Week 53 - Tanna, Vanuatu

Up front: we have now been traveling for a year! It's amazing how quickly this year has gone by and how much we have experienced. We are so grateful and looking forward to the next year ;-)

This week, we were able to check off a point on Franzi's bucket list. We traveled to Tanna to visit Mount Yasur. The volcano is considered one of the most active volcanoes in the world and is very easily accessible. We flew from Santo to Tanna, with a stop in Port Vila. In Tanna, we had a driver booked who brought us to our accommodation right at the foot of the volcano. The ride was wild. At some point, the paved road ended, and the sandy track was so incredibly bad that we could only move forward at a snail's pace.

Our accommodation was in the middle of the jungle and very basic. We had a small hut, and the communal bathroom wasn't really a room, but a shelter with a sink, toilet, and shower.

In the late afternoon, we set off for the volcano. The entrance fee is 9,750 VT (which is incredibly high for what it is), and another 1,000 VT per person for the driver up to the volcano. We initially thought about walking but ultimately decided against it. The off-road drive to the volcano was crazy. The path was so bad, but our driver got us up there safely. After a short walk, we reached the edge of the crater, from where you can look into the lava lake.

The volcano has multiple eruptions per minute at times. The alert level has been at 2 for ages, as the eruptions are never really severe. Therefore, it is relatively safe to be up on the volcano. With each eruption, we saw the lava fountain. It was simply incredible!

Julian took some really great footage with his drone. The locals were very interested because the view is different from what they usually see. Slowly, the sun set, and the lava really started to glow in the dark.

Unfortunately, we have to say that it felt like a tourist trap to us. For example, a guide was included in the price, but he didn't really tell us anything. He was more like a watcher. We found the entrance fee too high since this is a natural spectacle. And to top it off, you are herded up the volcano with 30-50 other tourists. That's not really our style. For this experience, we swallowed it all, and it was definitely worth it!

The next day we received a tour of the family's farm. They are almost entirely self-sufficient and grow everything in the overgrown garden. We were shown how to scrape a coconut and how the traditional dish Lap Lap (plantain in a leaf of 'Island Cabbage) is prepared.
Afterwards, we walked about 45 minutes to a traditional custom village. There, a traditional dance was performed for us, of course for a fee.

The next morning, we headed back to Port Vila. We spent our last days in Vanuatu at the Banana Bay Beach Club on Efate. The small hotel is located in the east of the island and is a good starting point for the Blue Lagoon and some lovely beaches. With a rental car, we got from A to B comfortably.

On the first evening, we met a couple from Australia because they were playing the same card game (Monopoly card game) as we were. Since we got along well, we spent every evening together playing cards.

An employee invited us to try Kava. The local drink is made from a root and is said to have a mildly sedative effect but is not considered addictive or a drug per se. We tried the earthy-tasting brew and realized that we actually felt nothing at all. Only our tongues were a bit numb.

And thus, our time in Vanuatu came to an end, and we flew to Nadi, Fiji.

We had a great time in Vanuatu!