Tanna

So the last day in Tanna started with a quick breakfast... then off in a 4WD along a beach and into the forest...fortunately a couple of Frenchies from Noumea wanted to come along to reduce the cost..

 The markets were on.

 Tanna is a very simple place, I liked it a lot.

 So we arrive at the village of the Yakal - a people who have an odd belief. There are two 'cults' on the island, one is the John Frum group who follow his teachings and the Yakal who believe the Queen's husband's spirit is actually from Vanuatu... the fact that he he is a nasty Greek doesn't seem to matter to them.

 We saw a pig, and notice it's teeth...

 The roads are wild too.

 In the village women are cooking manioc, a root veggie, starchy like a potato, they cook with banana and coconut mainly because they have TONS of them.

 There are no Playstation 3s here but the kids are happy, Tanna is the kind of place you drive along and everyone waves at you as you go by.

 The Yakal usually wear a bit less but invented grass skirts for when people visit. Most of the time they wear far, far less...

 This guy has what looks like a straw broom wrapped around his nether regions - and you'd be right. Calvin Klein could make a fortune here.

 They have nothing much to sell, strings of beans, literally and the obligatory boar's teeth. There's a few seas shells and rudimentary wood carvings.

 The chief shook everyone's hand, I show you the French couple getting welcomed as of course no pic of myself.

 The chief does have a belt on, with the union flag emblazoned on it - as the only hint of his tradition that the Queen's husband's spirit will one day return to Vanuatu. Prince Phillip has played along nicely and sent pictures, someone paid for several of the tribe to go to London a few years back. I am assuming the straw brushes were packed away discreetly too.

 They showed us how the make fire...

 And then we had a dance - although it was for us, it was a weather dance... just no rain please.

 So they kicked up lots of dust jumping up and down.

 Oddly, there is little mention of the old ways in vanuatu, there was a little black magic and voodoo - and there was cannibalism. They don't deny it, but they don't advertise it. Vanuatu certainly is the tropical land everyone imagines, volcanoes, forest, cannibals and magic...

 This young chap was the one who led us around. He speaks good French - for someone who believes the Royal Family possess his tribe's spirit - it seemed odd he lacked English. Vanuatu is dual Angl-French - mostly Anglo, all the locals speak their own pidgin dialects of which Tanna has 28 alone. Thankfully he wore a banana leaf for modesty.

The race here is melanesian - just like in Australia - arguably the oldest race on the planet.

 The flowers in Tanna are simply stunning.

 This woman has three things that make the weather, this first oven like structure you put wet stones in to make rain, I asked her not to.

 She spoke good English and no French, and she explained this one was for making lightning. Lightning is what the chief ordered up to tell the workers in the fields that rain was coming.

 This hut is for making sun, you start a little fire inside. It was out.

 Below is yam - I had never seen yams growing - such small plants for such giant roots!

 Here is the reef off the hotel, so inviting...

But up the road from the hotel reef, which I like to call clown fish reef, is what the locals call 'blu hole number 1.' No. 2 is further away. So I hiked there, nearly broke some bones and got coral cuts find the extreme fringes that were supposed to have better corals and it did not disappoint - I am glad I didn't give up.

 I did not see one crown of thorns eating this section of reef - and there's are lovely healthy coral lobes...

 Not much in the way of soft coral.

 I was happy.

This is the edge of the upper reef..

 And after cleaning up it was back to Tanna airport for the 35 minute flight back to Port Vila - you wait longer to board after checking in than actual flying time... On the way out you see the lovely coral heads so close to the surface that surround this lovely island that not many get to...

 I threw this last one in for you - as the place is full of them, sea cucumbers! Can you see them? The stretch themselves maybe 20 times their length to move around...

 I arrive in Port Vila right after the cruise ship leaves, they get maybe 2 a week.

 Blogger is shuffling the pics again, this was in the check in line at Tanna airport - the locals fly to Efate and Port Vila for all sorts of things of course, one guy had a foot in bandanges and a tree limb as a walking stick, one old woman had thousands of wicker baskets, a few of them had live chickens - sadly you can see how this one was packed. It is still alive and I am guessing close to a heart attack.

 After a short and overpriced cab ride, I am at my hotel for the next 3 nights, on the second lagoon on Efate, outside of Port Vila. This is the eating area... it is called Vila Chaumieres - the owners are nice Kiwi couple.

 This is my little chalet.

 There's a little pond made from the lagoon by the eaterie - it has fish and starfish.. and crabs and a snake! As well as plenty sea cucumbers..

 The lagoon is quite tranquil.

 And here is where I sleep these next few days - in my cot under the mozzie net - but it does have air-conditioning. Suffering in the tropics has never been easier :)

 Bonne Nuit!