Travel Photo of the Week: Historic Banyan Tree, Vanuatu
Whilst on a day trip around Efate in Vanuatu, we stopped by this historic Banyan Tree. As you can see, it was too big to be able to fit it into the whole photo! They grow up, up, up and out, out, out. They are massive and old. During the cyclone season, they’re used by the locals for shelter. Climbing into the tangled, above-ground root system, the Banyan tree can withstand the most violent of winds and offer protection for the people.
Travel Photos of the Week: Cultural Village on Efate, Vanuatu
One of the significant places we visited during our Vanuatu getaway, was the Cultural Village located on the eastern coast of Efate. We shared a small taxi/bus with a middle-aged couple who happened to be from Queensland, Australia (this was their first overseas trip) and their enthusiasm was contagious. The bus pulled off the main road which circles Efate and we drove for some 15 minutes along an extremely weathered dirt road. We soon pulled into a clearing, beside thick jungle and in the middle of nowhere, with the driver telling us to all hop out, adding ‘You can leave your bags in the bus!’. I suddenly felt dubious what was happening and was not going to leave bags behind. However, it turned out to be completely innocent.
The six of us headed into the jungle along the path we were instructed to take. It was quiet and beautiful but we were not sure where we were heading. Breaking the silence came the sound of the conch shell and then quite unexpectedly came tribal warriors out of the jungle towards us. Spears in hand, wide-eyed and yelling at us in a foreign aggressive manner, they charged. I got such a fright I swore!
Once they warriors realised we came in peace, we were escorted into the village and welcomed! We were shown how the traditional tribes lived and witnessed food preparation and preservation, fire walking and a tribal dance. The children were wide-eyed throughout. It was a wonderful experience.
Travel Photos of the Week: Shopping at the Port Vila Market
On our recent family holiday to Vanuatu we spent quite a bit of time in the produce market in Port Vila. We had this recommended to us by regular reader Julie. The food is fresh, run by locals for the locals, making it very cheap by Australian standards. The market for most of the time was full of locals with few tourists. We chose to visit on days we knew the cruise ships were not visiting. Apparently on these days not only is the place swarming with tourists but the price of ‘everything’ gets trebled! So we visited on the quieter days and stocked up on tomatoes, pawpaw, mangoes and oodles of bananas. At this time bananas were very expensive at home with much of Queensland (the banana producing State) devastated from Cyclone Yasi. Bananas were a luxury item, so here we gorged on the most divine sugar bananas and one large bunch (bottom photo) was no more than AUD $1.70.
Port Vila is the capital of Vanautu. A cluster of 83 islands located in the South Pacific. Port Vila is situated on the west coast of the island of Efate within the sheltered Vila Bay. There has been a lull in blog posts here and that’s due to a recent 10 day family holiday to Vanuatu. I was determined to take a digital-detox and so no blogging was done whilst away! Only lots of time in the 3D world – sightseeing, swimming, snorkelling and relaxing with the sun on my face!
In and around Port Vila there’s plenty to see and do. We stayed at the mid-range priced boutique resort ‘Poppys on the Lagoon‘ which is an easy and pleasant walk to the town centre. This allows for walking the streets and passing the locals which you are greeted with cheesy grins and a great big “hello”. The people of Vanuatu are known for their happy, friendly ways and we had that confirmed!
Places of significance to visit include the Port Vila markets (I had a ball here), Erakor Island, Iriki Island, Hideaway Island, Mele Cascade Waterfalls, Tanna Coffee Factory and the many eating places offering fresh seafood and French cuisine. I don’t doubt I will be visiting Vanuatu again in the future especially considering it has 83 islands to explore! We were very impressed and highly recommend it as it’s certainly an easy trip from the east coast of Australia.
The Traveler IQ challenge ranks geographic knowledge of cities such as: Punta Cana, Willemstad or Columbia by comparing results against 5,473,834 other travelers.
Port Vila is the capital of Vanautu. A cluster of 83 islands located in the South Pacific. Port Vila is situated on the west coast of the island of Efate within the sheltered Vila Bay. There has been a lull in blog posts here and that’s due to a recent 10 day family holiday to Vanuatu. I was determined to take a digital-detox and so no blogging was done whilst away! Only lots of time in the 3D world – sightseeing, swimming, snorkelling and relaxing with the sun on my face!
Entries (RSS)