Vanuatu – Espiritu Santo

Espiritu Santo is the largest island in Vanuatu. Although you could never describe our previous location, Efate, as being overly developed, Santo is even more raw.

The weather is great, and the tide is out when we arrive at Barrier Beach. The colour of the water breaking over the shallow reef is stunning. Our cabin is right on the waterfront – no more than five metres from the sea. The floor-to-ceiling shutters make it feel as though you living on the beach. When the wind and tide get up, it’s a real sensory experience.   

As we are settling in, one of the staff asks if we want to do a boat trip the following day. They have had a cancellation and two places are available. Why not? For some reason, the organiser seems pretty excited for us when we book.

Over dinner, Jenn tells me about a local legend… guy called Fabrice. He leads snorkelling and fishing tours and is famed as much for his knowledge of the sea, as his ability to talk nonstop about the island. One review Jenn read suggested that he ‘can even talk underwater’. His tours are booked out months in advance.

As luck would have it – the following morning finds us greeted by none other than Fabrice himself. He does not disappoint. If he paused for breath at any point during our half-day trip I must have missed it!

A third-generation islander, he covers everything from local fauna, lockdown, overseas investors, and the Chinese. The latter is particularly interesting. As you drive from the airport, the Chinese influence is clear. They have built a lot of the infrastructure on the island. They also come in for quite a lot of stick as a consequence. However, Fabrice highlights that the Chinese have been on the island for generations and have had a very positive influence. He, is also quick to point out that he was educated in a French catholic school – hence his ‘stupid French accent.’ 😉

With Fabrice as our guide, we head out looking for turtles and dugongs before snorkelling at one of the one local reefs.

Dugongs are strange looking creatures, closely related to manatees. Famously gentle and timid, they feed almost exclusively on seagrass. What’s the difference between a manatee and a dugong I hear you ask? Good question. Key difference is that dugongs have fluked tails, whilst manatees have paddles. There you go – could be very useful in a pub quiz one day!

We travel to an area of protected reef. No swimming or water activity permitted. This part of our tour is limited to what we can see through the clear blue water. The turtles we see are absolutely enormous, the size of a decent kitchen table.  If you’ve ever swum with a turtle you’ll know how fast they can move. These were turbo charged! Apparently, they are still eaten locally and thus the turtles have learned to be cautious of any approaching boats. I only manage to capture one of the smaller ones on camera.

We don’t have to wait too long for the main event. We are lucky enough to see several dugong. Whilst most of the sightings are pretty fleeting, one particular female is notorious for enjoying the company of boats. She swims happily around us, surfacing every few minutes. We’ve never seen a dugong before and feel very fortunate to see them in such a gorgeous and unspoilt spot. It’s also nice to be the only boat. In so many parts of the world it would be a circus of tourists.  

Leaving our new friend in peace we make our way to the snorkelling site. The idea is to use the current and float along the edge of the reef back to where the boat has relocated. The snorkelling is great. The reef is relatively young and thus lots of little fish. Spot my first sea snake – a Banded Sea Krait.

We get really lucky and come across a number of dugongs. Whilst you can’t swim with them in the protected zone, you can in the open ocean. Very cool, although once again, I curse the fact that my underwater camera doesn’t do it justice.

Final stop for the day is over soft corals. Jenn takes the opportunity to use our guide’s giant flippers. We’ve seen these being worn a few times over the years. Much longer than regular flippers and typically used by free divers. The length creates extra power to propel the wearer to greater depths. The flippers are almost as big as Jenn!

Fabrice is a good sport and shouts instructions from the boat. Jenn is a decent swimmer and picks it up pretty quickly. Just time to pose on a san bar before heading back! 😉 What a great day!

Fabrice and his wife are a bit of a double act. He takes care of the water-based activities, whilst Megan runs things on land. Heralding from New Zealand, Megan was in financial services, when she first came to Vanuatu to open a branch. One thing seems to have led to another and she decided to turn her back on the corporate world, put roots down in Santo, and open a horse sanctuary. As you do!

