We jump to day 3 of Vanuatu – and we were up EARLY!!! Up at 6:30am Vanuatu time (which is like 5:00am Adelaide time – which is just something that I don’t do). But we were up and ready to go on our first diving adventure on the island.
Leanne, the dive shop owner, came and picked us up and off to the boat we were going. Got to the shop, filled out forms and signed our lives away. Then onto the small boat to get out to the water. I was a bit nervous about getting sea sick as I typically do, but Sally had some wrist bands and medicine that we took. Then our boat started heading out – and the water was so calm you couldn’t even tell that you were on a boat – it was awesome. Half an hour out and we were at our first site – Konadno Wreck. Our guide was called Jeff who happened to be from the states (this is now my second American guide named Jeff while in Australia…weird).
Luckily (or unlucky depending on who you are) Vanuatu pretty much has no rules, so there were no requirements about what you could do on a dive – because if something were to happen, you’ve already signed your life away and you can’t sue anyone. So on that note, we didn’t have our snorkels (a must in America or Australia) and although our open water license allows us to go down 18 meters, officially we went down to 26 meters. The wreck was pretty amazing. There wasn’t much fish, which was unfortunate, but to see how a ship grows into its surroundings under water was pretty cool. We even swam through the cabin of the ship (again something that our license doesn’t exactly permit us to do – but it was big enough you really couldn’t get into too much trouble). When I was in the cabin I did a 180 so that I was swimming on my back and there was a mirror on the ceiling that was made out of the bubbles from our exhales – pretty surreal.
We did get some good group pictures underwater – but those are currently held by my buddy Quentin, so when I can get them I’ll post some up.
Then it was onto our next dive site – Konando Wall. Got all suited up and into the water. Konando wall had a lot more sea life to look at – lots of coral and fish. One of my favorites is the starfish, of which there were plenty. Again, our dive went well past 18 meters, officially 25 but I’m pretty sure my computer said 30 at one point. At the wall there were a lot of clown fish (aka Nemos) which is always a crowd favorite. We were down exploring for 37 minutes then it was almost out of air and we had to do our safety stops on the way up – at 12 meters and 3 meters. Then back onto the boat.
Once we got out of the water – there was great anticipation to get back into the water – so we did some jumping off of the second level of the boat (again, no one cared because they would never be held liable). It was great. No back flips or front flips but it did take me back to the good old days of diving lessons – I tried one and “OOOWWWW” it really hurt my head, so I was back to just jumping feet first.
Probably the most amazing part about the day wasn’t so much the diving, but a guy named Peter on our boat. He was in a wheel chair, well not on the boat he just sat on the floor, but had no use of his legs. This small bit didn’t stop him at all – he was a pro at diving. He had his own guide and seemed to get around just fine. I’m not sure how he did so well – he must have had amazing buoyancy control. It was just great to see that although he didn’t have the same abilities that we did it didn’t stop him and he was doing something he loved. Turns out he has been back to Vanuatu multiple times to dive (originally from Sydney, but most dive companies won’t take him out). He was impressive.
Then we were back on main land. It was lunch time so we headed back to the resort, sat by the pool and ate some food. Then it was nap time (this is a common occurrence in my days on holiday) so it was off to the hut for a quick nap.
Then off to dinner. Keith had met a gentleman in the airport who owned some property in Vanuatu and he recommended a French restaurant that we should try (the best on the island – is how I think he described it). So we jumped in a bus – the best public transportation I’ve ever seen. You can spot a bus on the road as it has a B on the front of its license plate. Really it’s not a bus; it’s just someone’s van. Flag down a bus, they will pull over, you tell them where you want to go, they say okay, you get there (in a very timely manner), and give the diver 150 Vatu per person (yeah $1.50). Sick. Better than a taxi because it can fit all five of us – and cheaper. Every city should look into getting this together (of course the how liability and suing thing could be an issue in other countries).
At the French restaurant and since it is my big night out, I order a grilled lobster, some salad and a cheese plate for desert. I thought it was odd that a French restaurant was in Vanuatu, but then I learned that the official language of Vanuatu is Bislama a pigeon English, which combines French, English and Spanish. This is why when they talk to each other you feel as though you know what they are saying but are still very confused. French and English are also widely spoken. So now not as weird that there is a French restaurant on the island.
The lobster was really good – it even came with the head on it…kind of creepy but was able to push through. After that dinner and not eating the whole day before I was pretty stuffed, so time to go home and rest up for our next diving adventure the next day. Not much to watch on TV – only 4 channels, 3 Australian and 2 local, so pretty easy to get to sleep (plus there was a gecko in my room watching over me).
