Vanuatu, 2008

In 2008 Mum came across a travel deal for a four night stay and return flights to Vanuatu. You could take a friend for $1. Awesome! We decided to split the fees and stay a whole week while we were at it. In March we took off on our tropical island get away.

Vanuatu is a small island in the Pacific, a 3 hour flight from Auckland. With a small tourism industry we had the perfect mix of things to do and time to relax by the pool with books and cocktails. mmm cocktails.

I was at the height of my skinny days so I was brave enough to have a bikini! and proud enough to take photos too. Hopefully one day I'll get back to that feeling.

 

 

Of all the things I wanted to do while in Vanuatu, seeing turtles and the underwater mailbox were my top priorities. We signed up for a day trip to Hideaway Island. A tiny island with amazing snorkling and the worlds only underwater mailbox. I'm not much of a diver, but I managed to drag myself down far enough to post a postcard home. I'm also not much of a boat person, but I sucked it up enough to go out on the glass bottom boat to snorkle with a guide in a big group. The waves got the better of me and I paddled back to the boat before long. We spent the rest of the afternoon relaxing in the sun reading books. This was the life!!

The shopping on Vanuatu was much better than Bali, not badgering and very friendly, meant I actually enjoyed shopping for souviners this time around. The local shops consisted of some markets, a dairy, a cafe, a souviner shop and a huge, open air food market that the locals frequented.

The next trip we signed up for was another day trip out to a secluded island. While everyone else in our group went out fishing and diving for the day, we stayed on the island, read, snorkled and spent hours playing with the baby turtles that were being raised by the staff.

We did another trip to a wildlife park. As much as it could be called a wildlife park. The tour guide sounded like she was showing us around her back yard and the animals left a lot to be desired. Although the green lizards were pretty funky to hold on too. I wasn't particulary impressed when we came across an obviously empty cage with a large hole in the side and the guide looked around and esclaimed that the 'large crab must have gotten out'. Um, what now?! She didn't seem to be to surprised.

Being on a holiday, just me and Mum, was great. We had time to relax, chat and enjoy our time together. One of the best parts though, was the Pidgen English the locals spoke and the signs they put up everywhere. And now that I had a new digital camera, I took photos of lots of them.

 

 

When we left Vanuatu after a wonderful week, I felt energised and relaxed. It was the best holiday for a break away. If you're thinking of getting away some some relaxation, I recommend Vanuatu.

2008 was a big travel year for me. Later in the year I finally went to the UK for a whirlwind trip to visit friends with friends. More about that trip next time.