Efate, Vanuatu - snorkelling and waterfalls

I decided to rent a dorm bed in Port Vila partly to save money, but also so I could meet people to hang with for the couple days that I was there. Turns out that my "dorm" room was just a single bunk bed and I was the only one in it! So much for that plan! Seems the place had changed a bit from the days it was called the Wild Pig. It had gone upscale. Oh well.

The morning after my arrival I decided to take a bit of a wander to check out the city. I loosely followed the walking tour suggested in the Lonely Planet. It is decidedly more challenging to follow a map when there are no street signs, but I managed. The route took me to a few historic spots as well as uphill so that I could get some nice views of the bay. As I got into the centre of town I stopped in a few shops as I wandered along. I ended up running into some Australian girls that I had met on Tanna. As I had no real plans, I decided to take them up on their offer to join them for the rest of the day and evening. First we went to the market to get some lunch. The market mostly sells fruit and vegetables, but there is an area which is sort of the Vanuatu version of a food court. There are a bunch of tables, and behind them are ladies cooking. You sit down and order and get some fresh made local food for a reasonable price. Well, somewhat reasonable. A plate of food for about $5 CAD. Since eating at a restaurant costs 3 to 4 times this, the market is a good deal. While we were eating the boys turned up and we made plans to go to Hideaway Island to go snorkelling and then to a beach party. I went back to my room to grab my stuff and met them at their hotel. After "roughing" it for about 10 days, they were treating themselves to the fancy Sebel for their last few nights in Vanuatu.

The 6 of us piled in to one of the vans which are used as minibuses. They are sort of a cross between a taxi and a bus. They are like a taxi in that they will take you wherever you want, but they are cheap like a bus. They will also pick up other people. So you may not get directly to where you want to go, but you will get there eventually. And you might see some interesting areas that you wouldn't have seen otherwise. After about 20 minutes we arrived at Mele Beach. There is a ferry that takes you across to Hideaway Island, but when we got there it was on the other side and the tide was so low that we decided to walk across. We immediately decided to get in the water. These guys had all been there before at the start of their trip, but for me it was my first time getting in the water with a mask on in Vanuatu. The corals weren't on the same level as Fiji, but there were plenty of fish and we even spotted a giant moray. It made for some enjoyable snorkelling. In addition to that, Hideaway Island features the world's only underwater post office. So of course I had to send a couple postcards. After a warm shower and some dry clothes we ordered some food and happy hour drinks and enjoyed dinner on the beach even though it was raining. When we headed back across to Mele Beach we discovered that the Aussies had got the date of the beach party wrong. I suppose that wasn't a bad thing since it was still raining. So we stopped in at the bar for a drink and then got a minibus back to the Sebel. We topped off the evening with a bit of gambling in the hotel casino. I had no intention of joining in as I have never gambled in my life, however when I tried to pay Chris back for a beer he bought me he insisted that I use the money to play. I figured I might as well, in my mind it was spent already anyways. Managed to spend a couple hours playing BlackJack and doubled my 500 Vatu to 1000. So I made about $5. Haha!

The next day I had planned to go to the Mele Cascades which are out of town about 20 minutes. Unfortunately, the rain which had been a drizzle or light rain the previous day, had turned into a downpour. I had a slow, leisurely breakfast and took my time packing my bag in hopes that the weather would improve. Finally I had to decide whether or not to go to the falls. It was my only chance to go as I was leaving on a flight that night. I had heard from many people that this was THE thing to do on the island of Efate. So I hailed a minibus and off I went. There is about a 10-15 minute walk to get to the falls. I had put my camera in it's waterproof housing because of the rain, but it turned out to be a fabulous decision because for the last part of the way you are actually walking up the river and up some small falls to get to the base of the big ones. There are ropes in a couple places to hang on and there is a bit of scrambling over rocks to get there. It is the sort of thing that as you are doing it you realize that it would all be fenced off in Canada. It's too likely that someone would get hurt and sue. Everyone was right, even in the pouring rain, the falls are not to be missed. They are gorgeous! You can get right up and swim in the pool at the base of the falls. There are a few pools, even a couple spots where you can jump off rocks into the water. Sure, it would have been nicer on a beautiful sunny day, but I am so glad I went.

After walking back and getting changed, I went back to the entrance to see about getting a ride back to Vila to get my bag from the hotel. There was a taxi driver there who was very persistent in trying to get my business. He wouldn't take no for an answer even though I told him that I could not afford a taxi. He was offering to take me back to town for 3000 Vatu. The minibus trip had cost me 500. No way was I spending 3000 to get back! I wasn't in a hurry so I could afford to wait for a bus. The guy at the entrance was kind enough to get rid of the taxi driver and call a minibus for me. He also let me stand inside the ticket booth out of the rain while I waited for the bus. It never fails, even in a country like Vanuatu where the people are generally very fair, there is always one or two that like to spoil things. The taxi driver was definitely overcharging for the trip and his pushiness was really offensive.

Finally it was time to board the flight for my final destination and the main reason for my trip... the island of Santo, home to the famous wreck of the SS President Coolidge.