Turtle-tagging on Ngunu Island

I was really excited to hear of a chance to tag a turtle at Nguna Island, and especially as the costs weren’t too high.However,when I got calls on my mobile from the guy doing the tours, and he hung up before speaking, I started to wonder. . Obviously he wanted me to pay for all phone calls and goes by the name of Yoan Joseph and also Yoan Jay . He runs the Vat-Vatka Bungalows. Then when I met him and he asked for full payment prior to the tour, that got me suspicious. He was a bit insistent so I compromised and put down a deposit. We travelled together from Port Vila to Emua,where the boat leaves for Nguna Island. He told me the bus cost 1000 vatu; I knew it was only 500.He asked me to give him the 1000 on the way, I didn’t ,passed the 500 forward to the driver who was perfectly happy with this. Now I knew for a fact I was being taken for a ride, but reckoned it was too late; I was so keen to sponsor/tag a turtle, was prepared to go with a risk. The accommodation was ok and the village nice, people really friendly.However,after my dinner which had gone cold even before it reached the table, Yoan told me that ‘the boys’ had gone out to find a turtle. I asked him why I wasn’t with them, as this was part of the tour. He carried on with the same old lies and lame excuses. After this I thought enough was enough, so headed into the village to request a meeting with the chief and to discuss the matter with him. I also didn’t feel 100% safe and wanted the chief to be aware of this. I didn’t really think that Yoan would get physically aggressive but I had lost all faith in him. In the morning, he told me that a turtle had been found, and that we should go and tag/release it. I told him that I would pay for ½ of the tour for this, having missed the other ½ of the tour. He wouldn’t accept this, so I left , and got the early morning boat back to Efate! I actually feel a bit sorry for the guy; He’s probably received very little education and I wasn’t sure if he was perhaps excluded from his family life for whatever reason. The other locals on Nguna Island were really good, and I would hate for one individual to taint the community’s reputation, but maybe this is too late as I’m sure other tourists have had bad experiences doing business with Yoan.

It would be customary for you to pay the guide's fare as well as your own, so asking for 1000 vatu for the bus would be normal. Also, Melanesians usually eat their cooked food cool, so the would not have known to serve it to you hot.