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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.

Pentecost an Island full of Surprises

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We visit the island of Pentecost primarily for the Naghol (land diving).  But there are so many other wonderful reasons to visit this beautiful island barely touched by modern civilization. 

While walking along the beach we came across a man assembling a canoe for his nephew, Sampson.  It took him 3 days to hand carve the canoe and then he brought it to the beach to lash the rope and alma to the canoe.  The super cool thing was he took what looked like a twig with a pointed end and hammered it (with a rock) into the wooden alma.  I could not believe how easily it went in and stuck forming an “X” to hold the long stick to the alma. 

Elleen, our spokesperson in Wali Bay also introduced us to some local weavers who showed us how they expertly weave these beautiful hand bags.   The dye (middle bottom photo) some of the strands with color (left bottom) to eventually make the stunning bag (top right).  They sell for $1000VT ($10 usd).  The only problem is that the dye rubs off on your clothes…

A few of my favorite local photos.  The top right are men from the Ratap Kastom village (and a friend from another boat). Top left is a dancer from the Bunlop Kastom village and the bottom is a man from Londot village – all on southern Pentecost. 

And then here is my tribe of girls that followed me around each day.  I gave them sparkly nail polish and big heart rings.

Home Bay

Homo Bay is the main bay cruisers anchor at when they want to go see the Ratap Kastom Village Naghol.  The bay was beautiful as the clouds danced around the edges of the mountains.

The Bonfire

After the Naghol, we were all way too excited to go back to our boats.  So, we decided to have a beach BBQ and we invited a few of the locals.  It just happened to be the most perfect evening with clear skies peppered with the constellations.

My Pentecost tribe of women, made me a sand gift out of white rocks.

Waterfalls: Maduit Waterfall

After the Naghol ceremony, we head for Waterfall Bay which is a short 8nm north from Wali Bay.  There were so many cows lounging on the beach – it made for such a funny  photo.  Our friends on Moana (Rena, Chris, and Helena) came with us.

This beautiful bay is known for two very distinct waterfalls.  The Maduit waterfall which can be seen from the anchorage and the Rell Cave Waterfall. 

Two rivers flow gently into the anchorage making a very refreshing fresh water plunge. 

Maduit Waterfall

Pentecost is a bit of a rainy island so it is no surprise that they have lots of waterfalls.  We decide to hike to Maduit waterfall first as we can easily see it from the anchorage.  On the way to the main road we stumble across Glen who generously offers to be our guide.  It is a good thing that he came along as the trail was a little tricky to find.  But once you find the entrance, the rest of the trail is easily followed. 

You’d think the water would be freezing, but it wasn’t. It did take your breath away as you jumped in, but then you quickly got used to it.  Bottom right is our guide, Glen.  We ended up paying him $1000VT ($10 USD) for the 2 hours he spent with the 5 of us.  He did not ask for the money, we offered it to him and took it gratefully. 

The two pools at the bottom of the falls made the most wonderful bubble bath!

It was a truly refreshing afternoon at a stunning waterfall.  Super easy access and beautiful.

Rell Cave Waterfall

The next waterfall was much harder to find.  We searched all over the internet trying to find a location or a person who might guide us to this cave waterfall.  We asked several locals and they had no idea what we were talking about.  So, we went back to research some more. 

Finally, Matt found a document from 2015 that had a short mention of this waterfall.  Sweet as!  We contacted the person and his phone still worked.  He told us to contact his wife, Venneth at Noda Guesthouse or call her +678.594.3287.  She was so nice.  She walked us to the next village, introduced us to Michael who became our guide for the day.

It was a super muddy, slippery path that we would have never found on our own.  You truly need a guide to show you this spectacular waterfall inside a hidden cave!  We walked into the forest, up a hill and into more forest.  Finally we came to the mouth of the cave.

You walk down a very shallow river, then you crawl under the opening of stalactites to get to the waterfall cave.

It was obviously very dark and super hard to hold my iPhone, without dropping it and the flash light while balancing on the slipper rocks. but here you go.  The waterfall was probably 3-4 meters tall as it originated behind the stalactite. 

Of course we had to get wet and man it came down with a lot more force than we anticipated.  We had lots of company with little bats.

We did the Rell Cave Waterfall with our friends from Trinity, Kirsten and Stephan.  Here is a photo of their trimaran and Sugar Shack at anchor in Waterfall Bay.

Super fun bay with lots to see and do. But alas it was time to move to our next adventure.

Our blog posts run 10-12 weeks behind actual live events.  This blog post occurred during the end of June.  I hope you caught our 2 part series on land-diving.  If not, be sure to visit here and here.

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.