The largest island in Vanuatu, Efaté houses the capital Port Vila. A December 2024 earthquake caused damage throughout the island, much of which occurred and is still visible in downtown Port Vila, where the epicenter was located.

Moso Island & Esema Bay

Esema Bay lies between Efaté and Moso Islands with a narrow channel at the head that might be navigable by a canoe at high tide. Tieton sails faster than Robyn and Mark’s Mintaka, so we anchored in Esema Bay, while Minataka anchored on the outside of the island. The following morning, we met in the middle at the luxurious Moso Resort for coffee, then took the thirty minute walk across the island and snorkeled beautiful Moso Bay. Robyn and Herman were pleased to see a reef shark and large fish.

In stark contrast to the poverty of the local village, large homes, most likely owed by expats, line the southern shores of Esema Bay. In a 2015 cyclone, a 100 meter (330 feet) super yacht ran aground near a village at the head of the bay. The decaying super yacht is fiercely guarded by villagers, and it is difficult to understand why because it is such an eyesore.

Herman and I kayaked to the village shore to meet the chief and walking through the village saw tied cows grazing alongside the dirt road. Some boys were wading into the bay with large bags to collect sand, which along with bricks piled by the shore, would be transported to Moso Resort to build more cottages.

Paul’s Rock

We planned to sail to Melé, a “bedroom” community to Port Vila, and we sailed past where Mintaka sat at their new anchorage. Fifteen minutes later we got a call from Mark & Robyn that their anchor was stuck and their scuba tank didn’t have enough gas to dive 60 feet (20 m). We returned to them and Robyn & Herman transferred our scuba gear using their dinghy while I circled nearby on Tieton. Mark dove and quickly unwrapped the chain from what may have been abandoned WWII equipment. It was a quick motor to our anchorage at Paul’s Rock, where we anchored in 40 feet (13 meters) of crystal clear water.

We’d hoped to see a dugong at Epi Island and through research I learned that the natives used to sing to attract the revered dugong (or seacow). One website describes a dugong as what would happen if a hippopotamus, elephant, dolphin and manatee were combined. One night at Lamen Bay, I was woken by villagers singing, and excitedly went out on deck to look for dugongs, only to hear some dogs barking. Such a vivid dream!

Shortly after we arrived at Paul’s Rock, I heard a “pfft” of an exhale from a blowhole, and much to my delight saw a dugong! No dream! It surfaced once more, then swam away.

We didn’t get any photos so can only refer to a website for a picture. https://www.oneearth.org/species-of-the-week-dugong/

Melé and Leah

On the shores of Melé Bay are a resort, a community park, a couple of restaurants, a few boutique rentals and a large hotel that was damaged in the earthquake and is now closed.

While we arranged to have laundry done, Mark & Robyn stopped by to visit their friend Leah. Leah is mother to Serah, who Mark & Robyn met through their dear friend in the UK while Serah was attending university there. They made arrangements for us to tour Tanna Coffee and have dinner at Leah’s house the next day.

In the interim, we took a bus to Port Vila. Buses, identifiable by a license plate that begins with “B”, hold about eight passengers, they are basically vans. I’m not sure how the finances work, because it seems that for 150 vatu (US$1.35), passengers can ride into/out of town and have the driver drop them anywhere, even if it is off the main road. In town, I continued my ongoing quest for ant bait boxes or any other solution to rid Tieton of the ants we acquired at Vuda Marina. We also had a nice lunch and got fresh vegetables at the farmers’ market. With traffic, the bus ride home took an hour and the driver dropped us at the dinghy dock.

Leah lives in a nice concrete home with concrete and tile floors, electricity, and running water. When Mark & Robyn visited in July, they were still hauling water due to the earthquake six months earlier. Running water has returned! About our age, Leah comes from a family of ten children, and except for the two who are deceased, all siblings live in the neighborhood and gather to see each other every morning. Leah’s twin five-year-old granddaughters, Summer and Ivy, had been living with her while their mother, Edna, picked fruit in Australia. Edna and her husband recently returned because they’ll have another baby later this month, so the girls have moved in with their parents.

Leah’s living room is dominated with a colorful alphabet rug and two school desks, and learning charts adorn the dining room walls. Summer was entertained as I named (in English) letters, colors, or items and she jumped from square to square. Obviously, education is very important to Leah, and her granddaughters will likely be a the head of the class when they start school.

While we chatted in the living room, Leah refused help as she prepared a dinner. Leah’s widowed sister and a few younger relatives joined us for a lovely feast, and sharing of cultures.

Tanna Coffee

The rich volcanic soil of Tanna produces coffee beans that are treasured in Vanuatu and nearby countries. The proprietor walked us through the small processing plant which is remarkable for the amount of coffee produced. Post Covid, their coffee is only exported to Fiji. Now Australians and Kiwis need to visit Vanuatu to buy Tanna Coffee, which the proprietor believes increases tourism. Since production is at capacity, I think this is clever.

After our tour, we had coffee and shared a delicious pizza.

Port Vila

We moved to a mooring buoy at Yachting World in the heart of Port Vila so that we could make final preparations for a visit to Tanna Island and our passage to New Zealand.

Some Port Vila buildings were damaged so severely that they’ve been torn down and empty lots await the next step. The damaged police headquarters remain blocked off by crime scene tape. Other buildings are shored up to allow passersby to walk beside tilting walls, while others are permitted to reoccupy. Many other buildings are actively being repaired. It is amazing to see the resiliency from an earthquake less than a year ago.

A low pressure system settled over Port Vila, so we got a taste of what rainy season would be like. On two consecutive days, we were absolutely drenched in downpours that flooded the streets and brought traffic to a standstill. We still got our vegetables and diesel!

What’s next?

Port Resolution at Tanna Island is the southernmost location where we can check out of Vanuatu. It is also home of the volcano on Mount Yasur, which we’re excited to visit. We’ll stop at Erromango Island so that we don’t ave to sail through the night.