Living Simply in Lakatoro

View towards Norsup and Lakatoro

After a fine and scenic flight across from Santo, we are now settling into our base in the town of Lakatoro on Malekula Island.
Facilities and services here are one step simpler than those on Santo and a massive contrast to what we have back home and take for granted.
First impressions are of the roads – gravel, or more accurately coral powder, potholes, lumps bumps and everything in between. Sure we have some roads like this in NZ, but usually heading towards the backcountry rather than everywhere.

Power is 12v solar for most, reticulated water available in town but only on in the mornings and evenings, cold water showers, gas (or fire) cooking. Reasonable cellphone coverage between the two networks however......

Spent a couple of days in a village learning about kastom Vanuatu culture and practices. With nothing but a bush knife in their hand (and a lot of knowledge), food can be gathered prepared and cooked within the forest and garden areas. The genuine kindness and welcome provided by our hosts was very special.

Making Laplap

This week has been spent visiting the first two outdoor adventure tours....

The first of these is a forest and valley trek known as the Manbush Trail. Usually a 4 night trip from coast to coast of mid Malekula, we did the shorter 2 night version which is a loop back to the east coast.

View out over eastern Malekula

The second tour  is an outrigger canoe trip in the Maskelyne Islands at the south of Malekula. Usually a three night trip, we did the overnight version, camping and again feasting on the food sources available locally with seafood the specialty!

Campsite on Sakao Island

Small woven sails plus paddle power....

Today is Childrens Day in Vanuatu so families are out and about on a lovely day enjoying their pikinini, another bonus is a day off tomorrow also, then back to work Tuesday.

Bislama, Biking and Blue Holes

Mi naoia toktok smal bislama nomo. Mi glad tumas! 
After a series of language and culture classes this week, I am now able to speak/understand a basic level of Bislama which will provide a good basis for our work in upcoming weeks/months.

  

Bislama is the national language of Vanuatu. The language is an English based pidgin language which is spoken throughout the country as the only common tongue. (There are more than one hundred distinct and separate languages throughout the islands)
As a consequence of the co governance of the country prior to 1980, English or French are spoken, taught and understood by many ni-Vanuatu depending on the location, however Bislama is more common in rural areas.

The language originated early in the 1800’s as jargon following European expansion into whaling and timber industry in the area, and later in the 1800’s through workers from Vanuatu being used for the development of the sugar cane industry in Queensland (Australians called this practice ‘blackbirding’ - the rest of us would call it slavery!)

Weekends have been spent enjoying Santo and have included a day trip to (and bike ride around), Aore island,

Snorkelling at Million Dollar Point (where the Americans dumped all of their stuff in the sea after WWII)











A mountainbike trip inland from Luganville with a energetic bunch of immigrant Auzis (and an Irishman) and a trip to the Nanda Blue Hole (one of several large freshwater springs on the island.

 

Have also been introduced to Vanuatu kava at a local nakamal (kava bar/meeting place)

Travelling over to our base on Malekula Island later today – lukim yu!

Welkam to Vanuatu

Arrived successfully via a brief stopover in Brisbane (and an opportunity to catch up briefly with the whanau), here we are back in Santo acclimatising and being educated for island life ahead.

The focus of the NZ Aid Programme in Vanuatu is currently on economic development to improve rural livelihoods, support to the education sector, assisting in improving law and order and to help promote good governance.  VSA has an extensive programme running in Vanuatu to assist in this work with around 14 VSA volunteers currently based in Luganville in Santo as well as a similar number out of Port Villa in Efate. 

Location of Santo relative to northern Vanuatu

Over these next two weeks based in Luganville , various logistics including safety planning, bank access, sim cards and most importantly bislama and kalja (culture) lessons will be on the agenda after which time we head for Malekula and Ambae Islands respectively as our bases over the coming months.

Downtown Luganville

They even arranged an earthquake for us the other night as part of our induction to get us used to the occasional 'shake rattle and roll' over our stay.......