippery! As we walked Robert was all the time explaining the use of various plants, picking various fruits and nuts for us to eat and clearly had an incredible knowledge of the bush. After about a 5 hour walk we arrived at the mountain top (up antap) and discovered that Robert had climbed up the previous week and built an amazing shelter out of branches and banana leaves for us to sleep the night in. Not only was there a shelter but also a young Chief, his wife and baby who had prepared lunch for us and wait …. There’s even more – the Chief had chased down a wild pig with his dogs and it was being readied for our evening kaekae. Then Robert showed us the “small house” that he had built for us – quickly dubbed the office. This was a couple of large logs over a pit with a solid stake to hold onto so you didn’t fall back into the pit. The privacy was provided by a wall of banana leaves – quite the flashest toilet I have seen in the bush! So then it was rest smol and then down to a nearby stream for a swim swim. It was woman first, then men. Of course the women took an age but when they came back up the porters had organized a surprise – one of them had gone off and made himself a Kastom small namba outfit – penis sheath and some fronds strapped around the back. Naturally the women were very impressed and insisted on photos with this small namba warrior – check the photos! We made our way back to camp and after another smol rest it was kae kae and kava that they made using traditional methods. A terrific, terrific day and the sight of the shelter as we walked into the clearing was highlight of the day for me.
We slept OK in the shelter – I think we’ve got a bit too used to comfy pillows and spare clothing stuffed in a nylon bag isn’t quite the same . The night seemed quite chilly – probably got down to 18 or 19 degrees celcius – and in the morning it freshly baked bread and coffee for breakfast and off we walked to our next village. The hardest part of walking this day was managing the slippery surface as we walked down quite steep hills. What was frustrating for me was watching Robert and the porters dancing down without slipping in their bare feet and jandals while the white people in proper shoes were slipping all over the place. Robert was very good and was always there to help us through the areas that were , in Bislama, pleis blo glisse.
At one stage we lost sight of the porters and Robert said they had gone ahead to have a small rest. Well we came down a steep bank into a river and there was a very impressive waterfall – made even more memorable with the sight of Kevin the porter in small namba dress silhouetted against the spray. An unexpected sight and Robert’s ability to manage these surprises was certainly a feature of the adventure. Kevin and Alan combined to present a magic trick involving a coconut and a flower – still not sure how the trick was done but how lucky were we to be in this amazing environment watching some people showing off their culture. We had lunch at a village called Lambongbong. They had obviously gone to a lot of trouble and prepared a Kastom dish called Nissawon – made of wild taro, bananas and cocnut milk – very nice. The school children from this village walk about three hours through the bush to go to their school on a Monday, stay there and return on Fridays. From there it was a relatively short walk – about two hours to Leono for the night. Again the villagers went to a lot of trouble – the children went down to the stream and caught fresh prawns for our dinner. Again we took gender turns for our bathing in the stream and retired to prepare for a big final walk to South West Bay the next day.
Day four – an early start – up at 6am, fresh bread for breakfast and on the track by 7.30am. We faced a 9 hour walk with two big hills to climb. Lunch was on top of the first hill at 12.30. Robert produced yet another Kastom dish – tulak – wrapped in banana leaves. After 5 hours of climbing the food was still hot. Those banana leaves are incredible. We didn’t rest long and soon after starting off again we were treated to a thunder storm and heavy rain. This lasted for three hours and made for an interesting afternoon. Robert and the porter made bush umbrellas for themselves and offered us one each as well. The umbrellas were huge leaves and I’m not sure why the others turned them down but my reason was that I needed both hands free to manage the terrain. Finally at about 5pm we walked out onto the coast at South West Bay at a village called Lawa. The villagers had been expecting us the previous day but didn’t seemed phased by us being slightly late. The swim in the sea was the best sea swim I have ever had and we just lay in the water feeling pretty bloody good – we had knocked the bastard off!
That night we ate with a local family with many picaninnies. They cooked snapper and octopus along with rice and pomplemouse – another terrific feed. Then Maryann sang a couple of songs to the family and the rest of us did our best to follow along. The family sang back and it was just a perfect ending to an amazing experience.
Some facts:
Maryann, Diane and Kristy are the first white women to complete the Manbush walk;
We were the first white people to sleep up on top of the mountain;
We walked for a total of 25 hours;
We crossed rivers 19 times (Maryann was counting so it could be right, who knows)

