Vanuatu

Well, first impressions were not that good, but I think it's safe to say that, halfway through the week, we are warming to the place. 

Port Vila, the capital, is not a pretty town, but the coastline is beautiful so the potential is there. Food is expensive to buy and eating out is equally so, yet there is a sense of poverty everywhere. We hired a car one day and drove around the Island hoping to find a beach to explore. Unfortunately, there is a habit of selling off portions of the coastline to private owners, and other portions are sold along with building plots for holiday homes. This means that if beaches ARE available to tourists, you have to pay to use them. Such a shame. Andy tells me this is to do with French colonialism, so he will have to add details later to explain. Still, we are lucky in that our resort has its own short stretch of coastline for us to enjoy, along with a lovely pool.

Yesterday we took a tour to a local river and hired kayaks. A team of 3 guides took a group of 12 of us on a 7km trip along the Rentapao river. The scenery changed from a narrow river winding through tropical rainforest to a wide and beautiful river passing through the mangrove lagoon areas to the coast. Really enjoyed the trip. I didn't find kayaking at all strenuous. This may have had something to do with the fact that I was in a 2 man kayak with one of the guides? The Luksza family, who have first-hand experience of my rowing skills, will appreciate this! At the end of the trip we were invited to use a rope swing to launch ourselves into the river for a swim. I decided to be the official photographer, so unfortunately had to miss out on the swing. Still, I have a picture of Andy in action which I will add to the blog when we get back to New Zealand and I can download the pictures.

I can't really believe it, but I counted up today, and it is only 8 weeks until Paul and Joe arrive and 9 weeks for the Lewises. Really looking forward to seeing them all. However, that means that it's just over 9 weeks until Christmas, so this is a heads up to you all!

View from our room

A custard apple (I think) which we found in the fruit market. Very strange, but quite tasty!