Australia: the Sequel: Tanna Island

After spending a couple days on Efate (the main island) we flew to Tanna Island with the goal of seeimg Mt. Yasur, one of the most accessible and active volcanoes in the world. Tanna Island, a 55 minute flight in a twin Otter, is a small island - just over 50 square kilometers I think - that, according to our driver, has 22 languages. He told us despite the small size of the island, many people from different villages don't understand each other.

Tanna is a world where a subsistance based third world culture is on a collision course with modern "tourism" and its expectations. Tourism as such is unregulated and all of the land is owned by one tribe or another and each is now seeing tourists as a source of revenue so you have to pay to access any place you go.

Arriving to Tanna Island

Our Tanna accomodations - Friendly Bungalows. We were right on the edge of the jungle

The black, volcanic sand beach in front our our cabin.

Our beach hut made of woven bamboo walls and a palm leaf roof. With care, these walls can last 10 years and the roof about 4.

The mosquito net was VERY necessary! And the flashlight too as we only had generator power from 7 until 10:30 each night.

The bathroom had volcanic stone walls and crushed coral floor that the shower and sink water just drained through.

The gathering place at the closest village at a John Frum Ceremony. Some of the people believe that an American soldier from WW1 named John Frum will return one day with all sorts of cargo and riches for them. Seriously!

An outrigger canoe which they still make and use. When the maker finds the perfect tree, he carves his name into it so no one else can use it. The canoes are carved by hand out of the tree and are only about 18 - 24 inches wide.

At Port Resolution we went on a hike to the volcanic hot springs. The volcano sends out steam through underground vents and as the sea water is sucked up into these vents, it is superheated and blown out again. Our guide popped a plantain into the pool as we left on the hike and it was cooked and ready to eat when we returned. A woman from the village was dipping her chickens into the boiling pool to pluck them.

This is only half of the amazing lunch we had at Port Resolution. Sweet potato, banana (there are about 10 different kinds of banana here from savoury to sweet), yucca, rice, snake root (like zucchini), omelette, etc. All drizzled with fresh coconut cream!

The dining room at Friendly Bungalows. It is right on the beach, so the floor is sand.

Dancers at one of the village ceremonies we went to. This one was put on just for us, but they have many celebrations throughout the year to celebrate every aspect of life. As they have no electricity or transportation other than walking (each village might have one truck), they make their own entertainment.