Wednesday... To Tanna and beyond.

Dianne had organised a minibus and we actually managed to wolf down a little amount of breakfast before we departed. May I mention Vanuatu's food here. Don't expect anything "flash". I can pretty much guarantee that unless you are at an upmarket resort, and even if you are, your breakfast is almost guaranteed to be cereal, fruit salad, toast, a few basic spreads, and coffee. If you are really upmarket, you might get yoghurt. Anyway, we ingested feasted and ousted.

Checking in at Luganville airport was quick and efficient. We paid our departure tax (valid all the way to Tanna, despite the 4 hour transit in Port Vila). Feasting again on peanuts and Twisties, these purchases entitled us to a seat, so we waited.

Vanuatu time is a little more relaxed than Melbourne time. Add an hour to any given deadline and you should be OK. Luganville airport had a chalkboard departure screen, so we didn't expect minute by minute updates.

The takeoff was good. I don't like seats 6F and 6E. They look straight at the spinning propellers right in the spot where a fractured blade would end up. Fortunately, not today.

At Vila we had quite a long break before our flight to Tanna. We watched some of our luggage appear (despite being marked Tanna) and repelled it like jet fighters repelling an enemy attack. It made its way tarmacward after ou rremonstrations

We decided that it was actually long enough to take a trip into town. Port Vila has plenty of minibuses all competing for custom. We jumped in one, negotiated a price (not really.. One refreshing thing about Vanuatu is that prices are generally fixed, so you don't need to barter).

We had seen a cruise liner from the air, and sure enough, there it was, on the far side of the Port. Also in port were several wrecks, some of which were luxury yachts and boats, having met some disastrous fate, but being irreparable because of the isolation of Vanuatu and the exorbitant costs of shipping equipment here.

We wandered along the waterfront, looking for a place for a late breakfast and a coffee. We had consulted the Internet, and decided that Number One Cafe was worth a visit. Unfortunately, this probably was good in the day, but a large hotel across the road had removed harbour views, and the place wasn't even set up for the day. We moved on and found the delightful Cafe du Village, where we had a lovely breakfast and coffee, with a great view of the water. Don't expect really fast service here.. Vanuatu has its own timeframe. Breakfast had nearly absorbed our stopover time. We managed to squeeze in a quick market and supermarket visit (we will be isolated on Tanna) and soon we were back in a minibus, and then back at the airport.

We boarded and discovered the same flight crew as we had from Santo to Vila. I was happy as our pilot had made a really smooth landing. The plane (probably the same one) was a turbojet xxx (if you just read ATR72" I haven't consulted Wikipedia yet) and seems to have amazing capability to rise at a steep n angle after takeoff.

I was quite tired, and my head bobbed like a cork on the ocean. It seemed like half an hour and we were preparing for landing.

At Tanna airport, the luggage appears at a hole in the wall. Vanuatu loves these. We were later to encounter one at our accomodation, through which our meals were served.

I have to confess, I wasn't expecting what followed. We were bundled into the back of a fairly new utility vehicle, courtesy of Mike, our host. (We had met his "true brother Solomon" on the flight). The trip to Yasur view was amazing. It was uncomfortable, cold, windy wet and miserable. Just what we needed. Mary donated a poncho which provided acoustic accompaniment and a little protection. Pete borrowed my Red riding hood towel, which saved his bacon. (Have I mentioned Pigs? They are very valuable here and symbolic of wealth, used for gifts of import and welcoming ceremonies. Did I mention I'm vegetarian? Pigs aren't on the menu.)

The trip was actually visually fantastic. We traversed the island and from the apex (the road is in construction and I admired Mikes ability to avoid the reo-spikes that threatened to tear his tyres apart) we could see the volcano and roughly where we were going. The road had been graded so many times, we were a vehicle and a half below the level of the ground, travelling on basically ash beds. There was a fair amount of forest and vegetation, but this ceased as we entered the lunar landscape of the ash plains. Night was nearly upon us, so this was eerie. I looked forward to seeing it by daylight.

The road became rock and roll. Mike's driving was good, and after an hour and a half that I never want to repeat (we will be repeating when we return ) we were at Yasur view bungalows. The family greeted us and we were shown our accomodation. Rustic is the politically correct word. Basic is the apt word. No water, slatted floorboards (don't take off your wedding rings here), thatched walls and roof. The bed is the feature, with a good quality mosquitoe net. I wondered how they would fare in a cyclone, but obviously OK... They've had a few.

Now add to this the feature guest. Mount Yasur. Just 3km away, an ominous peak that you can't ignore... It's the horizon feature. And it's vocal. Boom, Crash Rumble... It doesn't stop for long. And it glows... The clouds above it are under lit by orange. Then.... Boom. Preceding the sound you see orange dots in the sky above the rim. Lava expelled and later you hear the sound and watch black smoke spurning from the mountain. It's more than impressive. It's awesome. And it goes all night. Sometimes the explosions pump your eardrums and you can't help exclaiming. This is surreal!! Despite this stimulation, it had been a long day.

Mike and his family had cooked a superb meal. Rice, taro and flavoured vegetables with chicken (yep.. More meat than I've had in months). Mike's family is Christian and I had the impression that they avoid tribal village life. They sang to us (gospel) We applauded, ate, retired and slept.