Hibiscus flowers everythere Phyllis is in heaven! 

The Chief’s grandaughter 

Hideaway island in the distance

Lelepa Island villagers

Lelepa Island

This island lies right next to Moso Island. The bus which picked us up from the Hotel was over 1 hour late! For a while I thought we have missed them, I guess this is what they mean when they say ‘Vanuatu time’

Lelepa island is a beautiful island like many other that dotted around the Pacific, however it’s a harsh place to be. There is no fresh water on the island, so local villagers have to carry it from the main Efate island. The soil is fairly thin, so it could not support large crops.

Our local guide showed us the island and its villages. We were shown how to catch coconut crabs using coconuts hence where the name is from! There is also a cave on the island formed by sea water over millions of years. Years ago, people who were too old and ill used to leave their tribe and come here to die. It was the only means to ensure that the rest of the tribe would survive and the only means of infection control for many skin diseases.

We spent most of the afternoon snorkelling in the water, and feeding fish with left-over paw paws, mangos and barbequed chicken. It was just amazing to see schools of fish swimming upwards to the food, and take a bite right out of your hand! There were some choppy waves in the channel where our boats were. The wind was picking up, and you could certain feel the wind and the currents pushing you towards rocky cliffs. Poor Phyllis opted for the safety of the boat, but she could not hold her lunch on the rocky boat and fed it all to the fish! The funny thing or the not so funny thing was that I was underwater while she was leaning over the edge of the boat and letting it all out… It attrated quite a large school of fish.

Anyways, me and Phyllis both got our taste of sea-sickness

Phyllis – snorkeller

Moso Island – no one to crowd your beach:-)

Coongoola!

starboard – Coongoola

Today, we are finally blessed with some sunshine and fresh sea breeze. The rain clouds have lifted and humidity has dropped, or maybe we are just adjusting to it all. We set sail on the famous ‘Coongoola’. Much of the day was spent lying idle on the boat as the waves pushed the boat towards the nearby Moso island off the main Efate island. There are also some beautify reef near by with a plethera of tropical fish. But it’s sad to see Coral bleaching happening even at this remote part of our planet. You will know coral bleaching when you see it. Instead of the vivid colours of corals, you will see corals bleached to pale white colour and worse still they could be covered with green fungi, indicating presence of pollution in the water. I won’t go on here about the environment, but it really hits home when you see this sort of things…