Moto
It is a shame that yachts don’t visit here but I guess it is expected. There is no real anchorage and we only stay a short time. We anchor by dropping the anchor off the edge of the coral shelf and reversing in towards the rocks, missing all the bombies and rocks, and tie up to the shore stern in.
We take the dingies around a couple of points to where there is a rocky headland where we can jump onto the rocks. The dingies are anchored off with a rope to the shore as well.
From here we climb the rocks to the headland, clamboring along the low cliff and walk to the village. These people only see yachts here when PYM come so they are very excited. Clinic goes well with lots of blood pressures and all the children coming down from the school for dental checkups and immunisations. The school teachers truly appreciate the school pack as it is very hard to get supplies here.
Snorkelling around the yachts is very interesting for the rocky bombies that abound and seem just off our keels and rudders.
Moto Lava
After a late lunch we head off to our next island Moto Lava which is much larger but has a large fringing reef all around and is not considered an anchorage for yachts. Getting there late afternoon we look for the spot where the reef closes into the shore offering some protection for anchoring. Avoiding the surf on both sides we attempt to anchor in 14 m but in the time the anchor reaches the bottom we have drifted out and we miss the shelf. Another try just a little further in and we are secure for the night. Another Angel 2 anchors just a little closer to the surf and find holding with their first try.
Because of the fringing coral there are two options for going ashore. high tide allows you to take the dingy right up to the beach but you need to leave quickly. Low or part tide means you walk across the reef and return the dingy to the yacht. So we are dropped on the reef and walk into the beach.
At high tide there is quite a lagoon between the shore and the reef and it is dotted with villagers fishing with poles. One intrepid villager has turned his canoe into a sailing canoe.
It is a short 15 min walk to the village. We pass huts and small villages all the way as this area is very densely populated. We pass a lot of people going up to the gardens and find out that again the word has not spread about the clinic. We chat to many and they agree to pass the word and we also meet Gabriel who is going to bring us back some fruit and veges from his garden.
Kaikai.
There are three schools near here and we visit the large english school with both primary and secondary students. The primary school students walk up to the clinic for their immunisation. The secondary students have been sent home for the morning as the teachers have meetings with dignitaries from Port Vila. We agree to catch the secondary students in the afternoon but plans change when the meetings are extended to the afternoon as well. Just as well we have the morning.
Anna, our nurse from Sola, Jan and myself meet with the senior students for health talks. The headmaster asks us to reinforce some family planning with them as three young girls have got pregnant and given up school. Anna handles this very well and you see some very embarrassed young men in the room. Jan talks to them about general health and nutrition, our focus being NCGs non-communicable diseases.
After the boys leave for class I am able to give the girls “Days for Girls” packs (sustainable reuasable femine hygeine packs). When they realise they will not have to stay home each month and suffer teasing and limited school time they get very excited and can’t thank me enough. Many thanks to all the church ladies who sew these packs, they are greatly needed and much appreciated. You are changing lives.
Back at the clinic we are getting lots of requests for sunglasses. The white sand means the reflected sun adds to the normal sunlight and causes problems. Our nurse receives a call that she is required for a meeting in Port Vila. Another case of Island communications. After about an hour back and forth on the phone Henry at Sola gets it all sorted and she is cleared to stay for the tour.
With the people seen and checked we decide to leave after lunch. 20 minutes later we finally extricate our anchor from under a rock. This is common as most anchorages have rocks and bombies that can catch an anchor or chain. We often tie a float on a nylon rope to the anchor shackle to give us another angle of release if required. We always try hard to anchor in clear sand but while water is generally clear there is a lot of overcaste weather and this year it is especially hazy due to volcano activity. Without direct sunlight it is difficult at times to avoid hazards.
Ureparapara
This is a very popular spot for visiting yachties as who can resist the chance to anchor inside the centre of a volcano. It is awe inspiring even though we have seen it before. It is so large it is impossible to photograph. We head into Divers Bay and down the far end where we anchor in shallow water off the village.
Everyone comes into the clinic and we are quickly surrounded by villagers. We set up in a thatch Nukamal and school children flock to one end for health education followed by checkups and immunisations.
Everyone wants to help it is easy to get volunteer interpreters.
Schools in these isolated areas are poorly provided for and the small amounts of material we are able to take to them can make a real difference. Thank you to all the wonderful people at Bridgy who donate things for these people. It is great seeing God’s work in action.
This is our first sight of Soloman style canoes.
some unusual architecture here.
Market building no longer used.
Hayter Bay
It’s the weekend and we get to spend it in a Paradise. This lovely bay is uninhabited white sandy beaches fringed with coconut trees and the clearest blue waters. Foraging is quite productive with coconuts, coconut crabs, fish and shellfish for lunch, cooked over an open fire.
Hiu – The Top of Vanuatu
We arrive at the furthest most Northern Island of Vanuatu. How remote are they? Well the only visitors they get are us and the occasional copra boats. They are closer to the Solomans than to Sola, Luganville or Port Vila.
Yes, another beautiful picturesque spot to anchor in. This is a good anchorage and quite calm.
Kindly we have been provided with tables and chairs for the clinic. It is lovely and cool under the trees and we have the trade winds blowing in.
Traditionally we start with a word of prayer.
The children are crowding around the dentist! Masang is giving a health education talk about teeth and the children all get a toothbrush, an exciting present for these isolated people.
The view from the lunchroom is worth the visit. Lina cooked us a large lunch of pumpkin in coconut milk, Yam and rice. This is very kind in an area where they were devastated by the cyclone in April and they have to replant all their gardens. This year there has been no fruit as the trees were stripped or destroyed. Vegetables faired better and are replaced quicker.
Her first pair of glasses. This small gift is life changing as she can safely work in the kitchen and garden again without risking cuts all the time.
The equivalent of a hair salon. Ladies sit in rows so they can do each others hair while chatting in the shade. The girls often have elaborate hair styles of braids.
A short walk across to the other bay is another glorious bay with the whitest white sand and bluest water. This paradise is however spoilt by people’s carelessness. It is littered with thousands of plastic bottles and containers washed up from other places.