Erakor Island Resort = Paradise (:

Our stay included the use of free watersports, so we took advantage of the kayaks and snorkeling gear (:

Meet Brian. Brian and Mario hit it off, and he would often come and join us for breakfast or lunch and play cards with Mario (:

My favourite time was spent photographing the kids around Port Vila (:

The colourful markets in the middle of town – I could have stayed all day with my camera (:

This is the national Vanuatu dish called laplap. It is prepared by pounding taro or yam roots into a paste, which is then placed on taro or spinach leaves. They are then soaked in grated coconut mixed with water. Pieces of pork, beef, chicken, fish or flying fox are added and the mixture is tied in the leaves from the laplap plant. Pretty tasty! (NOT that I tried it with flying fox though!)

There were starfish everywhere! The tide was out this day and I found these ones washed up on the beach right outside our door.

This was unreal! The locals were parading the All Blacks flag through town, and the noise and beeping was chaotic. Needless to say, I LOVED it! (:

Mele Village (:

I have no idea what they’re saying with their hands, but ALL the kids do it when you point a camera in their direction (:

This little fella on the left bit me on the finger too … kinda cute though! (:

These cute guys made me miss mine at home!

This is the Kava leaf. It’s made into an intoxicating liquid from pounded or groundpepper root mixed with water. I bought some at the airport on the way home and we’re going to try it with my brother and sister in law (watch out Karlos and Tina!) (:

This sweet, sweet man was so good to me when we visited the Secret Gardens. He can’t speak at all, but he showed me around the whole time I was there. Here he is demonstrating how laplap is made. I’m going to put together a small album for him with these photos I took and send it over – he was that nice! (:

Making fire …

Not sure what type of fruit this was, but it was quite sour!

Probably one of the funniest moments of our trip … our taxi driver took us to the ‘coconut man’ (on the right). He offered to climb a coconut tree for us, bag us one, and then sing us a song about the coconut tree, all for the sum of about $40 AUD. We politely declined, but in the end we paid him around $10AUD (after he kept haggling). Mario caught it all on video, and we now know the words to the song which we sang to him on our last day there. I like to think he was pretty chuffed (:

Mario caught this shot at a local Melanesian feast (:

Here’s the plane I took to Tanna Island to see the Volcano. Oh and I managed to fall asleep in it too … I pretty much have a cast iron stomach! (:

The view when we got to Tanna Island (:

A welcoming drink …

It took about 2 hours to reach the volcano in a 4WD. I sat in the back for part of the trip and watched the scenery change dramatically. It was almost eerie when we got close to the Volcano. There were lots of dark clouds and it looked like a desert. You could also feel the heat and taste the ash in the air. I believe this is the only active volcano in the world where tourists can get within 150 metres of it to view it. It was unreal!

The back of the volcano …

The worlds only volcano post box! (:

It really was amazing! As soon as I figure out my videos, I’ll post them here (:

Mt Yasur smoking away!

We stopped for a quick hello with these welcoming locals (:

Loved spending time with these boys from the local village (:

This wee fella was so cute! I asked him to run down the drive and back, and I adore how he did it with such pride. Love too that his feet are off the ground (:

And this little guy got a choccie from me … he was so cute (:

Mele Village …

Mele Cascade Waterfalls – nothing short of amazing. Mario and I had a swim there … it was just beautiful! My pics don’t do it justice, and this was only one of the areas we stopped at.

Haha! These boys were having so much fun jumping in the water off the side of the road (as you do in Vanuatu!!). They loved playing up for the camera, and I had a great time photographing them (:

Check out the dude running with his fancy headgear … seriously had me in stitches!

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