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A Massive Waterfall Hike

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Anatom / Aneityum Island is pretty darn remote and there is not much to do besides enjoy the beauty it has to offer.  So, when another cruiser mentioned an all-day hike to a beautiful waterfall we were all in!

Unfortunately, I had a massive leg infection and I was told by my doctor friend (Rena on the boat “Moana”) that I need to sit this one out.  I was heartbroken, but I made them tell me every single detail so I could share it with you!

Rena, her daughter Helena, and Matt left around 0730 and walked up the one main logging road (the logging company that used to deforest the island built the road).  They met their guide Elisha and his brother John at the last village at the end of the logging road.  This is about a 45 minute walk from the beach.

This is where Elisha and his family live which is a really beautiful home!  He has an immaculate and flourishing garden with both flora and vegetables!

Rena is like me, she loves flowers!  Anatom is super lush and covered in over 80 types of orchids.  I am so grateful to her for taking so many beautiful flower shots!

Here are a few more shots of his very extensive garden.  He even has an old piece of equipment from the logging days.  Matt said it was an old bulldozer.

And the Hike Begins

The beginning of the hike, well after they made it up the hill to the last village, was pretty easy.  They walked along a wide road until it turned into a dirt road.  Most of the river crossings had “bridges” and the trail was obvious.

Then the trail became more in the moderate to advanced level where you crawl under fallen trees, cross low rising rivers, and trapse through the forest.

At this point, Elisha decided to start handing out pieces of sugar cane.  He had been carrying it with his machete and cut it up for each person.  This kept everyone hydrated and sugared up.

Then the challenging part begins.  Elisha had to use his machete a lot to clear the path that was severely overgrown.  Not a lot of locals come up this path and very few tourists make it up this far.  

Lots more challenging and difficult.  Now, you are balancing on very wet, slippery rocks/boulders to cross the river and or go up the river.  It made for slow progress, but the water was crystal clear and very refreshing.

The Reward

After 4-hours, the group made it up to the beautiful waterfall.  Pictures don’t do it justice, but everyone was in awe of her beauty.

It did not take long for everyone to jump in and cool off after the long hike.

Then it was time to get some lunch.  Elisha and John caught crawfish / prawns in the fresh river!  They caught the larger ones under the rocks and the smaller ones in the falls.  They simply scooped their hands up the falling water and put them in a bamboo shoot.

Then they made a small fire, steamed them, and served them up for lunch.

On the way back, which took 2.5 hours, they stopped at Elisha and John’s village to load up on fruits!  Elisha literally climbed up the trees (barefoot) to shake down the pomplemouse, passionfruit, and bananas.

He also showed off his new vanilla plantation.  We all scored with the fruit!

The Results

  • Distance:  12 miles / 20 km
  • Elevation:  1200′ from sea level
  • 8hr and 29min moving time

This shows their track into the interior of the island.

And then they were blessed with an amazing sunset.

I sure missed out on an epic adventure.  I hope I did it justice for you all.  Elisha said that they were the 2nd group to do this hike since covid.  Not surprising since the cruise ship people who visit aren’t really going to go on an all-day hike and the villagers have other things to do.

Our blog posts run 10-12 weeks behind actual live events.  This blog post occurred in mid-June.  Don’t miss out on our last blog to the very famous Mystery Island.

Why is it called Mystery Island?

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Mystery Island has the coolest name and creates such intrigue.  Rarely visited except by the few cruise ships that have Vanuatu on their itinerary.  This little island, Inyeug, aka Mystery Island, is barely 1km long and 200 meters wise.  It can be walked, slowly, in an hour.

An uninhabited sandy islet surrounded by coral reefs lies to the very south of the Vanuatu island chain and is known as Mystery Island.  The island’s real name is Inyeug, so, why is Mystery Island called Mystery Island?  Well there are a few tales of this little island got its name.

  1. The Queen

According to some locals, the island used to be referred to as Inyeug, which means small island. When Queen Elizabeth II visited in 1974, a reporter trying to find out which small island she was visiting got confused. In news headlines, he referred to the island as Mystery Island, and the name stuck.

2. The Cruise Ships

The local people believe that Mystery Island is inhabited after dark by ghosts, so no one wants to stay there after the sun goes down. The indigenous name of the island is Inyeug, but the cruise lines renamed it Mystery Island because tourists sure prefer mystery over haunted islands.

3. WWII Planes

It was formerly used as an Allied forces landing strip during WWII. The “mystery” is said to have derived from the fact that the air strip is impossible to see from the sea and therefore it took some time for the Japanese to determine where all the planes were coming from.

It is believed the Japanese were confused as to where the planes were landing and taking off which is why the island was called Mystery island.

Haunted Island?

It is believed that the island is haunted therefore nobody actually lives there. The traditional owners live on the nearby island but don’t go there after dark as they believe ghosts inhabit the island at night. 

On the days when cruise-ships call into the island, the locals come across from nearby islands of Anaton to spread their warmth, culture, and wares.

We were there during the day when the white beaches and turquoise waters sparkled with the afternoon sunshine.  The locals created a beautifully manicured path around the entire island.  It leads over several beaches, through the center of the island, by the airstrip, and the cruise ship dock.

Assuming they need loads of toilets when 2500-4000 people descend upon this little piece of paradise for 6 hours.  So, they have dozens of small, wooden toilet sheds (some with toilets seats, some just holes in the ground).

There is also a solar farm that powers the large antennae that supplies the neighboring island of Anatom with communication services.  Still sad to see on this beautiful island.

