Monthly Archives: September 2024

Beautiful Bays in Ambrym

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Ambrym is full of many lovely anchorages and bays.  Several are listed on charts and cruising guides and some we explored based on their beauty on the satellite charts.

Double Bay

We left Lonwolwol and headed for Double Bay which is not on any of the guide books.  But it looked super pretty on the satellite charts and it was on the way to North Ambrym (where we needed to be in  a week).  Super short motor, 8nm and we dopped the hook.  It is as beautiful as it looks on the satellite images.

Black sand beach with lots of volcanic rocks and shelves, bright green hills and multi colored rock faces.  The “shelves” are made of volcanic rock, sand, and debris and crumbles under your weight near the edges.  We found several unusual fallen trees with other trees wrapped around the trunks and lots and lots of flies and spiders.

It rained a lot here, so we had a lot of rainbows.  For the most part this is a great anchorage, but probably better in settled weather conditions.  Both Moana and Sugar Shack woke up at 5am to our anchor alarms going off as we were dragging.  We both had to reset the hook but then all was good.  The other bummer part of this bay is that you get lots of black debris on your boat (either black sand or the volcano dust) and you get a yellow rim around the water line from the sulfur in the water.

On our way out of Double Bay we drove by the other half of the bay and it was gorgeous.  The colors on the rock mountains were astounding and the caves are so mysterious.  We could not anchor here as it was too deep (30meters).

Ranon Bay

We make it to Ranon Bay which is where we need to be for the very famous Fanla Festival.  It is a small village with lots of very friendly people.   We visit the school, pass by a church, see many colorful houses, and discover a new nut (yellow flower below).

Can you understand what the writing is on the wall on bottom right photo?  Answer at the end of the post.

Ranon Bay is known for its carvers (both wood and stone).  So, we organize a display of carving work by all of the carvers at one time.  Unfortunately, there was a miscommunication and only one carver showed up.  We also meet with the chief to discuss our plans for the festival which is held at the neighboring village of Fanla.

These giant, 4 meter tall logs are the start of the famous Tam Tams.  Ambrym is famous for its magnificent tam-tams (or slit drums) sculpted out of the breadfruit family tree trunks. They are the some of the most impressive items of art in Vanuatu. The dancing areas in the traditional villages are decorated with Tam Tams planted in the ground, which can measure several meter’s high. They are used to beat the rhythm for the singing and dancing during ceremonial rituals.  Stay tuned for pictures of complete Tam Tams in our Fanla Festival blog post.

What is a Dinghy Wash?

Back in the states, when I had a car, I used to love going to the car wash.  Mostly because I loved a clean car but also because it was fun for me (I know weirdo).  Well, since I no longer have a car there has been no need for a car wash….but Matt found us a dinghy wash :0

We found a waterfall that fell directly into a bay and was deep enough to drive the dinghy through. There is a super funny video on Instagram so be sure to check it out on sv Sugar Shack’s page.

The day before the Fanla Festival we had Chief Sekor visit, he organizes the Fanla festival.  He came in from Olal which is another village at the north end of Ambrym.  I also met Chief Felix of Ranon and a lovely lady who had me giggling.  

Coming up next is a series of blog posts on the very famous Fanla Festival.

Answer: Cyclone Safe House

Our blog posts run 10-12 weeks behind actual live events.  This blog post occurred in mid-July.  We shared the history of Ambrym in our last blog.

Ambrym, the Volcanic Island

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Ambrym is a volcanic island with one of the most active volcanoes in the country.  This volcano has a very large caldera that is 12km in diameter and has two very active craters: Marum and Benbow.  The Benbow crater includes two lava lakes near the summit.

The locals offer 2-day hikes up to the summit, but you can only hike if the Vanuatu Meteorology and Geo Hazards Department deems it safe and a level 1 or below.  During our stay on Ambrym, the volcano was rated a level 2 so we were not able to even consider the hike to the summit.

Ambrym is the 5th largest island in Vanuatu and is a beautiful triangle shape. It is known for the very active volcano which dominates the island with its desert-like caldera. Small parts of the island are inhabited by locals and the rest of the island, the majority, is covered by a dense jungle.

We start off on Ambrym at the West side of the island at Lonwolwol Bay.  There is a lovely family here that runs the Lonwolwol Yacht Club.  They offer cultural events, host 4 festivals a year, and give tours of the famous Lonwol Lake crater.

Lonwolwol Bay

This bay has a very interesting history.  Jessie, the owner of the land, explains that in the very early 1900’s Europeans settled here and brought with it Christianity.  They established a hospital, several buildings, and a nice community.

However, the chiefs noticed that the locals lost their culture and respect of their heritage so they performed black magic.  This sorcery caused the volcano to erupt and completely destroy the Christian community in 1913.

So the remaining locals were able to re-establish their heritage and cultural ways.

Lonwok Lake crater

Prior to the massive volcano eruption of 1913, there was a lagoon where many boats and cargo ships would shelter within the protection of the island.  However, after the eruption, the open lagoon was closed off and became known as the Lonwok Lake crater.   It is said that it is so deep that you could put a cruise ship right in the middle and it would float.  This crater now serves as a place to swim and kayak.

Beautiful Garden

Jessie and his family now live on the edge of the lake.  They earn a living by offering cruisers tours around the lake and cultural events.  They also have a beautiful garden full of tomatoes, potatoes (regular, sweet, and kasava), pumpkins, cucumbers, salad, onions, carrots, and more.

We ask Jimmy to give a us a tour around the lake.  It took about 2.5 hours to do the 5.3km walk through the forest.  He showed us where the megapode and ducks lay their eggs, procured us some coconut cake, and protected us from 6 stampeding cattle (running from his dogs).

