Hi All,
Not much of a report this week – we’ve had a pretty quiet week, thank goodness. However I have become a real man of Malekula! Maryann gave me a large bush knife for my birthday so I can’t wait to get out there slashing trails, cutting grass and opening coconuts. Does seem bloody heavy though – I’m not sure how long I could keep it up.
Last week I wasn’t able to load up the photos from the volcano walk so hopefully they will appear with this blog report.
Off to NZ next week – I have Outward Bound and Maryann is going to catch up with friends and family. Just two weeks and we will try and get to see as many people as possible. We also have a shopping list – things like batteries that can run digital cameras; coffee plunger; oregano and marmite.
Hard to believe that we are going to be cold!

Cheers
Vic and Maryann

23 August 2010
Hi All,
We thought that the few days at Southwest Bay with the Cultural Festival would take some beating but I think that last week on Ambryn pretty much did it.
On Wednesday we flew to Ulei on the Island of Ambryn to climb the volcano called Marun (In local language it is known as Bollysue which means Wild Pig). This is one of two active volcanos on Ambryn and last had a major eruption in 2005. There were four of us white people – me, Maryann, Karen and another Peace Corps Volunteer named Lindsay. We were met at the airport by Willie, a local teacher and the organizer of this adventure. The first thing we did was attend a Kastom Wedding where the wedding party was waiting for us – apparently Karen was the photographer! News to us but it did earn us a meal at the wedding and it was interesting to see that they throw talcum powder over the Bridal Party – contrasts nicely with the black hair and dark skin.
Then it was off to our Guest House in the Village of Endu. Pretty good accommodation with bunks and electricity supplied by a solar powered battery. After being variously told that the starting time next morning was 6am, 7am and 9am we finally found out that 8am would be the time. The next morning we were up, dressed and packed and left at 7.45am. Now Maryann and I had done some reading in the Vanuatu Guide book so we knew it was a pretty tough two days ahead of us and had especially noted the advice on footwear – strong shoes with good ankle support. Obviously our guide (Philemon), porters, accompanying teachers and children (8 teachers, and 4 children – 10 – 12 years old) had not read this very important advice. They turned up for the walk in jandals, crocs and barefeet. Should we show the page in the book about footwear? We decided not to!
The first section was a 5km walk along the coast to the point where we turned inland and climbed a very steep ridge for about an hour and a half before dropping down onto the huge ash plain that surrounds the volcano. The weather alternated between rain and sun and it was hard at times to work out whether we were wet from the rain or simply sweating heaps – the taste test proved it to be sweat!
After a short break for lunch we walked for two hours slightly uphill along the ash plain to the campsite where we were to stay the night. It was raining and we were all soaking wet when we halted but the rain stopped long enough for us all to get our tents up on the volcanic ash. The porters went off with their dogs (not much bigger than fox terriers) to try and run down a pig for tea. No pigs found so it was noodles and milo for tea. Shortly after it started raining again and didn’t stop until the following morning – poured all night and we were in our tent from 7pm until 7am the next day. Boy, were we glad had paid just a bit extra for our tent from Kathmandu – so even though almost all our gear was wet we were dry inside the tent and had a fairly good night’s sleep.
The next day we continued the tramp up the ash plain for an hour and a half and then it was another steep ridge with Philemon hacking a path through the bush and undergrowth out onto an area that was almost completely barren and consisted of a never ending series of ridges that we had to negotiate to get to the side of Bollysue. Finally at about midday we reached the edge of the crater but our climbing wasn’t over. We had to climb over ash and up a very steep crater edge to get the best view of the molten lava in the centre of the crater. It was just stunning! The photographs simply don’t do justice to the spectacle. We were allowed to lie on the edge and look over – it was too windy to stand - and you could feel the heat spilling up from hundreds of feet below. One of Philemon’s jandals came off and blew into the crater so he walked all the way back with one jandal on!
