After spending a few days roaming around Vanuatu's capital, Port vila, and another ten exploring the island of Tanna, we decided to head North and set our sights on Ambrym Island. To many people, the island is a bit mysterious. Its two active volcanoes are often shooting thick ash into the sky and shroud the island in clouds. The interior is made up of dense jungle and apart from a few small settlements in the north, everyone lives near the sea. There are no real roads and ony a few pick-up trucks on the island. The only way to get from village to village is to walk the steep hills or go by small boat or canoe. Many villagers fear black magic posessed by a select few islanders, strengthened in their beliefs by the erratic, destructive behavior of the two mighty volcanoes.
Upon arrival by small plane we took a humble boat to the Northern part of the island. Thick clouds covering the jungle interior rendered the landscape almost monochrome. For two hours we glided through a black sea, under the cover of gray clouds, past black sand beaches only disturbed by the white froth of the waves slapping on their shores. On the way, one of the passengers caught a young yellowfin tuna of which we had a large chunk for dinner that night. Our accommodation proved to be quite basic (again) with only bucket shower and toilet and was unfortunately located somewhat outside the village on a high cliff without any rewarding views. The friendly villagers (down the cliff) on the other hand more than made up for our accommodation's poor location and our host's lack of congeniality.
Soccer is a favorite pasttime of many Ni-Vans (native Vanuatu people) and one morning we accompained the villagers to the far North of the island to attend the Ambrym championship match. In good Vanuatu fashion, the festivities were preceded by too many drawn out speeches by anyone in an even remotely official position and the real match starting many hours later. In order with the villager's great hospitality, we were promptly seated under the makeshift bamboo and tarp canopy with the officials and could enjoy the best views of the frantic game as well as shelter from torrential downpours interrupted by sweltering sunny skies. After a high energy, full length game in the humid and toasty conditions, the team from the North beat their rivals from the West by a score of 1-0.
On another day during our weeklong stay on Ambrym island, we were privied to more of the islander's fine hospitality when we ventured into the Northern interior for an impromptu walking tour of the villages located deep in the jungle. Our guide, Barry, spoke good English so we were able to learn a lot about village culture and customs in these parts. At most places we stopped, we were just as much an attraction to the villagers as they were to us, and without fail, everybody and their brother would come out to see us. It was a day of much rain and many hilly miles but filled with countless interesting encounters, leaving us with many nice memories and a large wood carving.
Ambrym's volcanically and solar heated black sand provides perfect nesting environments for the 'Scrab Dak', the bird better known by its English common name of Megapode. The animal digs down deep into the sand to lay its eggs with are then brooded by the warm sand until the hatchlings crawl out of their eggs and the sand to a life on Ambrym's beaches and amongst its undergrowth. On a trip to a series of hotsprings, a few of the local boys with us dug up three of the Megapode's giant eggs for our enjoyment and to complement next morning's breakfast. Eventhough the eggs were very tasty, we were left with a bad taste in our mouths when we found out a few days later that the eggs were not supposed to be collected this time of year, to ensure that the dwindling population numbers of the Megapodes do not decline any further. We notified the local tourism authority of the unfortunate event in the hope it will not happen again, but we regret not realizing sooner, as we could have prevented the egg snatching :(m Island After spending a few days roaming around Vanuatu's capital, Port vila, and another ten exploring the island of Tanna, we decided to head North and set our sights on Ambrym Island. To many people, the island is a bit mysterious. Its two active volcanoes are often shooting thick ash into the sky and shroud the island in clouds. The interior is made up of dense jungle and apart from a few small settlements in the north, everyone lives near the sea. There are no real roads and ony a few pick-up trucks on the island. The only way to get from village to village is to walk the steep hills or go by small boat or canoe. Many villagers fear black magic posessed by a select few islanders, strengthened in their beliefs by the erratic, destructive behavior of the two mighty volcanoes. Upon arrival by small plane we took a humble boat to the Northern part of the island. Thick clouds covering the jungle interior rendered the landscape almost monochrome. For two hours we glided through a black sea, under the cover of gray clouds, past black sand beaches only disturbed by the white froth of the waves slapping on their shores. On the way, one of the passengers caught a young yellowfin tuna of which we had a large chunk for dinner that night. Our accommodation proved to be quite basic (again) with only bucket shower and toilet and was unfortunately located somewhat outside the village on a high cliff without any rewarding views. The friendly villagers (down the cliff) on the other hand more than made up for our accommodation's poor location and our host's lack of congeniality. Soccer is a favorite pasttime of many Ni-Vans (native Vanuatu people) and one morning we accompained the villagers to the far North of the island to attend the Ambrym championship match. In good Vanuatu fashion, the festivities were preceded by too many drawn out speeches by anyone in an even remotely official position and the real match starting many hours later. In order with the villager's great hospitality, we were promptly seated under the makeshift bamboo and tarp canopy with the officials and could enjoy the best views of the frantic game as well as shelter from torrential downpours interrupted by sweltering sunny skies. After a high energy, full length game in the humid and toasty conditions, the team from the North beat their rivals from the West by a score of 1-0. On another day during our weeklong stay on Ambrym island, we were privied to more of the islander's fine hospitality when we ventured into the Northern interior for an impromptu walking tour of the villages located deep in the jungle. Our guide, Barry, spoke good English so we were able to learn a lot about village culture and customs in these parts. At most places we stopped, we were just as much an attraction to the villagers as they were to us, and without fail, everybody and their brother would come out to see us. It was a day of much rain and many hilly miles but filled with countless interesting encounters, leaving us with many nice memories and a large wood carving. Ambrym's volcanically and solar heated black sand provides perfect nesting environments for the 'Scrab Dak', the bird better known by its English common name of Megapode. The animal digs down deep into the sand to lay its eggs with are then brooded by the warm sand until the hatchlings crawl out of their eggs and the sand to a life on Ambrym's beaches and amongst its undergrowth. On a trip to a series of hotsprings, a few of the local boys with us dug up three of the Megapode's giant eggs for our enjoyment and to complement next morning's breakfast. Eventhough the eggs were very tasty, we were left with a bad taste in our mouths when we found out a few days later that the eggs were not supposed to be collected this time of year, to ensure that the dwindling population numbers of the Megapodes do not decline any further. We notified the local tourism authority of the unfortunate event in the hope it will not happen again, but we regret not realizing sooner, as we could have prevented the egg snatching :(.