Craig’s Cove

Just around the corner is another anchorage called Craig’s Cove.  Supposedly they had a market which we wanted to visit. So my friend Chris on Moana asked me to join him on a dinghy adventure.  Craig’s Cove is only 3nm away so it should be “no problem.”

Famous last words.  The winds and the seas were showing off and causing havoc on our dinghy.  In retrospect, we should have turned around.  We ended up having 20+kts on the nose and 2.5-3m seas.  Which are huge in a little dinghy.  But we pushed on.

The top photo is before things got dicey.  Once we rounded the corner the $hit hit the fan.  But we arrived safely at Craig’s Cove.  I will skim over the fact that I fell in the water as we were beaching the dinghy (first time ever in 14 years).  There are two ship wrecks in the anchorage and the holding is supposed to be horrible (which is why we did not bring the big boats here).

We seek out the chief to ask his permission to walk around the village and he assigns three local boys to give us a tour.  They took us by the primary school, the church where we found a tam tam (tall, wooden, carved, slit traditional drum), the airport, the market, and the store.

Here are our fearless leaders (top left), a shot of the village and the airport.

Traditional Local Dinner

Jessie and his son Jimmy asked us if we would be interested in a traditional, local dinner on the beach for $1,000vt/pp ($10 USD) and we said “yes.”  By mid-afternoon, two more boats showed up so we invited them as well.

They started preparing around 1430.  First they prepared the loc (or lovo which is an underground oven).  They dug a hole, laid sticks and then rocks on top.  They set fire to it and let the rocks get very hot.  Then they laid banana leaves forming a bowl.  Inside the banana leaves the put bananas and pumpkin and then folded more banana leaves on top.  

Next come more rocks, more leaves and then it is topped with a burlap sack and left to cook for hours.  They used sticks that are split at the end like chopsticks to remove the rocks.

Dinner: fresh salad picked from the garden, boiled salad, yams, island taro, pork, & chicken.

After we all enjoyed our delicious dinner, they built the best bonfire.  We sat around and enjoyed the music and even had a little dancing.

Check in with us in a few days to see the beautiful bays we find in Ambrym.

Our blog posts run 10-12 weeks behind actual live events.  This blog post occurred over the 4th of July weekend.  Did you discover the Mysteries of Maewo Island in our last blog post?

The Mysteries of Maewo Island

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Maewo is famously called the Waterfall Island because it has the highest rainfall out of any island in Vanuatu.  It is fun to count the shear number of waterfalls as you sail up and down the coast.  Maewo is the home of the tallest waterfall Naone Waterfall and the most waterfalls of any island.

We did not get to Naone Bay on this visit, but we hope to see it on our way out of Vanuatu.  We did enjoy lots of waterfalls and the beautifully lush hillsides covered in trees and vines that look like curtains falling down the side.

Our stop first in Asanvari Bay first which is the southern most anchorage on the island.  We anchor between the reefs near the waterfall that falls a mere meter or two from the boat.

We head to shore where we meet Carl, a nice local who offers to show us around the village and take us on a tour up and around the waterfall.   The village is really beautiful with brightly colored houses, well groomed grounds, huge banyan trees everywhere and views of the ocean.

The first swimming pool is easily accessed from the beach.  Like I said it is almost flowing into the anchorage it is so close.  We hike up the muddy trail to get to the top of the first part of the waterfall and it is really pretty.

Matt and I both jump in to the refreshing water.

And we have some pretty views of the anchorage.

The sunset glow across the island was simply beautiful.

Mbenavui Point 

There are two caves that we wanted to see at Mbenavui Point which is mid-way up Maewo island.  We found a beautiful anchor spot in the middle of two giant reefs and right below another waterfall.

Cave of the Moon Myth

The Cave of the Moon helps locals share their belief of creation, and in particular, the way it is influenced by the direction of the sun and the moon as they travel across the sky. 

A very long time ago the moon lived inside this cave and its brilliant light did not shine beyond the walls.  Tagaro, the god of sea  saw this and thought it was not good.  He threw the moon out to the south.  But then Targaro noticed that the people in the north did not have any light.  So, he took it and threw it north, but then the people in the south had no light. 

Unhappy with that, he took the moon and threw it to the west where its light shone on all the people in Maewo.  This made Tagaro very happy.

Tagaro created three enormous holes into the cave each time he through the moon into the sky.  

The Vast Hole Left by the Moon

Just a few miles up the coast of Maewo you come to the Sanasom anchorage.  This is where we hope to find the Cave of the Moon and the petroglyph cavern. 

Only accessible by boat, the Cave of the Moon is spacious and lit with rays of sunlight that strike the water and create an iridescent yet eerie glow. 

The three canals of water, are the places where the moon passed when it was thrown. 

Once you jump in the crystal clear waters you see lots of giant boulders, fish, and beautiful sea life.

Petroglyphs 

Just next to the Cave of the Moon is the Malangauliuli cavern with “ancient rock etchings, petroglyphs”.  Both the cavern and the cave are within a conservation area and require a guide which can be provided by the village chief.  However, our anchorage was not near the Sanasom village so we went on our own.  I am sure the woven tales about each cave would have been spectacular.  What we found were pretty worn out, hard to read, and certainly hard to discern – a guide would have been useful.

A cave important to their kastom beliefs.  They place stones on top of each other and over time they form stalagmite like formations.  

The curtains are just starting to form and take shape…

The island of Maewo is certainly full of lots of mystery and wonder.  It was a pleasure to visit the “waterfall island” and see some of its beauty.  We hope to come back on our way out of Vanuatu to see the Naone Waterfall.

Our blog posts run 10-12 weeks behind actual live events.  This blog post occurred in early July.  We share with you a little bit about life on the island of Pentecost in our last blog post.