Hi Everyone
My reports to our blog site have become increasingly more erratic as we have slipped more and more into the lifestyle here. Our last big adventure was a couple of weeks ago when we decided to visit the far south of Malekula Island – a village called Lamap and some small islands down there called the Mescalines.
Maryann arranged for a truck to pick us up from the Education Office at 12 noon and as we expected we were picked up at 2.30pm. I was encouraged as we climbed on the back that there were only 5 other people on the truck but dismayed somewhat by the row of cartons and luggage down the centre of the back that meant there was barely room for my feet. On the other hand I was then consoled by the fact that at least I could swivel round and stretch my legs out a little bit. The feelings of encouragement and consolation disappeared half an hour later at Lakatoro when five more people and their luggage climbed on board. Still, we only had to travel 60 kms so how hard could that be….. very hard in fact – 12 river crossing, badly corroded and pot holed roads and an average speed of around 15kph, and We sure needed a stretch when we finally arrived at our guest house in Lamap in the dark at 7.30pm!
We were the only ones at the Guest House and they quickly prepared us a hot meal which was really appreciated. The next morning we visited the Kindy at Lamap and Maryann, ever the entertainer, sang a couple of NZ songs to the children. Then we caught a small boat across to Mescaline and were dropped off on the perfect pacific island beach right in front of our guesthouse for the next two nights. Have a look at the photos – the accommodation was basic but the location was just amazing. We walked into the nearby village, getting lost on the way, and met the local chief. He was obviously concerned about our navigating abilities and provided a guide for us to make sure we got back to our guesthouse for lunch. That afternoon we explored the island – about 800 people live on this low lying island and one of the things that was just awesome was how they had made a network of tracks, wide enough for vehicles (although there are no vehicles on the island) that act as thoroughfares between the three villages and act as streets within the villages. These tracks are dead straight and kept totally clean of weeds and rubbish. The next morning we were picked up from the beach outside our guesthouse and did a tour by canoe of the waters around the island. What a great tour – we stopped over one deep hole, the guide called the turtles using the local Kastom chant and over the next ten or so minutes some half dozen turtles surfaced near our canoe. After that it was on to the Giant Clam Reserve where we snorkeled and enjoyed looking at the variety and size of the clams – again look at the photos. Bright colours and lots of colourful fish as usual.
The afternoon was spent visiting the three kindergartens on the island and handing out the books, pens, paints and chalk that Maryann had brought with her. The Teachers were clearly very pleased to see Maryann and at one kindy they put on a small ceremony and presented us with salusalus.
The next morning it was back to the mainland and as we made the short walk from the beach to our accommodation at Lamap we were met by the Headmaster of the Lamap School and asked to run a workshop for all the Teachers on developing a Vision and Mission for their school. That night we were invited to the birthday party for the daughter of Lulu, the guy who owns the Guesthouse we were staying at. We now know a second and third verse to the Happy Birthday song!
Our transport back to Norsup was arranged to pick us up at 3am. At just after 5am we climbed into the back of the truck which already had a considerable amount of luggage down the centre. I was pretty happy with the number of people and was looking forward to a relatively comfy ride apart from the rain which was to persist for the whole journey. My happiness was tempered somewhat a short time later when we picked up another four passengers and their luggage – now it was getting crowded! My happiness became a resigned acceptance when we stopped yet again and picked up another three passengers. Now we had 14 adults, 2 children, a fowl, a puppy and a large woven basket full of live crabs with us in the back. And you know what ……. Even though it was still raining and everyone was soaked and cold – no one complained. In fact no one even looked unhappy. This was just how it is – the lesson for me – “Get over yourself Vic!”
Four hours later we arrived home wet and as cold as we have been since arriving here in Vanuatu but grateful for yet another stunning experience with these wonderful people!
Cheers
Vic and Maryann