There is a small airstrip that was built by the Allied forces during WWII.  This is still in use today – albeit infrequently and rarely.  Especially since the one local airline is bankrupt.

Servicing the Cruise Ships

The long pier constructed for the cruise ship landing stands out like a sore thumb on the pristine beach.  It then leads to the interior of the island where the Anatom villagers sell their crafts and wares.  It is also where they offer massages, food and beverages, snorkeling and fishing tours, SUP, Kayak, and canoe rentals, hair braiding, and cabanas for rent.

We find the “cabanas” and the Tiki bar on the windward side of the island.  Matt was so sad that the Tiki bar was closed, but then again the entire island was closed.

Of course Matt had to boil me and then offered a passport stamp for $2!.

Our blog posts run 10-12 weeks behind actual live events.  This blog post occurred in early June.  In our last blog post we explore Anatom Island, the neighboring island to Mystery Island.

Welcome to Anatom / Aneityum

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Anatom also known as Aneityum is the southern most island in the Vanuatu island chain.  It would be a mostly forgotten island had it not had the luck of being the closest island to Mystery Island, a popular cruise ship stop.

Anatom has about 2,000 inhabitants across the entire 35 mile island.  The main village is called Anelghowhat Village which is where we anchor.   We had originally wanted to clear in at this island but you have to time it with the cruise ship in order to have the officials on island.  They fly in to meet the cruise ship which usually comes in 2x per month during this time of year.

We were unable to time it properly, so we ended up passing by Anatom on our way to Tanna to clear into Vanuatu.

The one local airline went bankrupt so lots of locals are stranded.  We help out Ben, the local principal whose uncle, Jack needed a lift from Tanna back to Anatom.  He was so sweet and quiet.  When we arrived, his family gave us a large basket of fruit!  The upper right photo is a picture Ben took of us sailing out of the bay.

After a week in the rolly anchorage of Port Resolution, we pull up the hook and head back south to explore this rarely visited island.

We had a beautiful sail over with 10-12kts of SE wind, full sails, and a 1m sea.  

Anatom / Aneityum

There are no official roads on Anatom, but there are loads of trails or walk ways that have been cleared.  The locals take bamboo and weave patterns for the side of their houses.  It makes them look so beautiful and unique.  We have never seen this done in any other country.

One thing that became very obvious were the shear number of toilets (little wooden shacks) everywhere.  Maybe each person had their own toilet?  Some had “thrones (aka toilet seats” some were just holes in the ground.

I love their game of bowling with canned goods and a tennis ball.

We were so surprised to see a local using a machine to grind their kava.  This must be for the cruise ship guests as I am sure most of the locals use the traditional hand pounding method.

The middle two photos are of a local classroom and the bottom photo is the local Presbyterian church.

We came across the ruins of the once majestic Presbyterian church that was deemed the largest missionary church in the Southern Hemisphere.  This is where Scottish Presbyterian minister John Geddie helped bring an end to cannibalism (as well as kava and dancing and customary ceremonies).  Now it is just a reminder of what once was.

They actually export pine wood and even have a lumber mill.  This was a huge surprise to us.

We spent several days in this anchorage.  There are lots of beautiful beaches to explore, sweet locals, fun paddling, and oh so much more.

We had some of the most spectacular sunsets over the corner of the island.

And of course this gave us an opportunity to visit Mystery Island.

A Walk to a New Village

Matt and I went with our friend Rena on a walk around the island, across the river to another even more remote village.  The locals we met along the way were so very nice!  One gave us 3 oranges, another gave us pompelmouse and they all greeted us with huge smiles!

There were so many beautiful flowers and their gardens were flourishing!  We came across this little make shift house with the most beautiful nautilus shell I have ever seen.  It was all I could do to walk away and leave it on the beach.  I think it is either a burial or something created to honor someone so we did not disturb it.

The first village we came upon was abandoned.  Most likely because it is too close to the fresh water river and the bay.  It probably floods a lot.

This village was really funny to me.  They had a clear division between the kitchen, living room and bedrooms.  They had a separate area for a shower (middle photo) and a large TV that was clearly not connected to anything as there is no electricity or cable.

We crossed the river where they were doing laundry.  It was a fresh water river and was so refreshing!  The man doing the laundry, yes a man was doing the laundry, took us to his village.  He then proceeded to give us fresh fruit!  So kind and generous.

The Supply Ship

The supply ship comes in 1x per month.  This is the only way the locals can go to and from Port Villa on Efate.  We watched dozens of locals return home and they unloaded lots of stuff including 2 new work boats.

Be complete accident, Matt and I stumbled across Jack’s village which is on the east side of the island.  We just happened to be on a beach walk when some kids came running out.  They disappeared and then a few minutes later Jack came out.  It was so good to see him and meet his family.

The Cruise Ships

Antaom is the closest island to Mystery island which happens to be a somewhat popular cruise ship stop.  They get between 2-4 cruise ships a month during the busy season.  Lucky for us, there were no cruise ships while we were here.

What does that mean?  The locals were easy going, super friendly, and always willing to stop for a chat.

But when the cruise ship is in, most of the locals from our village go over to Mystery Island to cater to the tourists.

Be sure to check in with us as our next blog showcases Mystery Island.

Just to see if you are reading all the way to the bottom to enjoy this beautiful photo.

Our blog posts run 10-12 weeks behind actual live events.  This blog post occurred in early June.  Did you see the Continue reading →