Vanuatu People & Culture

When you go to Vanuatu first you notice its stunning nature. In some point, when breathing that fresh air and admiring that beautiful turquoise sea, you hear this strong *kiss*noice and if you're a woman you might wonder: "Who dares to call me so obscenely?!" But don't get offended, the locals use this call instead of a whistle. They even stop the taxis with it! (I don't know how common this is elsewhere in the world, but it was new to me and I wish I could do it)

People in Port Vila and Vanuatu general are very beautiful and when you get to know them you find them very relaxed, funny and happy people. They'll propably introduce you to the rootdrink 'kava' which tastes and looks like mud and makes your tongue go numb and if you're brave enough to drink few glasses, you should become quite relaxed or should I say fairly merry. You can find it in stores, but if you want to try it with the locals just follow stormlamps.
You should also taste Vanuatu's special treat: coconut crab. It is absolutely divine, but quite expensive too. It is also selled fresh sometimes in the Marketplace, where you find all the basic and exotic veges, fruits and flowers.
You'll propably notice that all the imported products are very often more expensive than in your own country. That's because there can be imported only a little, 'cause there's not much buyers and it's quite far at the ocean. Vanuatu is still quite primitive country.

People in Port Vila like to have fun and part of the fun is very rich nightlife. You can change from bar to bar by taxi, bus(blue or black van) or public transport(back of a truck). Small trips costs usually 100 vatu (less than 1 euro).

You get most of the place when you are open to new things and be a little adventurous.

Pango is located near Vila. It is the best kept secret of surfers. This village has some dudes that run a backpackers but the local people are trying to set up and run their own backpacker budget accommodation and cater to the surfer dudes. I went to a church service that was held on a beach... really nice for a change. The scenery is gorgeous all over Vanuatu and the people warm and friendly... maybe just a bit shy at first. Many locals may not understand the nature of tourists (one guy asked a friend of mine how he can get a job as a tourist: it looked like a fun job) but they are fascinated by the foreigners. For the women: just take general precautions about watching alcohol intake and not walking around on your own at night otherwise it is a relatively safe place. Plenty of expensive hotels about that you can pre-book but more interesting to hang out with locals in village accommodation.

Maat people moved to Efate Island about 50 years ago from South East Ambrym... when a local volcano was in danger of erupting and local gardens were continually covered in volcanic ash. Maat people now live on Mele land; hence, they refer to their village as Mele-Maat. When entering the villages if you show respect and wear island dress then you will be very warmly received. The people are very friendly but watch out for the local dogs (they will surround you and try to attack because they are not treated like pets) and if you carry a stick to defend yourself then you should be fine... all the kids will come running to chase the dogs away if you get into real trouble. There is Solomon's grave at the front of the Presbyterian church... he was a man who helped bring Christianity into his community and is highly respected for that. There is cheap backpacker accommodation available in the village... see Pastor Fred Weiran at the Presbyterian Church for information... get a bus from Vila to Mele-Maat from outside one of the Chinese stores (just ask a local exactly where to wait and they will help flag down a Mele bus if you ask) then just ask one of the local kids for directions to see Pastor Fred or Rossmi Lik to arrange accommodation. Mele-Maat village is located directly opposite the Cascades waterfalls... one of Efate's major natural attractions... a very beautiful part of the world. Take your insect repellant or (preferrably) Avon's skin-so-soft oil which will stop all insects coming near. Nightlife is mostly in Vila but you might get invited to a local party. Most village activities stop for weddings and funerals. Such an interesting place if you are interested in cultures.

A busy little town with some good shopping for tourists. The resort in Port Villa's bay has a pretty little beach and allows people to come and visit its grounds without staying at the resort itself. They offer sailing, and skidoos as well as a relaxing water side pool.

Friendly Bungalows a place next to the volcano it's very rustic you've got the electricity just at night, all the people working there are very nice and happy all the time, the bungalows are on the beach with black sand. A good experience of life.

Maat people moved to Efate Island about 50 years ago from South East Ambrym... when a local volcano was in danger of erupting and local gardens were continually covered in volcanic ash. Maat people now live on Mele land; hence, they refer to their village as Mele-Maat. When entering the villages if you show respect and wear island dress then you will be very warmly received. The people are very friendly but watch out for the local dogs (they will surround you and try to attack because they are not treated like pets) and if you carry a stick to defend yourself then you should be fine... all the kids will come running to chase the dogs away if you get into real trouble. There is Solomon's grave at the front of the Presbyterian church... he was a man who helped bring Christianity into his community and is highly respected for that. There is cheap backpacker accommodation available in the village... see Pastor Fred Weiran at the Presbyterian Church for information... get a bus from Vila to Mele-Maat from outside one of the Chinese stores (just ask a local exactly where to wait and they will help flag down a Mele bus if you ask) then just ask one of the local kids for directions to see Pastor Fred or Rossmi Lik to arrange accommodation. Mele-Maat village is located directly opposite the Cascades waterfalls... one of Efate's major natural attractions... a very beautiful part of the world. Take your insect repellant or (preferrably) Avon's skin-so-soft oil which will stop all insects coming near. Nightlife is mostly in Vila but you might get invited to a local party. Most village activities stop for weddings and funerals. Such an interesting place if you are interested in cultures.

