We head to Bwatnapne (pronounced bat-naap-knee) Bay on Pentecost, an hidden bay not on the guides. It is a large, calm bay that we had all to ourselves. The lush hillsides were covered in green vines that drape over the rocks, and trees forming these beautiful curtains.
Matt was able to get some great drone shots of us all alone in our big, beautiful bay.
We went ashore and were greeted by a few local children who were practicing saying “hello.” It was absolutely delicious. This village does not get many tourists so we were a bit of a curiosity. Many people came out of their homes and children came out of their schools to greet us.
The main part of the town which is at sea level next to a luscious stream has a small “store”, a fuel station shed, 2 schools (primary and secondary), and a police station. The villagers all live up in the mountains.
Supply Ships in Pentecost
On our second day we were surprised with not one but two “supply ships.” The smaller one dropped off packages and two dozen bags of flour and rice. The larger ship unloaded a barge and put a small container on top of it. Both ships sort of landed on the beach to unload and load.
The barge took on hundreds of pounds of kava root that they harvest on the island. This is their main source of income. They make $100-$150VT ($1-$1.5 USD) per kilo. They filled the entire container and then 6 gigantic bags full of kava root. This ship comes weekly to collect the kava and brings it to Port Vila, Efate. Kava is their natural version of alcohol and can be a hallucinogenic.
Loltong Bay, Pentecost
We move 8nm up the Pentecost coast to the Loltong anchorage. It is a beautiful bay full of several reefs and large bommies so anchoring was tricky but doable on a sunny day with a lookout at the bow. One thing to be aware of is that several supply ships come and go during the week. They mostly hover in the anchorage as small skiffs go back and forth to shore. So, it can be tight when 2-3 ships come in at the same time.
They did have a small Red Cross center, but it was unmanned, had very few supplies, and only open a few hours a day. They had a few “markets” that were stocked with canned goods, a few sodas, some oil, rice, and flour.
One of their oldest banyan trees fell over a few months ago virtually blocking their beach and main road. It was so sad to see as this tree had to be hundreds of years old. It just got tired and decided to lay down.
The Lower Village
One of the villages in this bay is the sub-hub of the Vanuatuan government and it is also the main government location for the island of Pentecost. Which is absolutely strange to us as the infrastructure was very, very rustic and minimal.
We visited the community center (top two photos) where they gather to work and share with each other. The entire roof is being held up by tree trunks. The engineering is fascinating to see. We also saw their drums (large wood pieces carved out) (middle 2 photos) which they use for church and school.
And surprise surprise, they have a turbine that supplies electricity and running water to the village! Yep, that was a total surprise! They have lots of spickets throughout the village where you can get fresh stream water and it is cold and delicious. This was a first for us. We have not seen a turbine power system on Pentecost, or Vanuatu, or frankly any small island before.
In the afternoon, 3 supply ships came to drop off goods, rice, flour, and fuel. The funniest thing about this delivery was the fuel. They load gasoline in 200L (55gal) drums, then they dump them overboard. A skiff will pick them up and drag them as close to shore as possible and then the men come out and roll it over to the beach.
Hope you can read the sign (top right) it says “sanbich on sale.” A group of kids who followed us around, a small market where they sold vegetables and pre-made lunch, and a beautiful banyan tree and men’s meeting house.
Mysterious Cave
We heard about a “mysterious cave” in Loltong so we asked Matthew and Mary Bule at the Loltong Bay Beach Yacht Club. The yacht club was destroyed in the last cyclone but they still offer lovely services such as tours and specialy cooked local meals for the cruisers.
They introduced us to Glenda who became our guide and storyteller. She said that her husband Derek was told the story from his father, Patrick. Patrick had a dream in which Moltobo uto visited him and told him about the hidden cave in which he lived for many years. The next day, Patrick went to where Moltobo uto told him and dug out the opening and discovered the cave with tools (shells and carved coconuts), weavings, and sand drawing inside.
This is Glenda who gave us the tour. Before we entered we rubbed a plant that is believed to have special protection powers. This was to ensure that the spirits of Moltobo uto and his friends remained friendly with us.
Moltobo uto was the first man to live on Pentecost. He lived alone in this cave for a long time until he heard singing coming from a tree. He went to explore and discovered a snake who said he had been living inside the cave with the man for many years. But he lived really high up where the man couldn’t see him. Later, a mother chicken joined them but she does not tell us where she came from.
The belief is that he and his friends (the snake and chicken) spirits still live in this cave.
The cave is covered in gold flakes that shimmer when you shine a light on them. It was so very pretty.
Sand Drawing
Our first sand drawing in Vanuatu! There are 3 beautiful sand drawings inside the cave. The first (top left) has 3 smaller drawings. The far right is the symbol for Pentecost and the far left (is the symbol for fishing, it is a bird).
The second drawing (top right) is the “bowl” where spirits go to pass on to the next stage of life. When someone dies they walk to the “point” where they have to leap into the bowl. If they do not leap or if they encounter someone on their way to the point, they have to return to life.
Sand Drawing #3 represents the kava ceremony. The cups and bowl are used by the elders when they are thinking.
The Tools
While Moltobo uto lived inside the cave he used sea shells to carve coconuts and open fruit (pamplemouse, bananas, oranges) like silverware. The cow tusks provide protection for the spirits and the top left photo shows you where the snake lived – way high up in the cave where Moltobo uto could not see him for many years.
The popo shell (top right) is used by chiefs to signal to the village that he is ready to prepare for a festival.
The three stones are part of the black magic ceremony and are used by the elders to bring rain and or storms. Moltobo uto carved three walking sticks. He had a vision of a snake and carved it on the head of one of the sticks before he met the snake. It is believed that is how the snake was summoned to come out of hiding. The bottom left photos are the weavings of the clothes worn by Moltobo uto and also worn by Glenda our guide.
Local Dinner
After our wonderful Mysterious cave tour, Matthew and Mary served us a traditional tasting dinner where they provided 12 different tastings. Man oh man we were stuffed when we left. Everything was incredibly tasty.
We really loved how they explained what everything was (all local produce, all grown in their garden, or caught in their bay). They then explained how it was prepared. It was a delightful evening with extremely delicious food.
We had a wonderful time on the island of Pentecost! The land diving in Wali Bay, the beautiful waterfalls in Waterfall Bay, the hikes and gorgeous landscape of Bwatnapne Bay and then the mysterious cave and lovely dinner of Loltong.
Our blog posts run 1–12 weeks behind actual live events. This blog post occurred at the end of June. Did you see all of the surprises we found on Pentecost in our last blog post?