Wanderings:Shades of Blue - Out & About in Vanuatu

In amongst all the chillaxing we did manage to get out & about... 

Just a 15 minute walk from our villa, the picturesque Honeymoon Beach, pay your 200 vatu to the children minding the beach, settle in for a little sun & enjoy the view. This 200 vatu goes to the local custom owners for keeping the beach cared for & like all the beaches in Vanuatu it is privately owned.  Apparently it is a favourite spot for locals on the weekend, however on both visits, one on the weekend, bar a couple of people we had this little slice of paradise completely to ourselves.

Honeymoon Beach

You can get around fairly easy by bus or taxi or do like we did & hire a car.  We also had the option of a water taxi from a couple of minutes down the beach in to town, & not only do you get to take on the scenery you avoid all the pot holes.  Though we did have to swap boats mid ocean one day! 

The Blue Lagoon

Our first stop was the Blue Lagoon, a beautiful turquoise blue water hole, a mix of fresh & salt water.  The perfect refresher mid morning.

Just off Devil’s Point Road on the other side of the island are the Summit Gardens, the largest tropical gardens in the South Pacific & overlooking Mele Bay.  There is also The Summit Plantation with mainly sandalwood that then head to the The Summit Essential Oils Distillery to be made in to all manner of beauty products & candles. And if you are in need of some refreshment there is also a lovely little cafe where you can stop off for a coffee or some punch with or without rum depending on the hour of the day...

Summit Gardens

Summit Gardens 

The Mele Cascade Waterfall are definitely worth a visit.  Just make sure not to go on a day when a cruise ship is in town as it will be packed & I would imagine make for quite a tricky climb up the waterfall, well the smaller ones before you get to the big one! There are 5 natural pools filled from a deep underground spring & the water is cool, clear & refreshing.

Cascade Waterfalls

Cascade Waterfalls

For a little lunch we stopped by Aquana Beach Resort.  An oasis of calm & tranquillity. Lovely people & tasty food.  Just don't be fishing in the lagoon.  There is a tabu; a 3 year moratarium on fishing to let their populations flourish.  And if you get caught there is a big fine...500,000 vatu for recent culprits caught pilfering 6 tonnes of fish! So if you see one of these it means no fishing....

Another spot we liked a lot was Coco Beach, just a minutes walk from our villa.  Gerri is a wonderful & welcoming host & Calvin, the owner, will hang out & chat over a few beers at happy hour while watching the sun go down. You can also gorge on freshly caught lobster & chilli crab.

Coco Beach

Coco Beach

On a trip to Vanuatu you have to try some of the French cuisine on offer. Right in the centre of Port Vila is Au Peche Mignon, always bustling & serving up quite delicious little savouries, pastries, croissants & cakes.

For top end, classic French cuisine try Les Jardin des Saveurs. A little pricey but the food delicious if a little heavy, we certainly had no room for dessert.  We did though have delicious snails encased in a little puff pastry case.  And a big thanks goes to the locals in their bus who turned around & took us home before they headed out to paint the town red. Usually the rule is last on last off but they were kind enough to take us home first.

And for some good old fish & chips check out the Anchor Inn. Also the spot if you want to catch the rugby, which if there is a Kiwi male in the group you can't!....the ABs won & kept the Bledisloe Cup for another year. You can also sip on the local beer, Tusker which is quite delicious.

A wonderfully relaxing week just what one needs at the end of Winter. And now Spring has sprung officially & we can look forward to longer, warmer days & asparagus!!

Sunset, Paradise Cove