Unlocking hidden island gems

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This was published 14 years ago

Unlocking hidden island gems

Vanuatu... search out the remote islands.

Vanuatu... search out the remote islands.

A new small-ship cruise venture around some of the more remote of Vanuatu's 83 islands includes a close-up of the original "Bali-Hai" made famous in the stage and film musical South Pacific.

Its official name is Ambae -known as Aoba before Vanuatu's independence in 1980 - and covers 678sq-m about 50km east of the large island of Espiritu Santo.

Late American author James Michener stationed in "Santo"as a US Navy lieutenant in World War II wrote of Bali-Hai as a mystic isle of great beauty in his Pulitzer Prize-winning book Tales of the South Pacific, which evolved into the musical with the haunting ballad Bali-Hai.

Now New Zealand-based Island Escape Cruises has begun a five-month program in Vanuatu, ending in October, with a choice of two five-day itineraries (from Sunday to Friday) aboard its 42m, 500-ton "luxury boutique" craft, Island Passage.

She accommodates up to 22 passengers in 10 en-suite cabins, and eight crew.

While in Vanuatu, Island Passage is also available for charters and possibly three-day cruises.

The scheduled voyages, titled Secrets of Bali-Hai and Tropic of Paradise, depart from Luganville, the largest town on Santo, and follow different routes so they can be combined for a 10-nighter.

(Luganville, Vanuatu's second largest town with 11,000 people and a growing tourist destination of late, has weekly direct Air Vanuatu flights from Sydney or Brisbane, supplementing the daily services from Sydney to Port Vila, the capital, on the island of Efate. Port Vila/Luganville flights are twice daily.)

Vanuatu thus has joined a number of other Pacific island groups, notably Fiji, Hawaii and French Polynesia, where visitors can sail away from high-rise resorts and tourist crowds to explore pristine small islands in ships both small and large.

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The company says passengers enjoy the spaciousness of the Island Passage compared with other ships of her size which carry 40 or more passengers; it adds that on day trips which Island Passage makes in New Zealand, there's room for 200.

Ambae rates just one mention in the two Island Passage schedules - apart from distant daytime views, the ship passes by during the second night of the "Secrets of Bali-Hai" cruise, and it can be an awesome experience.

An active volcano which dominates the island's skyline, 1,496m-high Mount Manaro, glows pulsatingly red in the dark sky.

It's been described as one of the top-10 most potentially dangerous in the world, and an eruption in 2005 led to half Ambae's population being evacuated.

Ambae itself attracts some tourists. It has three airstrips for Vanair planes from Luganville and Port Vila, a handful of guesthouses and a camping ground.

During the two five-day Island Passage cruises, guests led by an expedition leader view more volcanoes and explore jungles, waterfalls, coral reefs, lagoons and picture-postcard white sand beaches, meeting colourful tribal peoples of Vanuatu's Outback.

Other activities include trekking, snorkelling, swimming, kayaking and fishing.

Itineraries include some lyrical hours at Champagne Beach on Santo, claimed to be one of the region's most beautiful and long a favourite with passengers on P&O's big-ship South Pacific cruises.

You can swim and snorkel from the beach or in "blue hole" freshwater pools, landing craft and kayaks are available for viewing the corals or you can tour a nearby village.

After passing Ambae during the night, Island Passage arrives at Asanvari on the island of Maewo which has lush rainforests and towering waterfalls fed by Vanuatu's heaviest rainfall.

Visits are made to the country's second largest island of Malakula, a land of forest-covered mountains and people of many diverse cultures speaking 30 different dialects, who give visitors a traditional dance display and a warm welcome.

Another cruise highlight is a call at Pentecost, one of the widest-known islands in outer Vanuatu and home of the famous land divers - young men who hurl themselves off tall trees with their ankles tied to vines which stop their fall centimetres from the ground.

This ancient form of bungee jumping, held annually to celebrate the local yam harvest, is demonstrated only between April and June. Island Passage guests can see the spectacle in those months while at other times they spend time bush-walking past waterfalls, bird-watching or relaxing on the beach.

On Ambron island, the villagers of Ranondis play traditional "Rom" dancing, wearing distinctive conical masks and clad in banana leaves and offer local handicrafts which are some of Vanuatu's best.

On the last night, Island Passage leaves after dinner for the island of Wala for a final few hours of swimming and beachcombing before docking in Luganville at midday.

Ambron's twin volcanoes, Mount Marum and Mount Benbow, which lie in the centre of the island are surrounded by a sea of volcanic ash - the reason why Ambron is known as "the black island".

IF YOU GO:

Island Passage is scheduled to start five-day cruises from Luganville, Espiritu Santo, Vanuatu on July 5, 12 and 26, August 2, 9, 16 and 23, September 6, 13 and 27, and October 4; in November and December she will operate three-night cruises on Marlborough Sounds in New Zealand.

The company says a similar Vanuatu program is expected to operate in 2010.

Vanuatu cruise fares until October 4 this year are priced from $A2,295pp or $NZ21,695pp. Single supplements apply.

The ship has accommodation on three decks.

Two 20sq-m suites are located on the Bridge Deck along with the bridge, a helicopter on its pad and four small boats.

Four 18sq-m staterooms are on each of the Promenade and Main decks below, the former also housing the dining area, bar, lounge and sun-deck.

Details: visit www.islandescape.co.nz.

For information on Luganville and Vanuatu generally, call Vanuatu Tourism on (02) 9028-3591 or visit www.vanuatu.travel.

Air Vanuatu: call (in Australia) 1300-780-737 or visit www.airvanuatu.com.au.

AAP

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