The walk back to Endu took just on 6 hours which meant that we walked 6 hours on day one and 8 hours on day two and we think that in distance it was around 45 km in total. We had started off feeling a bit like frauds as all our gear was carried by porters (The ones in jandals and barefeet.) On the second day feeling like a fraud was a lot better than how we would have felt if we had tried to carry all our gear.
The two days were an amazing experience – tough, beautiful, hot, cold, wet – that left us with a mixture of feelings
– impressed Philemon & the porters for their quiet pride in their country, for their generosity to us and for their remarkable fitness and strength;
– a deep sense of satisfaction for having endured and succeeded;
– physically very tired but no injuries apart from Karen with a few blisters;
– privileged to have been able to make this journey and look down into the centre of the earth;
– a desire to help Philemon and those like him here in Vanuatu who are trying to build a small sustainable tourism business.
How lucky are we!!
Cheers
Vic and Maryann

Hi Everyone,
We are now a 2 boat family! We took delivery of our 2 person outrigger canoe last week and we are learning fast. Our first lesson was that it sinks with 3 people if you don’t have them sitting in exactly the right place. Fortunately a local was on hand to give us advice and our second venture out with the three of us was fine. The locals think we have paid too much – about $230 but we think it’s great value considering the craftsman had to find the log, cut it to shape, hollow it out, attach an outrigger, make two paddles and then give it two coats of paint! We are looking forward to doing some fishing over the next few weeks.
Don’t die of shock, but it is the female of the species having a little talk this week.
I think I am right in assuming, that Vic reported on our visit to the island of Vao where I was on a working holiday and the other 2 were just on holiday!!
Last week, we set off on a journey (holiday) to SW Bay. We set off at 7.15 Tuesday morning by truck, for a 1 hour ride to Lambubu, where a boat was supposed to be, at 8.30am to take us the rest of the way. The village of Labo where we were going, is not accessible by road and the closest airport, when it is open, is about an hours walk from the village. Anyway, in true Vanuatu style, the boat turned up at 10.00, by which time, there was a local with his leg in plaster and his Papa waiting, a photographer/reporter from the cultural centre in Vila, and Australian/Russian couple and an Italian lady all waiting for the same boat. Anyway, we put all out bags up the front and piled into the boat. The weather wasn’t too bad, although it was drizzling off and on. The boat driver and his mate informed us that the boat ride would take 3 hours!! By the time we had been into a few bays and picked up people and dropped them off, it was 3 hours and we were very wet, mainly from the wind whipping the water off the sea and the sea being quite rough. We had a line out all the time and only caught a barracuda, which they let go thank goodness, as was not sure where he was going to sit!!
We stayed with a Peace Corp Volunteer, Yegor, at the village. He organized a custom house for the 3 of us to sleep in (Karen came with us). After we had lunch and a rested smol, Vic and I went out snorkeling. The coral and the fish were absolutely beautiful, even though it was a wee way to the reef and the water was a bit rough, but it was worth it. Vic left me out for a little longer and he swam in. I was about 5 mins behind him, but when I tried to swim in, I found that I was going backwards!! I must say I did panic a bit and kept on trying and waved a couple of times and yelled out to Vic, but he was still swimming. I looked behind me and saw some yachts which were there for the festival, so thought I could call to them if I got that far out. However, I looked down and saw a coral outcrop, so put my feet on that and got my breath. Vic still wasn’t looking, so thought I would try again and sure enough, I could swim in the right direction. When I got to shore, I discovered there had been an earthquake near Vila at about the time I was swimming, so am not sure if that could have had something to do with it!?
The next morning we were up bright and early and wandered down to the beach. We watched the people from about 10 yachts come ashore. We were all given salu salus and the festival started at around 10.00. Yegor was dancing with the locals, but he had to give a tithe to the chief for the honour of dancing with them. It was all quite spectacular. After the dancing, we all went into the village, where the Mama’s had cooked an amazing lunch for us. After that we went on a tour of the village, which is on the side of a hill and has some quite spectacular views. We went and saw the waterfall, where the men of the village have a shower. The women shower in the village at a communal shower, a pipe that is the height of a shower and is behind a tree. We were lucky enough to be able to use this also, even Vic. We were told that we must keep our clothes on when we shower!!
