Escape Artist
  • Features
    • Interviews
    • News
    • Field Notes
    • Trending
  • Your Escape Plan
    • Finance
    • Real Estate
    • Second Citizenship
    • Events
    • Shop
  • Destinations
    • Europe
      • France
      • Germany
      • Italy
      • Portugal
      • Scandinavia
      • Spain
      • United Kingdom
      • Rest of Europe
    • Central America
      • Belize
      • Costa Rica
      • El Salvador
      • Guatemala
      • Honduras
      • Nicaragua
      • Panama
    • Others
      • Africa
      • Asia
      • Australia
      • North America
      • South America
  • Travel Tips
    • Know Before You Go
    • Packing List
    • Food + Culture
    • Health + Wellness
  • Subscribe
Escape Artist
  • Features
    • Interviews
    • News
    • Field Notes
    • Trending
  • Your Escape Plan
    • Finance
    • Real Estate
    • Second Citizenship
    • Events
    • Shop
  • Destinations
    • Europe
      • France
      • Germany
      • Italy
      • Portugal
      • Scandinavia
      • Spain
      • United Kingdom
      • Rest of Europe
    • Central America
      • Belize
      • Costa Rica
      • El Salvador
      • Guatemala
      • Honduras
      • Nicaragua
      • Panama
    • Others
      • Africa
      • Asia
      • Australia
      • North America
      • South America
  • Travel Tips
    • Know Before You Go
    • Packing List
    • Food + Culture
    • Health + Wellness
  • Subscribe
👤

THE NUMBER ONE SOURCE FOR EXPATS, DIGITAL NOMADS, AND DREAMERS.

This field is for validation purposes and should be left unchanged.
  • Your Escape Plan

Vanuatu is more keen than ever to welcome tourists

  • BY EA Editors
  • April 24, 2015
Total
0
Shares
0
0
0

Vanuatu: A detour in paradise

By Marty Silk

The people of Vanuatu are more keen than ever to welcome tourists. Marty Silk finds a cheerful country.Two boys from Mele village

Two boys from Mele village embark on the day’s newest adventure. Photo / Creative Commons image by Flickr user Graham Crumb

Five Melanesian children splash in the calm, turquoise bay while their mum washes clothes nearby.

Tanoliu, a tiny village on Vanuatu’s Efate island, is only about 40km from the capital, but it’s not far from paradise.

My partner and I have been exploring the island on quad bikes all morning. We’re staying in Port Vila, a resort centre and transit point to the salubrious outer islands.

Numerous guided tours are available, offering waterfalls, turtle feeding and custom village experiences. But we don’t want to spend a day on and off a tour bus, being ferried about the tourist traps that inevitability cost more than you agreed when you set out. So we rent quad bikes from a Frenchman and head southeast out of the city.

Rolling through the verdant countryside we see cattle grazing between coconut palms and beneath giant banyan trees.

Despite high poverty and unemployment, Vanuatu was recently ranked the world’s happiest country on the New Economics Foundation’s Happy Planet Index.

Every person we pass on the road stops to wave at us with big warm smiles, so it’s easy to understand why.

As we slow down to ride through villages, children run out for high fives and older people tending to vegetable patches down tools to greet us.

There are hardly any other vehicles and for most of the 120km ride the road is empty. We take our own detours, rounding bends and coming over hills to find starched white beaches lapped by azure waters. The road runs past steep forested hills smothered by vines and thick weeds like a great green carpet.

This part of Vanuatu doesn’t make the glossy brochures, but it’s really something special.

Far from the urban throb and with the wind in our hair, we’re getting closer to paradise. Tearing down narrow, shady lanes lined with hedges and pretty flower beds, kicking up fallen leaves in our wake – it’s hard not to ride with a smile. Fishermen, graziers and men holding huge machetes all break into a grin and wave as we zip past.

Towards the end of the morning we come over a hill and the vast Havannah Harbour opens out in front of us. Hemmed by tall green islands of Moso and Lelepa, the harbour’s calm, crystal inlets call out to us. We pull over next to a quiet bay to take in the scenery.

To our left are a few colorful corrugated iron shanties surrounded by coconut palms, with mountains rising up behind them. To the right, an idyllic scene with those children playing near their mother in the bay.

My partner snaps a photo of the water, while I close my eyes and breathe in deep. We’ve found what we were looking for.

The road sign says Tanoliu, but it should say Paradise.

Simple guide to Bislama

Vanuatu’s most commonly spoken language, Bislama, evolved as a mix of indigenous languages, French and English. Visitors shouldn’t have much trouble sounding out most words including these.

