On the map above, you will see the main town of Santo, Luganville, in the south east corner. This has a population of 13,000, the second largest conurbation in Vanuatu. On 7 September we moved 11 kms up the east coast road to the VARTC (Vanuatu Agricultural Research & Technical Centre) farm.

Living out here is great and we brought a couple of dirt bikes out from NZ to get in and out of town and to explore Santo on. They’re not exactly tigers but they buzz us along the roads, the warm wind of motion whistling through light clothes. The sights, the smells, the motion, the warmth – it’s hard not to grin like a man deranged – such is the sense of freedom and feeling alive.

The home page shot is of Port Olry, a beautifully unspoilt little paradise we discovered back in January – developers, please stay away. On a Sunday in August, soon after extracting our wheels from

customs, we headed 60 kms up the east coast road to this jewel. Louise had to drop something off on the way and upon my arrival at Chez Louis, the beach volleyball court was being graced by the contestants in the Miss Sanma beauty contest. The icing on the cake you might say. This is an idyllic place for friends and family that come out to see us to do some serious chilling out. Hopefully, our first friends to come and stay, Dagy and Carol, will be persuaded to go up there with us for a night – coming soon in late October.