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Malekula Madness

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It has been so fun staying at the beautiful Maskelyne Islands.  They are just on the southern tip of Malekula which is a short 18nm away.

Malekula is Vanuatu’s second largest island and is one of the most culturally diverse islands in Vanuatu.  It is riddled with secret cannibal sites, surrounded by glassy reefs, and home to the gentle giant of the sea: the dugong.

There are over 30 languages spoken on the small island of Malekula. With a population of only 25,000 and different cultural practices affiliated with each language and village, Malekula is sure to delight at every turn.

Banam Bay

Banam Bay is a large bay with many outreaching reefs.  We had the entire bay to ourselves and it was delightful.    We snorkeled the varied reefs inside the bay which are home to dozens of large and small fish.  While we snorkeled, we encountered a surprising number of soft coral patches with nemos which was a pleasant surprise.  Usually we see hard or branching coral.

We headed into shore to do some exploring and walking around.  It was Sunday so many villagers were at church (they attend outdoors under banyan trees). A cackle of children followed us down the road. There were many villages along the road that ran parallel to the beach. All villages were super clean and had well groomed yards with colorful flowers.Lots of the kids (big and small) had these great hand made cars.  Made with a stick and nuts.  So fun.  We also found an oven (left top) for bread and a chocolate oven (right top) where they make chocolate.

We were so lucky to find not one, but two large nautilus shells.  Matt found one floating in the sea on his paddle board trip and I found one on the beach.  These are only the 3rd such finds in 8 years (and 2 of them were found withing 2 days)!

Crab Bay

Our next stop is Crab bay which is on the east side of Malekula.  It is a terribly small bay full of reefs.  It is very daunting entering the bay, but we were determined to find a spot.

We went ashore (to the right of the boat) to walk the beach.  One of the guides stated that there is an educational center here that used to give tours of this beautiful marine sanctuary.  However, it was long defunct when we visited.

We also came across a ship wreck that has been here for a very long time.  This 18-20 meter, metal boat named “Tantrum” from Australia was complete torn apart.  Amazing to see the 3-4mm steel ripped at the seams.

Malekula Madness?

Why did I title this blog “Malekula Madness”?  Well, on the way to the Crab Bay anchorage we tried to fly our small parasail spinnaker.  Something got caught and Matt had me come to the foredeck to help.  He gave me one of the two sock lifting lines and said “hold on tight.”  Not sure what happened next as it was so fast, but the wind came up, caught the sail and ripped the 2nd lifting line out of Matt’s hands. He jumped backward and landed on his back on the trampoline.  I kept holding on until my hands caught fire. – literally burned every finger.

This will keep me out of the water for at least 3 weeks and prevents me from doing pretty much everything for at least a few days.  Serious bummer.

Sarmette Bay

We walked around the bay each day we were anchored in Crab Bay.  On our last day we took a long walk to a neighboring bay to visit the Sarmette village. 

The walk was mostly on the beach and a road that ran parallel to the beach.   Sarmette Bay is 9.8km (18,000 steps) walk round trip.   We saw a rather large herd of cows and 6 horses!  I had not seen horses here in Vanuatu yet so it was a special treat.  You can tell from the bottom left photo that we were walking near low tide.

We met some super nice people who showed us their coconut and chocolate harvesting farms and baking.  They showed us how they baked the coconut and cocoa bean (top right is the cocoa tree, middle are the beans and left bottom is the cocoa nut).

Norsup Island

We need to start making our way toward Santo (the next big island up the chain).  So we make a few short stops along the way.  The first being Norsup Island which is in the middle of Norsup Bay.  We enjoy a nice walk around the island with a few villagers and donate some reading glasses.  

The winds were blowing pretty strong from the southeasterly direction and bringing a big swell. Both made the anchorage uncomfortable so we left the next morning.  We anchored at the white spot toward the end of the island.

Atchin Island

Our next stop was Atchin Island which is at the North end of Malekula.  This island  is known for its master canoe carvers.  But, the funny thing was there were a ton of “tough boats” on moorings and very few canoes.  

We went ashore and found a beautiful trail that takes you through all of the villages and around the entire island.  Once onshore we found a few “racing” canoes that showed the craftmanship of the Atchin carvers. 

We were super surprised by the shear number of nasaras (sacred places where community events are held).  I think we came across 6 on this very small island. It took us a little over an hour to walk around the island and that is with many stops.  At each nasara has a banyan tree near by and there is a kava bar (which is where Matt is servin).

Most kava bars have a grinder that they use to grind the kava root. Matt is standing amongst the roots of the female banyan tree at one of the nasaras.

We could not believe we came across two tam tams that have two faces on each of them.  It is extremely rare to find multiple faced tam tams and we found two in an old nasara.

This beautiful nasara was so well kept and had a beautiful garden!

We found this lovely swing overlooking the bay that was so picturesque. 

My hands are still raw and blistered….5 days later.  So, not much we can do other than walk.  And even that is tricky as I can’t use my hands to get in and out of the dinghy.  I am a mess.