Tanna Island lies at the southern edge of the Vanuatu archipelago. The writer Paul Theroux calls it "the oddest island" because of its mysticism, geography and cultural oddities. Black magic is practiced around the village fires, the lush jungle feeds off the fertile volcanic soils of Mt Yasur despite the lava ash spewing forth to repel it and the locals await the second coming of the American deity, Jon Frum. It is wild, frontier adventure travel at its very best! We lodged in a rustic, though oh-so-romantic, banyan treehouse at the Jungle Oasis at the foot of Mt Yasur on the eastern side of the isle. We wandered around the villages, combed the beaches and played football during the day. Each night, we walked to the volcano rim and watched the best fireworks on Earth. The air would displace and shudder like the bullet in The Matrix. The sonic boom hammers you and sucks all other sound from the air. And then the bombs fly, swirling hundreds of metres into the night sky with a trailing jetstream of molten red. It goes on for hours, mesmerizing, perpetually shocking, a natural show of infinite wonder and humbling power. Lenakel is the dusty, offbeat capital of Tanna on the western side. While waiting for our flight back to Port Vila, we spent a few hours on the town beach. A group of teenage girls welcomed us to Tanna with fresh papaya and stories of island life. A bunch of other kids, who had walked 4 hours to the beach to wash their clothes, skipped their chores to build castles and play tic-tac-toe in the sand with us for an hour (we offered to help with their laundry afterwards but they said we'd be hopeless at it). It’s the kind of gorgeous life experience that leaves an indelible imprint upon your aroused mind. Romanticism aside, some basic tips for Tanna ... The Vanuatu Hotels and Positive Earth websites have lots of info on the local bungalows if you do want to pre-book some stuff (like the Banyan treehouse at JO), it’s pretty easy to get around the island (minibuses, hitching on the back of trucks etc) except on Sundays, your hosts will be able to arrange most tours and activities at whichever accommodation you choose, take a warm jacket when you're climbing Yasur, buy some basic snack supplies in Vila (or bring from home), no ATMs on Tanna so bring cash (bargain on about US$70/couple/day all up - depending on accommodation). And beware the most infectious disease on the island: smileyitis. Symptoms are constant grinning, laughing and feelings of euphoria. And they seem to last for months after exposure, particularly when you're writing posts about Tanna on travel forums. Go figure, eh?

Mele village is the prelude to the Mele Mele waterfall, which is one of the highlights of Efate island. Fair enough, after a hike you will arrive in what is an ok fall. Ok on the whole, but hardly unmissable. Though given the amount of options on Efate, if you are stuck here for more than a couple of days, coming here is bound to be a good distraction.

Great place to do a bit of accessories shopping if your in the island areas. Also alcohol here is so cheap so bring get them to bag it up to get through customs as well as some for your travel time. There is also the chance to visit some nice nature areas with waterfall walk and swim and a great small island called Hideaway island that is good for water sports and scuba diving.

Club Hippique - beautiful rainforest rides, catering for all level of riders. Paid $69 (AU) on PO shore tour. 3 hours total. Pick up at Port, 20 minute drive to location. Ride through rainforest and river swim, bareback, at end of the day. There's a bar with drinks basic snacks, all reasonably priced. Australian owners took over 16 months ago. Highly recommend.

The central market in the center of the city is fresh and cheap. You can buy very sweet fruits.

Awesome Island with friendly locals, pack light summery gear as you might only need a light long sleeve top when it gets a little cooler at night and def need some insect repellant.

The US dollar goes a long way here. There are some reasonable hotel accomodations here, but there also is a surprising number of furnish houses for rent on or near the many postcard quality beaches. The best way for them is to plan ahead. Do NOT go here if you think you'd like bright lights and big cities. DO go here if what you seek is poor cell phone reception, plenty of time to catch up on reading, and some very impressive dive locations.

Take advantage of the free ferry to Irririki Island from the centre of Vila and use the resorts pool and patio for free!!