Non-ocean Swimming

Today we were off to a couple of scenic spots on the Eastern side of Efate which is a first for us. Our driver yesterday said we could get a bus from Port Vila to them, no worries so we were keen to experience a bit of local life.

Breakfast was corn fritters, the edges were golden crispy but more kumara than corn, but pretty good anyway. Louie had the French Toast with fruit that I had yesterday.

So here we are in one of the local buses, but not a bus for locals. I asked the woman at the hotel reception where to get an out of town bus from and the immediate look on her face told me it was a very bad idea. For about $80 she arranged for a driver for the day who came and picked us up and took us wherever we wanted to go. The only difference between this and our other tours was that we had to pay for entrance to the places, whereas the other tours it was included. It pretty much worked out the same and from what I can figure out, it's a good deal. We talked to a couple of other couples and they got absolutely conned by bus operators with being hired out for over $200 a day. So glad we stayed at the resort we did, and they did a great job of looking after us! Yes, I've posted the 5 star Google review.

You can see from the photos it was raining on and off all day, but it really didn't matter too much because it kept things cooler, we were going swimming anyway and we were less likely to get sunburned. Even the river water here is relatively warm, and despite the rain over the past week the river water was still pretty clear and clear. East out of Port Vila was mostly farmland and foresty areas, and apart from the odd homestead and kava bar it was pretty green and lush.

One other aspect of getting a driver was the fact our first stop was a long walk from the main road, much further than Google would have us believe, in some decent, humid rain.

So, so glad we listened to her!

Our first stop, Eden on the River is a kind of park with rainforest walks, river and waterfalls plus a whole bunch of other outdoor stuff we didn't do. Just the swimming for us! We spent a good while in here, and it was pretty warm despite looking a bit freezing and miserable.

There were a few fish in the river but nothing too terrifying that I could see. I don't thing any of the water snakes a freshwater, and I don't want to know.

One of the benefits of going when the season is off and the weather is a bit rubbish is that there are very few other tourists. Both stops today are full of people going by their websites but today there were just a handful - perfect!

We did a bit of exploring afterwards and set off shirtless and only in our togs along a track through the rainforest. What could go wrong?

Nothing actually, and surprisingly. No slips, falls, attacks or charges of obscene or distressing behaviour.

Second stop for the day was the Blue Lagoon. Here the river mixes with the seawater so you get all sorts of fish and warm water currents. I also got savagely attacked by a fish. I could feel some small fish them flapping about my legs as I was floating about and shooed them away. Then I felt a nibble on the back of my leg! I can move like lightning when I want to!

One of the many dogs we met in Vanuatu and they all seemed to know exactly who the soft touch was. Blackie here happily shared in our snacks. Now I'd like to point out that Blackie is actually her name, the lady running the shop told us. Not quite a Guy Gibson thing but I wouldn't be running around calling the dog's name. 

Loads of these Kava Bars around the place, often just randomly situated in the middle of nowhere. There were other, far more rustic setups as well. They have a table out the front with bottles of water that looks like they collected it from a puddle. I guess the idea is this tempting array draws you in to the shack down the driveway.

Ron our driver and saviour joining me in admiring the accessibility of the aircon units for the local supermarket. Funnily enough they didn't seem to work very well, since inside the shop it was as cool and dry as a Vanuatu rainforest. 

Finally back to the hotel, creamy pesto spaghetti with chicken, I'm going to try and make this it was so good. 

Louie's chicken parma, but done to perfection.

Our last meal in the Cafe Vila, despite a shaky start we have had some amazing meals here!

Tomorrow we head home, honestly I'm kind of glad to be heading off. Vanuatu wasn't my favourite place, loved the snorkelling but it was way too expensive for what they have to offer, the weather was quite shit (obviously nothing we can do about that) and just way too disorganised and half-assed for my liking.