Cycling & hiking in Efate/Tanna

Hi, a quick couple of questions for vanuatu veterans and the like:

My wife and I are visiting Vanuatu in Jan (yes, wet, I know), and we're not exactly the lie on the beach the entire time sort of people. How feasible is it to i) hire a bicycle in Vila and ii) cycle it around Efate over several days, stopping at various places. Also, I presume it would be no problem to hike across Tanna at this time of year (e.g. from west to east) taking into account the local land ownership - I presume we would not need a guide if we followed the road but otherwise would? We're experienced hikers. Any advice is welcomed

Cheers guys.

This is the craziest idea I’ve ever heard anyone asking in a Vanuatu forum, but yes, it is possible. In reality anything is possible in life while one is alive but…(with lots of but and if).

Efate: Some points to take into consideration.

1) Don’t know about bicycle rentals in Vila. The gravel road around the island is 132 Km long with 132 zillions of deep potholes spread everywhere. It looks like a road after a heavy meteorite rain. The government filled these holes with coral pieces, and now the coral is everywhere except in the hole itself. Very good to lose control of the bike and kiss the ground.

2) There are steep hills to negotiate. Many of them. Even if it is not wet the thin gravel imposes a turtle speed to make the downhill curves and bends safe enough to accomplish the task . If raining or after, a surfboard will be a better instrument than a bicycle.

3) With the heat, you’ll be able to ride the bike until 10 or 11 am, unless you are from another planet or take an air conditioned suit. The humidity makes you sweat even in the shade and the powder from the road gluing on your sweat skin transform what once was a human being into a KFC piece ready to be fried. You’ll need to tow a water tank behind the bike to stop you body starting to melt.

4) A very few locals ride bikes (they walk), and there are just one or two bike shops in Vila. So, any unexpected breakage means the end of the way (in special punctured tires). Remember, there is nothing outside Port Vila except some very small villages along the way. Accommodation is limited by 2 places north of the island and another couple of resorts on the East side, not far from Vila, so, you’ll need to take a tent and ask the land owner to overnight there. Take your food, water, inset repellent, or anything you think you’ll need. There is nowhere to by anything.

5) A visit to Vila’s Hospital is a wise measure prior starting the “round the Island torture”. Also, an insurance that covers medical repatriation in case of accident is strongly recommended, unless you fall in love with Vila’s hospital.

Tanna:

I don’t know any road from east to west of Tanna but there is the road that goes more or less around the Island, passing by Yasur Volcano. Anyway, there are many tracks that are not on any map and only the locals can tell you where these tracks are. Roads in Tanna (Efate too) can become impassable after heavy rain, but by foot I don’t see any problems except bubbles in the feet.

Conclusion:

Of course if you re-schedule your adventure to June July or August, the weather and temperature will be much much better. Anyway, if you can’t postpone it, take long sleeve white shirts, hat, sun block, water, first aid kit, water and food.

Hope this help.

I like your enthusiastic quelling of my enthusiasm, very healthy :)

I was also told not to hitchhike through northern sudan, but you never know 'til you try it, right?
Thanks for the reply, much useful information

There is definitely a road right across the middle of Tanna, and it would be easy to walk it.
There are LOTS of trails, too, and landowners are more likely to be friendly than cause trouble. Still, a guide could be helpful for this bit. I walked right across Tanna on a trail and back on the road myself. And I did it in December!

I haven't cycled around Efate, but I would consider it a far less crazy option than celiaroger.

I don't think this is a crazy idea at all. Admittedly January would be very humid, hot and wet. There is also the possibility of a cyclone. What would you do then? June, July would be a far better time.

I've never noticed bike rentals in Port Vila. I'm planning a trip to Santo with bikes. I recently enquired with Virgin and Qantas about taking bikes from Australia on flights. No problem. You just need to collect a cardboard bike box from the airport to pack your bike in for the flight. Cost of transporting the bike is negligible, something like $30 or less.

You'll need to make sure that you have all the spares for the bike that you need with you. Sure the road is rough, but if you like cross country mountain biking (as I do), it is perfect. Correct me if I'm wrong, but the round Efate trip is 120km or so. That's not far. If the worst happenned with your bikes on the trip, you could just walk the rest over a few days or hitch a lift (if a lift came along).

I wouldn't see a problem with walking Tanna either. It is steep in areas but walkable if you are fit. The locals are very hospitable and welcoming.

When I was last in Port Vila and Tanna a few years ago (I was travelling with a doctor who was nosey about medical care in the area), the main doctors were westerners, so doctor care would be of a western standard. I don't know about the hospital though. I would expect that anything more serious you'd have to be repatriated so make sure you have travel insurance.

Sounds like a fantastic trip. Go for it!

Thanks for the info guys, sounds very do-able.

And no stress about the medical bit... we're both actually developing world doctors, so something reasonably serious would need to happen for us to both be out of action (touch wood!). Will still have insurance though.

I biked around Efate in October 2006, totally worth doing. Really rough roads and lots of potholes. If it rains the road will be a swamp. It hadn't rained in a while when I did it and even then I had to carry my bike across several rivers. Locals are very friendly and hospitable, I got invited to stay the night in each village. Bring spare parts for your bikes but don't stress too much about it - enough trucks go by that if you got stuck you could easily get a ride back to Vila. Also I would recommend doing it counter-clockwise as then the steepest hills will be downhill!