Day 187: Efate, Vanuatu – 12/07/10

As Mike had such a hard time yesterday trying to deal with the generator, we decide to have a wander into town and look at the shops.

Port Vila is a curious mix of very tatty and pretty modern, and the shops are just as mixed.  As usual, there are loads of Chinese supermarkets and stores, selling a strange assortment of goods.  Chinese condiments and sauces sit alongside the most God-awful ornaments and huge bunches of hideously bright plastic flowers – I really don’t know who buys this stuff but someone must.

As cruise ships come in to Port Vila (there was a P & O one in when we arrived) there is a selection of duty free shops too.  We are passed by John, Aileen and Stephen from A Lady in their hire car going out for an island tour.  John jumps out and asks us if we want to go with him to the waterfall as Stephen is going to drop him there.  We’ve nothing else planned except wandering around so we hop in the car and go.

As usual there is a cost for viewing the waterfall but it is spectacular.  At the bottom there are loads of mini cascades and pools.  The water is freezing cold and a beautiful pale turquoise colour.  The tropical gardens all around are lush and well tended.  As we walk up the first hill it occurs to us that a) we have no mosquito repellent with us (and Mike and I have only applied it to our legs for doing the shopping) and b) that we have no towels or swimwear.  Everyone we meet coming away from the falls are extremely wet!  I am wearing white linen trousers and the idea of walking around in these once they are wet and transparent isn’t very appealing.

The walk starts off gently, with little cascades that I can wade through without taking my shoes off or rolling up my trousers.

 Photos:  Gentle cascades of beautiful turquoise water

We start to climb the hill and can hear the water getting louder.  We are able to branch off through a jungle path to a vantage point across the bay.

Photos:  Through the jungle track to the beautiful view

On the way to the waterfall, we meet some of the WARC crews coming back from their waterfall abseiling adventure.  They are all freezing cold and shivering – I’m glad I decided not to do this one.  The we meet Matt, still with all his clobber on.  I can’t resist giving him some support!  John takes photographic evidence, the instructor can’t work out what’s going on and Mike has that look on his face which says “please excuse my wife – again!”

Photo:  Giving Matt a helping hand

We say goodbye and walk further up the hill.  The cascades are getting bigger now and the water much more forceful.  I spend all my time gripping on to my flip flops with my toes, my trousers now rolled up around my knees.

Photos:  Getting steeper, then the real waterfall appears

In the end John is the only one of the three of us that goes right up to the waterfall.  I am terrified of slipping on the rocks and losing yet another camera.  On the way back, I realise that I have been bitten twice by mosquitoes.  I will now have to carry on taking the malaria tablets just as a precaution.  Bugger.

We get a taxi to take us to the beach bar that Aileen recommended and have a great meal – a Thai curry with a huge portion of sweet potato chips on the side.

Photo:  Mike and JB finishing up the chips

We eventually get another taxi back to Port Vila but I jump out in town and leave the men to go back to the boats.  I take a closer look at the market.  Even late in the afternoon, the place is still full of produce and there are still loads of people buying.

Photo:  The yam section of the market

Photo:  Bunch after bunch of coconuts and kava root for sale

For now I just buy some pamplemousse for breakfast on the passage then start to walk back to the boat.  On my way I pass a lovely perfume shop and stop and talk to the owner for a while about smells – as you do.  She invites me back tomorrow for a free hand scrub and polish as long as I bring in my perfumes as she is interested in the flower combinations that I wear, very different to what she sells which is mainly based on sandalwood.

In the evening there is a pot luck supper at the home of the Yacht Club commodore.  We have eaten too much too late for us to want to eat again but I decide to make an appearance just to say hello as we did say we were attending earlier in the day.  Stephen from A Lady is leaving just as I do and we walk up together, neither of us having any idea where we are going.  On the way down yet another driveway trying to find the right house, we find John and Aileen wandering around someone’s garden, having set off all their dogs – they are lost too.  Eventually we spot Susan and David who have already made their appearance and left.  They point us in the right direction.  I only stop for half and hour or so then walk back with Irene and Dick.