Hi all,
It's been a while since our last report and that hasw been because it has been quite a slow start to the year. Now things are starting to get busy again and we can see a lot ahead of us. Maryann has managed to send out over 200 books to kindies in the Malampa Province and this week she will be getting another 200 or so to go out over the next month oor so.
I have finally run my first workshop with the Zone Curriculum Advisers who in turn go out and run the workshops with the Heade Masters that report to them. The Principals Manual has finally arrived in Norsup and are ready to be distributed. I am just so grateful to John Stuart of Teamworks who generously sponsored the printing and freighting of the manuals. It is doubtful that this projecd could have gone ahead without his help.
I am in Vila as I write this and we head backk home to Malekkula on Tuesday. Last week we went to Tanna and got to see the active volcano Mount Yasur. Well worth the trip and we were up there as the sun set so we got to see it in daylight and in darkness. Very, very impressive. We also go9 to snorkel in a blue holle just off the coast from the bungalows we stayed in. In in all a great "time out."
In some ways we are finding it much easier now that our Bislama allows us to converse quite easily with the locals. In fact I ran the workshop with the ZCAs in Bislama (with a little help from Neil, the Peace Corps volunteer.)
Our next planned break is a three day hike across Malekula Island. It is called the Man Bush walk and is reputed to be quite challenging. We stay each night in villages and have been told to take our own mattresses. Really looking forward to this experience and we expect to have a group of about 6 volunteers in total.
The photos - one is of the ZCAs at the workshop "lowering" the magic stick to the ground, another is of the colourful bush at the corner of our house and the third shows us using the "must carry" accessory at this time of the year.
We are still enjoying our experience and know just how lucky we are to be here - VSA have been outstanding in their support of us and we are also fortunate to have such an amazing Country Head keeping an eye on us.
We have pigged out on flat white coffess here in Vila and are ready to go back "home."
Cheers
Vic and Maryann

Hi Everyone,
Well we are back in Malekula experiencing the rainy season. This is the time of the year that we were warned would be the most difficult in terms of tolerating the weather. It rains pretty much every day for a while and then goes back to hot sunshine. The temperatures outside are above 30 degrees everyday and by the afternoon it is hotter inside than out even with the fans running. OK so it is a little hot and humid but what a great excuse for a swim in the sea and we’ve been doing a lot of that. We are still getting a lot of enjoyment out of the coral and the colourful fish.
Last Friday, on a whim, we decided to paddle across to “Little Island” which is just off our beach. It was about a half hour paddle and we felt like intrepid seafares as our canoe ran up onto the beach (actually the kids off the Island do it everyday to get to school) We were welcomed on by a group of mamas and then taken for a tour of the island. They have no electricity, their water is drawn from a well and I doubt that the highest point of the island is more than 20 feet about sealevel. As has happened so often before in this country, we were embarrassed by their generosity. These people, who have very little gave us bananas, nuts and beautiful shells to take back with us. We are going to go back one day and try and repay their kindness.
The year is off to a slow start – the schools are closed for another 10 or so days and so we are able to use the time to get ready for the coming year. I have been approved as a Volunteer from my previous status as an “unassigned partner.” Already I am feeling more powerful and the Country Head for VSA has agreed that Maryann now needs to show me a “tad” more respect. Doesn’t seem to be happening although we have contracted Linda (young Linda) to do most of our washing. My project is based around the Operations Manual for Principals that I wrote late last year. John Stuart from Teamworks Pacific Ltd has generously sponsored the printing of the manuals in NZ and they should arrive in Vila next week. A great gesture by John and I’m sure it was influential in getting the Vanuatu Government to buy into the project.
We have gone through our first cyclone warning. VSA were very good at giving us updates about what was happening and in the end we missed the cyclone proper. What we got was bad enough – trees and branches down and our friends Howard & Jackie (NZ volunteers living at Lakatoro) did have some damage to a porch.
The pictures in this report (assuming they have downloaded)
- The Prime Minister of Vanuatu in Kastom dress about to “touch” the pig with a mallet as part of a symbolic pig killing ceremony at Lakatoro;
- A glimpse of the state of the roads over the cab of a truck as we made our way into Lakatoro for some shopping;
- Maryann about to head off to work during one of the rains.
Cheers
Vic and Maryann