• Hello – Alo
• Goodbye – Tata
• See you – Lukim you
• Please – Plis
• Excuse me – Skiusmi
• Thank you very much – Tank yu tumas

Other Bislama terms are more descriptive:

• Child – Pikinini
• Excellent – Nambawan
• Call the police – Singalot polis
• Freshwater – Fres Wota
• Sea – Solwata
• Seagull – Pidgeon Blong Solwata

Some terms take descriptiveness to the extreme:

• Bra – Basket blong titi
• Prince Charles – Nambawan Pikinini Blong Missus Kwein
• Violin – Wan smol box blong white man, oli scratchem beli I singout gudfala
• And although the Bislama term “helikopta” is widely used, the old term for helicopter has more charm – Mixmasta Blong Jesus Christ

– AAP

 

Total
0
Shares
Share 0
Tweet 0
Pin it 0
Previous Article
  • Your Escape Plan

Ethical Investments Offer Major Returns

  • BY EA Editors
  • October 24, 2014
View Post
Next Article
  • Your Escape Plan

ATM – “Temporarily” Out of Order

  • BY David J Drummond
  • December 15, 2015
View Post
You May Also Like
Starting a Business Abroad - A world of new markets and global possibilities
View Post
  • Business
The Beauty of Starting a Business Abroad
  • BY Aneesa Marufu
  • October 15, 2025
How to Legally Pay Less Tax Abroad
View Post
  • Plan B
How to Legally Pay Less Tax Abroad
  • BY EA Editorial Staff
  • October 15, 2025
Buying a Property abroad
View Post
  • Your Escape Plan
Why More Investors Are Buying Homes Offshore
  • BY EA Editorial Staff
  • October 8, 2025
Hungarian Citizenship by Descent Journey from Amercia
View Post
  • Second Citizenship
Our Journey from America to Hungarian Citizenship
  • BY Ethan Cohen & Learn Hungarian Anywhere
  • October 1, 2025
The Tale of the Tael - A timeless store of value across centuries
View Post
  • Finance
The Tale of the Tael’s: A Hard Lesson about Hard Money
  • BY Michael Checkan
  • September 24, 2025
Craggy cliffs and quiet harbors frame life in the Isle of Man
View Post
  • Your Escape Plan
Life and Opportunity on the Isle of Man
  • BY Aneesa Marufu
  • September 19, 2025
Central America’s strategic position is reshaping the global offshore banking map
View Post
  • Plan B
The Future of Global Finance Runs Through Central America
  • BY Luigi Wewege
  • September 17, 2025
Tokyo's infamous cherry blossoms.
View Post
  • Japan
How I Built a Life in Tokyo in 3 Months
  • BY Annie Nagel
  • September 8, 2025
Trending Posts
  • Buying a Property abroad 1
    • Your Escape Plan
    Why More Investors Are Buying Homes Offshore
    • October 8, 2025
  • Expat Child Syndrome 2
    • Wellness
    The Untold Story of Expat Kids
    • October 6, 2025
  • Abkhazia jewel of Soviet summer escapes 3
    • Field Notes
    Secrets of the Soviet Riviera
    • October 3, 2025
  • Life between borders 4
    • Field Notes
    Living Between Continents, Cultures, and Contradictions
    • October 13, 2025
  • Living in Paris: Digital Nomad Guide 5
    • Digital Nomadism
    A Digital Nomad’s Guide to Living Like a Local in Paris
    • October 10, 2025
Know Before You Go
  • Living in Paris: Digital Nomad Guide 1
    • Digital Nomadism
    A Digital Nomad’s Guide to Living Like a Local in Paris
    • October 10, 2025
  • Expat Child Syndrome 2
    • Wellness
    The Untold Story of Expat Kids
    • October 6, 2025
  • Abkhazia jewel of Soviet summer escapes 3
    • Field Notes
    Secrets of the Soviet Riviera
    • October 3, 2025
  • Hungarian Citizenship by Descent Journey from Amercia 4
    • Second Citizenship
    Our Journey from America to Hungarian Citizenship
    • October 1, 2025
  • Summer in Lapland: Lapland’s wild landscapes glow under the endless Arctic sun 5
    • Field Notes
    Before the Snow Falls in Lapland
    • September 29, 2025
Learn More
  • About us
  • Contact
  • Advertise
  • Subscribe
Why Subscribe

The newly imagined Escape Artist brings you fresh content with a global focus, and sharp, up-to-the-minute coverage of the joys, challenges, and opportunities of life abroad.

For a limited time, we’re offering a special discount on all subscription deals, so be sure to lock-in these incredible savings and start receiving top-notch travel and expat content today!

Sign up for the EA Newsletter

Get important news delivered directly to your inbox and stay connected!

This field is for validation purposes and should be left unchanged.
Escape Artist
  • Terms & Conditions
  • Privacy Policy
  • Cookies Policy
  • Disclaimer

Input your search keywords and press Enter.

Newsletter Subscription
Our Spring Sale Has Started

You can see how this popup was set up in our step-by-step guide: https://wppopupmaker.com/guides/auto-opening-announcement-popups/