Son Sam and girlfriend Val arrived to Luganville airport to a truly Vanuatu welcome – we were not there! Halfway there Louise’s motorbike packed up but some passing locals gave us a lift ….. in 1st gear. Once appraised of the importance of our mission, these same locals sped up, even venturing into 3rd gear. They detoured to take us to the airport, then drove all of us back out to the farm here, swooping up the inert bike on the way. So friendly, so gracious and so typically Ni-Van.

After a few days of acclimatisation and local orientation, they headed up for three days atPort Olry, staying at Chez Louis in the New Treehouse – photo above. Louise and I joined them up there on the Friday, me to talk coconuts with Louis, followed by Louise talking to Louis and wife Mikaela about chicken production for eggs and meat.

Sam and Val mixed laid back time with energetic pursuits. The PADI dive centre on Aore Island proved a real hit with Val proving to be a ‘natural’ diver – the photo on right shows Sam and Val in blissful aquatic togetherness. We did a double dive on 15th with them staying for a night of luxury at Aore Island Resort and us heading back across the ‘Canal’ and home to the farm.

Both Sam and Val wanted to learn to sail and rather handily, Lopi Lopi Resort across the road has a Hobie Cat available for renting out. The photo shows me as tutor on the helm. The trick is to get on the water an hour before high tide and return within two hours. Even at high tide, negotiating around the various reefs requires a little attention, as does the local wild life. We spotted two dugongs and two turtles surfacing nearby. The gentle wind and flat sea made it an easy lesson to give and the two students were soon happily tacking to port, to starboard and then on the homeward leg, jibing like gooduns.

They wanted to finish their stay with a watery flourish. In the morning we went up to Matuva Blue Hole, making Tarzan-style entries as demonstrated by sam in the following video:

 . Back for lunch and packing then onto the bikes and off for some “sol wota swim swim” at a totally deserted Palekula Beach.

It was two weeks of warm and colourful times rich with family togetherness.

 

 

Good friends Wilf and Sue arrived for a two week holiday in late April. It was great to have them on board and show them some of the local attractions. For Wilf, one these was the canvass chair on the veranda that looks over the farm to the Pacific Ocean to the east. They both acclimatised well to the slow tempo and were soon the very picture of relaxation.

One trip is covered in the next blog: “Land Diving on Pentecost Island”. Another was to the Aore Island Resort where lunch was followed by pampering for the girls and snorkelling for Wilf (I was back in the office).

On their last Friday I needed to work up in Port Olry so we all went up and checked in to Chez Louis, our second home. Wilf was on the look out for turtles – photo right. There was snorkelling, walking, experiments with cocktails. Dinner was a real experience of Vanuatu. Louis and his wife returned much later than expected in the evening …… and she is the chef. Son Silva confessed to limited cooking ability but to his credit, knocked out some excellent kumara chips and mounted these with a fried egg. Anywhere else this might have caused concern but here, the sand does not run smoothly through the egg timer, it is for lying down on.

Breakfast was a simpler affair, with fruit, coffee and toast set up on our veranda – photo on the right. Sitting in the slanting morning sun, squinting out through the coconut grove towards the sea and a nearby island – a good way to start another day in paradise.

All too soon it was time for them to leave but not before they treated us to a fine meal out at Village de Santo’s Restaurant 1606 – see photo below. The sharp of eye may spot the themed attire of the two gents.

 

These guys use freshly cut vines (above) whereas the AJ Hackett imitation involves modern stretchy cord and litigation-proof systems. The main safety feature we saw was the softening of the steep ground where they ‘land’, plus the restriction of the season to coincide with the fresh growth of the vines. Before and after the April to June period, ogeta oli vines I brok. I no gud. Man, I brok nek blong hem. See photo below of the 30 metre high bamboo tower – not for the faint hearted

A  World Vision project to help Malo and South Santo coconut growers gain Australian Certified Organic (“ACO”) status has been successful but the funding has ended. Last year I was asked to help them provide guidance to the 600+ growers to become self-sustaining regarding their continued ACO accreditation status. A critical stage was to present our plan for the Malo and South Santo Coconut Growers Association to the grower representatives. This involved a short boat trip across to the island of Malo to the south of Santo. Approaching Malo – photo left, not much visible but bush.

The day went well and on the follow-up meeting on 25 May, the plan was accepted, six committee members appointed and membership applications and fees are being collected.

After the 6oth bithtday trip we arrived home at 5.30pm, Cyclone Zena arrived 2 hours later. It was our first and is unlikely to be our last. Apart from a few leaks in the roof there were no signs of damage in the house. Outside, a 50 year old Mango tree fell close to the house – no more mango chutney from this source – see photo right, the house is only just visible to the right of the tree roots. It was a very localised event with Malekula 70 kms south of Santo experiencing only mild winds. Although all was violence, with extreme gusts of wind and torrential rain driving sideways in through the Storm Shutters and on through gaps between windows, our house was built by the French over 30 years ago out of thick concrete – we felt safe.