Horses have hard lives on Santo by all accounts and are sadly, often mistreated. Megan buys the neglected horses that she comes across and nurses them back to health.  Although she has 31 horses, only 10 can be ridden. That’s a pretty big financial commitment and a daunting prospect given that the island doesn’t have any vets. Hats off to her – the horses are in great condition. It’s a really lovely story and we are pleased to be doing our bit by paying for a half-day ride.

All of the bridles are bit-less. Not something we’ve seen before. Many of the horses have previously been subjected to bits made from wire, so Megan is very pro bit-less reins. Does make you wonder why they are not adopted more broadly.

I’m allocated a large grey horse named Tomahawk, whilst Jenn is paired with Kava. The ride through the plantation is very pleasant, the horses are super responsive. However, the real highlight is a mangrove channel that has been cut by the locals. The crystal clear water is pretty high, but the horses do a great job of wading/swimming out into the South Pacific Ocean. It’s pretty cool being on horseback in the sea! Definitely a unique experience.

On the return journey Megan tells us about their Kava bar. They have an expat night on Wednesdays and she suggests that we join. We duly promise that we’ll be there!

Next day we visit two of Santo’s blue holes. The first, Riri, is accessed via canoe. We get to be lazy passengers as we head down the most beautiful creek. The water is unbelievably clear. The ride itself is incredible – as is the blue hole when we arrive. Just stunning!

A short hop in the car finds us at the next blue hole, Matevulu. This one is my favourite. There is a rope swing accessed via a ladder attached to a large fig vine. When we arrive there are only four other people. Maybe it was something we said, but we very soon find that we have the place completely to ourselves. How lucky are we? I decide that it’s time to be a big kid and have a go on the swing. So much fun… sometimes it’s the simple things in life!

That evening we have arranged to take the staff bus down to Megan and Fabrice’s kava bar. We have coerced two other guests, who we met horse riding, to join us.

Kava is a root. Traditionally it is drunk, after the root is crushed in the teeth, and added to water. It has many of the effects of alcohol – with numbness of the tongue and lips experienced after as little as one shell. Too many shells can result in inability to walk, temporary loss of sight and slurred speech. All however, with a clear head and no hangover. It is great for reducing anxiety and is said to induce a great nights sleep.      

The Seahorse Kava Bar is a rugged shack. The bar consists of a bucket of muddy looking water, some shells, and a few lollipops. A shell is 100 Vatu – about 70 pence. Jenn, our two friends and I, gamely ordered a shell each and guided by Megan, have our first Kava experience. ‘For God sakes don’t sip it’ is the advice we receive. Idea is to drain the shell in one.

It is truly revolting as the expressions below suggest.

Tongue and lips do indeed go numb.

Over the next hour or so we meet a bunch of random people. Combination of expats and tourists. Good fun. I consume another 3 shells, with one of our new friends as a drinking companion. If it hadn’t been for our partners – I suspect we may have had a few more. Saved from ourselves and having had our first, and possibly last, Kava experience we head off home.

Disclaimer. Given that after 90 days holiday, we are horizontally relaxed, we can’t really comment on Kava’s ability to reduce anxiety!

We visit Champagne Beach, so named because the water, froths. Whilst snorkelling there I see my first Lionfish. Not the most colourful example – but I’m pleased to have seen one, and to have avoided its spines!

Our final two stops in Vanuatu are at Port Orly Beach and Nanda. The latter is yet another blue hole. Great spot and possibly the best snorkelling of the three we’ve visited.

It’s been a fabulous 10 days on the Vanuatu archipelago. It’s nice to come somewhere that is a little off the beaten track. Although it’s becoming popular with Australians, it remains one of the world’s least visited countries. People are very friendly and if you like experiences that are uncluttered by the great unwashed – then this is definitely one to consider.

With that, its off to Fiji, to continue our South Pacific sojourn!