Efate -Roadtrip-

After a tiring but beautiful week, we decided to take a real vacation. We drove around the island of Efate, which is the main island where Port Vila is located. We thought that we probably don't have to travel far and visit all 82 islands of Vanuatu to find small dream beaches and diverse flora :) And so it was. Efate convinced us and we chose some places where we should go again.

On Saturday afternoon, we started heading east on the Ring Road, which goes around the island. The Efate Ring Road (122km) was built in 2005 with the support of the US Millennium Challenge as the first paved road. Also the main road on the island of Santo (second largest tourist island). So the way was very pleasant, even if we had been prepared for other wild off-road adventures with Atu 😊.

The weather was perfect, the sun warmed our backs and we dashed through palm landscapes, small villages with happily waving Ni-Vanuatus and steppe-like grasslands to the sea on the east side. When we arrived there, we were very impressed by high waves breaking on the reef, rugged coastlines, and white beaches in between. Perfect for surfing, but there were no surfers. We found a nice spot on the beach to swim, collect shells, and rest. Then we continued past Eton Beach and the Blue Lagoon (both tourist spots that promised quiet bathing bays and fun in the lagoon), as well as through jungle landscapes, and all the people we crossed paths with warmly greeted us. We drove straight through to Epule, to arrive at our Le Life Resort, which we had already chosen, before dark. It was exactly halfway through our route (driving time about 1 1/2 hours). Here, there were acceptable prices for overnight stays in fully furnished tents through a glamping area (everything else is very expensive), small bays for snorkeling and swimming, hardly any people, and a nice restaurant (prices were high again, but we are on vacation :)).

The next morning, the sun woke us up around 6:30. Thanks to Anni's early riser genes, we went straight into the water and snorkelled for about an hour, seeing wonderful corals, bright blue starfish, thick sea cucumbers, and many fish.

Afterwards, we had breakfast at the resort, which was included in the glamping price. Coffee and tea with a choice of 2 toast with eggs, 1 omelette, or a fruit platter.

We enjoyed the peace and waited out a rain shower, before exploring the next 60km of the route again in the best weather :).

As soon as we reached the north side, the waves disappeared again and the turquoise water was calm and crystal clear. There were still hardly any tourists, just a few beach bars and accommodations and many relaxed people. After 2 stops for swimming and exploring, we stopped for lunch at the EcoLodge in Port Havanna. This is the second largest place on Efate, which consists of only about 10 accommodations and a small harbor where boats depart to the small islands in the north and west of Efate. Because of the beautiful corals and the great weather, we spent 3 hours here and then started our way back. The road led over a small mountain (maybe 300m 😂), which offered a wonderful view of Port Vila and Mele (the most beautiful beach for snorkeling). A beautiful end to our road trip was the sunset at the beach and afterwards a beer in our guesthouse where we reviewed all the impressions again. A wonderful weekend came to an end and the tasks of the week awaited us, well, mainly Michel. But we will report about all the new things in the next article :)