The next morning, we were back on the beach at 9.00, for the Grade Taking Ceremony, which happens about once every 25 years, as one of the chiefs had died and they needed to appoint 2 more. It was amazing to watch and of course included the sticking of 2 pigs which were taken away and cut up and then divided between the 9 villages represented. They cooked some of it up, along with Yam, which only the men were allowed to eat.
Once again an amazing lunch, was served up to us on the beach and then we were able to watch the preparation of some food and sand drawing. The sand drawings are done without taking your finger off the sand and all the pictures tell a custom story – fascinating.
One couple who owned a yacht, invited us out to look at his boat. It was a wooden one and really lovely. Vic swam out to it!!
When we got back to the beach, it was time to watch the locals making Kava and of course we had to sample it!! One shell was plenty for me! Am not sure if I will ever get used to drinking mud!! It does make your mouth go numb for a while!!
We organized for a boat to come and pick us up at 7.30 Friday morning and lo and behold, it was there at 7.20. Anyway, by the time we got on board, it was 7.30 and we were off. We dropped one man off on the way. The weather was beautiful when we started off, but half way through the trip, the wind got up and we got very wet. We caught one small fish on the way, had dolphins around us for a while and saw some small flying fish. The 3 hours went quite quickly!! There was a truck there for us when we arrived, so we were back at home by 11.30, which was good.
We did not realize that Monday is a holiday here – Assumption Day!! Anyway, we have made the most of a quiet weekend and have been out for a paddle in our canoe, biked along some new tracks to Lakatoro and generally had a quiet weekend, as we are off to Ambryn on Wednesday and to climb to volcano, Mt Benbow

Hi Yufellas,
The last two weeks have been typical of our stay here so far – new adventures every week and yet more examples of just how friendly and kind the people of Malekula are.
The week before last was dominated by the Independence Day celebrations. We spent part of the week at Walarano. There are two small islands here – Wala and Rano and the mainland village area is called Walarano. We stayed on small island Rano for the first night and were privileged to be given two tours of the islands by locals. We were shown cannibal sites and holy places and were told the stories of each of these places. The last recorded cannibalism was in the 1970s and it was a relief to be told that they didn’t eat white people – only local men from other islands.
The second part of the week we went to Lakatoro and were treated to an amazing football game – 2 all at full time, still a draw after extra time and still a draw after a 22 goal penalty shoot out. By this time it was almost dark and the game was called a draw. The pitch was surrounded by a large enthusiastic crowd who applauded and cheered madly every time a penalty went in. The result was appreciated by one and all. The evening for us finished with a spectacular fireworks display although we were a bit concerned for the safety of those lighting the huge array of fireworks.
This week we have been to Uripiv Island and Vao Island for Maryann to do checks of the kindys. On VaoIsland we found an amazing Kindy Teacher who would have been at home in any country. Maryann said it was as good as she had seen anywhere and the teacher, Juliet, was making terrific use of local materials as teaching resources. We stayed on the Island with Juliet for two nights and once again were overwhelmed with the generosity of these people.
Hopefully I’ve been able to download some photos from the last two weeks that might give some idea of what we are experiencing.
I am going to finish this report with my “Dog Poo” story which I think illustrates the point that we have been making over and over again about the generosity and kindness of these people ….
At the sports field at Walarano I managed to tread in some dog poo and I was trying to clean it off my sandals with a twig. A young man I had never met saw me doing this and came over. In Bislama he told me to come with him and he would help me clean the sandal. I followed him for some distance to the back of his family’s stall. He spoke to some people who were obviously family and next thing he had a bowl of water, had taken my sandal and cleaned it off with water and a stick. Now isn’t that just incredible. I know in NZ we are happy to help people with directions and things like that but would you go over and help someone you don’t know to clean dog poo off their shoe! I don’t think I would have before I came over here. I think the lessons we are learning from the people here are more profound and meaningful than anything we are teaching them.
Makes you think huh?
Cheers
Vic and Maryann