Hi Everyone,
We are now in England for Christmas. It's been interesting coming from 30 dgrees to minus 7 degrees and snow. Getting to the Norsup airport on the Sunday we left was yet another reminder of the differences from our culture that we are learning to love. About 3 hours before we were due to leave we found out that our transport had two flat tyres. Maryann rang around but we couldn't find any alternative transport so we decided that we would walk with all our bags. Parts of the road were under water so we were going to have to use the tracks through the bush with our "pull along luggage." We worked out we would need two hours and were about to leave when across came our Kastom "Brother" Freddy with two of his mates. They each put a suitcase on a shoulder and off we walked - felt like being on safari with porters and guides. Two of these bags weighed 20 kgs and these lads walked along at a first clip with apparently little effort. In fact they walked the 4 kms with only one stop to change bags because they worked out that one was lighter. It was an impressive demonstration of fitness and strength not to mention the generosity of helping out. Again we felt humbled by the attitude of our hosts.
What a contrast here in England - people seem so busy and so rushed. The weather is a real cause of stress and yet amongst all this we have been approached by strangers when we were looking lost in London offering us advice and direction.
We have another two weeks here and then back to NZ before heading back "home."
We are both really looking forward to our next year in Malekula.
Cheers
Vic and Maryann

Hi All,
A lot has happened since the last blog - summary first .....
I've been to NZ for Outward Bound and Mackay, Australia for nothing (more about that later)
Maryann has been down to Asorok for a workshop and now we are on holiday!
Outward Bound was brilliant, motivating, exhausting and everything that it always is. The weather was good and the water was bloody cold -only went for two swims as a result. Before I left Malekula for OB I was invited to Mackay to run a workshop for one day. Then the workshop became 3 hours. When I arrived in Mackay I was told that the Union were unhappy about my involvement and on the day that I was to run the workshop I was finally told that I wouldn't be needed. Got paid for doing nothing but it was frustrating and I really would rater have contributed something. Good reminder for me though of why I don't work in an organisation any more.
Maryann had a much tougher time. She went to Asorok with Linda to run a workshop for three days. Her accomodation was a large building with a concrete floor that she shared with a number of other women. The toilet was outside and because the village had run out of water the shower was down a hill and along to a stream. Then it started raining, and raining ..... The good thing about this was that there was now water in the village and so bucket showers were available!! The bad thing was that the big fula river came up so much that they couldn't come back. The day after they were supposed to come back Linda arranged a ride for a couple of hours in a small boat. It was still raining and so they were soaked by the time they got back.
Then Maryann had a few final days with Karen before Karen's final departure from Malekula. Lots of farewell kaekaes and very emotional. Karen got presented with mats, baskets and more Island dresses. I think she had about 30 Island dresses when she left.
I got back for two days before we had to leave for Brisbane. We left on a Sunday and given the experience of a previous Sunday departure from the airport we had been very carefull to make sure that our transport to the airport was nailed down. Sunday morning - Louie the driver arrives and we are told that the Education Truck, our transport, has two flat tyres. We ring around but, not surprisingly,there is no transport available so we decide to walk. We realise that with the road under water in many places we are going to have to take our suitcases along the track through the bush and allow ourselves two hours walking time. As we are about to leave Linda says that Freddie, her son, will help. Not only does Freddie front up but so do two of his muscular mates. They take the heavy luggage on their shoulders and off we go. We felt like we were on safari with bearers. The walk took about 40 minutes and the strength and fitness of these young men was impressive. They only stopped once on the wholle walk to swap cases around and despite the temperature of 32 degrees they arrived without breaking into a sweat - unlike us!
We are now on the Gold Coast for four more days before we head off to England. I would have to say that this has been just an amazing year for us both. We have learnt, and are still learning so much from our Malekula experience. We are really looking forward to the next year and feel that we are now well positioned to contribute more effectively because of what we have experienced.
Hope you enjoy the photos
- children playing in the rain
- Maryann's sleeping arrangements
- Malekula safari

Cheers

Vic and Maryann