Our blog posts run 10-12 weeks behind actual live events.  We were in Malekula around 18-26 July 2024.  We visit Sughulamp Reef in our last blog post.

Photo by Smithsonian

Dugongs, Beautiful Sea Cows

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Dugongs  are very large, gentle, and super shy marine mammals that are sometimes called “Sea Cows.”  They are light gray in color and can grow up to 4 meters in length and weigh up to 400kg (900lbs). 

We have the very rare opportunity to swim with them in the Maskelyne Islands.  However, let me preface this with a note.  Below are some photos taken from other sources, as noted.  Some of our pictures were fuzzy because the water was murky due to the rain.  But some came out great when the sun came out like this one below.

A Dugong vs. a Manatee

Dugongs are cousins to the freshwater manatee and are similar in appearance and behavior.  Though there are noticeable differences.  Both are related to the elephant, although the giant land animal is not at all similar in appearance or behavior.

Copyright: 2001 Encyclopedia Britannica, Inc.

Copyright: 2001 Encyclopedia Britannica, Inc.

Some other differences:

  • Teeth
    • Dugong: Males have tusk like incisors vs. Manatees: Have regular teeth
  • Lifespan
    • Dugong: 70 years vs. Manatee: 40 years
  • Mating
    • Dugong: Mate for life vs. Manatee: Polygamists, many partners
  • Start Mating
    • Dugong: 10 years old vs. Manatee: 3 years old
  • Birth Rate
    • Dugong: One every 3-5 years vs. Manatee: One every 2-3 years

What do Dugongs Eat?

These enormous vegetarians eat sea grass.  They can be found in warm coastal waters from East Africa to Australia, including the Red Sea, Indian Ocean, and the Pacific.

Most dugongs prefer to eat in areas where seagrass is more sparse rather than lush areas.  They also prefer to eat just the leaves of the grass but when that is limited they will eat the whole plant, including the roots.  Dugongs will dig up the plant and then shake it to remove the sand before eating.

They will dine day and night, rooting with their bristled, sensitive snouts and chomping down with their rough lips.

Dugong Predators 

They have few natural predators, although animals such as crocodiles, killer whales, and sharks pose a threat to the young. 

In the past, dugong meat used to be considered a source of protein, their oil used for cooking and other parts whittled into handicrafts. But now, in Vanuatu, it is considered “tabu” to harm the dugongs and the government is committed to protecting the sea cows and sea grass they eat. 

The next threat to these gentle giants is climate change. Vanuatu is in the “Ring of Fire” and prone to natural disasters which disseminate the shallow sea grass feeding areas. Dugongs are considered endangered in New Caledonia and critically endangered in Africa.

The top left photo is the indent in the sand that a very large male left after he swam away.  The top right is a mama and baby avoiding me. The middle is a mama and baby side by side and the bottom two are another set of mamas and babies.

Dugong Behavior

What we found in Vanuatu was not typical dugong behavior.  Usually they like to be alone or in pairs.  However, we found a herd of at least 10 swimming, playing, and resting in the Maskelyne Islands.

Dugongs are very shy by nature. However, we found them to be a little curious and playful circling back around to swim near Matt and our guide who were free diving.

They can go up to six minutes without breathing, though 2,5 minutes is more typical.  With us it seemed they would go longer than 6 minutes, but then again we were not looking at our clocks to time the duration.

I’ve read that they sometimes breathe by “standing” on their tail with their heads above water.  We never saw this behavior but it would have made for a great photo!

Their eyesight is very poor so the mainly rely on their sense of smell and touch.  They find their food using smell and sense of feeling through their pectoral fins which they use to walk on the sea bed.  Mothers and calves are almost always within touching distance and often reach out to each other with their flippers.

We saw several herds of dugongs which is very unusual.  The first was a herd of 10 and the second was a herd of 6 all at the Maskelyne Islands.  Usually they are swimming in the deeper water making it more difficult to capture photos.

Fun facts

Dugongs have lots of hitch hikers.  These remora attach their heads to the dugong and swim along with them wherever they go, regardless of how fast or slow they are moving.

They always seem to have a smile to give you, no matter how irritated they are with you bothering them.

We met a professional photographer who took these photos a few days before we arrived.  Check out her work at www.mauiph.com. 

Dugong Tour

We tried to find the sea cows on our own by visiting all of the spots other cruisers had told us about.  But they were elusive.  We would see them from the dinghy, but once we got in the water we could not find them. 

Finally, we tracked down and hired a guide.  Marsel Nathaniel (can be found on Facebook messenger) or at +678.505.7428.  He and his brother Chris came to pick us up (for an additional 500vt/pp ($5/usd) and took us out to see 4 spots.  We found dugongs at 2 of them.  The cost per person was 4000vt/pp ($40/usd) which included the transport.  It was well worth it!

Once we knew where they were at we were able to go back on our own and experience more adventures – which was pure magic!

And this to end our extremely astonishing encounters with the dugongs.  

Our blog posts run 10-12 weeks behind actual live events. We swam with the dugongs in mid-July 2024.  Discover the beauty of the Maskelyne islands in our last blog post.