Five reasons why I love Vanuatu

It's no secret that my fragile little mind was blown away by Vanuatu.  here's a few reasons why.

1. Volcanoes. Whether its the splendour of mount Yusar (above), a lava pit on Ambrym or the extinct volcanoe of Ureparpara, I have never experienced such a show of mother natures As the ground shook with every explosion, all I could think was how fragile our existence is.Geology certainly does 'rock.'

2. Creatures of the sea. Turtles, whales, dolphins and dugongs all inhabit this part of the world. Excluding the dugong, I was fortunate to see the others in abundance.

3.  Beautiful people. There may have been exceptions, but on the whole, Vanuatans were warm and friendly to us travellers.

4. Mystical Jungle.

5. Outriggers. Best form of transport. Ever. Instead of riding their bikes around the estate, kids will cruise the waters on these bad boys.

So if you're planning on a trip to the South Pacific, be very careful.  Falling in love with Vanuatu is very easy, you may never want to leave.

A volcano walk

Impressive isn't it? Our four and a half hour trek certainly delivered.   

After a twenty minute lift in a truck, we hiked through jungle for an hour and a half...

then came to the ash plains, which came as a 'flat' relief...

but, uh-oh what's this, yes its boulders to climb over and around.

However, with great heights come spectacular views and even when I was crawling up the almost vertical path, all I had to do was look around for inspiration. I forgot how beautiful hiking could be.

and in this instance, great heights also came with a lava pit. Note: if you ever do this, bring a scarf to protect against the fumes (mmmmmm sulphur lungs!) and a jumper - it gets a little chilly at this altitude!

In our expedition up to the volcano, we were extremely lucky to see the lava mouth so clearly.  Previous crew had trekked up here only to find cloud coverage.  After lots of oohs and arhhs watching the lava spurt up, we hung about eating our pack lunch and took a few more shots.

And then it was time to start the long walk home...

Ambrym's Shore

Two crew members jumping the 12 metre drop off Ambryn's coast line. Love that our lady The Soren Larsen is watching in the background.  Sorry to say my nerve got the better of me and I did not participate.

We visited Ambrym twice during our two months cruising Vanuatu and it was the second time round that I got the chance to go ashore and take these photos. Known as the black magic capital of Vanuatu, the island has a reputation for witch craft. 

Its also renown for its Carvings, with many sent to the Capital, port villa, to be sold to tourists.

 Spending a few hours on the shore line was exactly what I needed , ready to rest up for a rather long trek the next day. But with the promise of seeing a live volcano, it would be worth blistered feet...