tips about visiting small and/or big nambas

Hi to all,

Next august I will spend 16 days in Vanuatu. I am a single traveler and I need as much as tips you can give me to organize a wonderful trip. My plan is to write trip reportage (inclusive of picture and underwater picture as I am not a diver but only snorkeler) for Italian people because I would like to encourage trips in this marvelous country. I am interesting in beaches sea life but above all in bush walking and culture. Particularly I would like to go to Malekula to visit remote villages: I plan to walk for three days visiting small and/or big nambas villages but travel agency quote this trip very high. How can I organize a budget trip???

Which other islands you suggest to visit?? Santo or Ambrym?? It’s safe for a solo traveler??

Any other suggestion are really appreciate.

Thanks

mario

At the airport, just off the side of it actually, is the flying club. Pilots all speak English. Email: airclubv@vanuatu.com.vu. You go to the club, barter a price directly with the pilot to take you wherever you want to go.

Oh, by the way, you can visit both the Big and Small Nambas. There's some good bush walking and guest houses on either side of the island.

I found Vanuatu one of the safest (and friendliest) places on Earth.
Cheap trips there are NOT organized - you catch a ship to the island of your choice, make local friends, then go with the flow...
Both Santo and Ambrym are well worth visiting, too.
I also liked Tanna a lot, and found it the best of all islands for traditional culture.

Note that if you organize any village tours, you will most likely see some staged tourist-oriented scene/performance!

thanks both for your replies.

lesroys: thanks for your tips about flying club but I think your option is too much expensive, isn't it??? and you know how can organize a three days trip around malekula with local and not with travel agencies??? which accomodation is the best to do it???

Laszlo: as you can understand I don't want to organize a touristic village tour: I want to run away from a tour where locals wait for a tourist and organize an artificial dance ... I AM LOOKING FOR REAL LOCAL LIFE. So what do you suggest??? I think it's better to go to less touristic island so this is the reason I plan to go to malekula instead of tanna. My goals is:
- relax some days and stay at the beach and snorkel and so on (Santo)
- trekking and discover local costumes (Malekula)
what is wrong?? any better options?? please help me

as I have only 16 days and I want to visit at least two island the better way to move is by plane, isn't it???

thanks guys and sorry for my bad english ... greetings from italy

I have not visited Malekula, but all those who did said that locals there do NOT wear traditional "costumes" in everyday life. To see those, you must be lucky to hit a special event, or go with an organized tour that stages it (this is how Nambas pics in the Lp guide must have been taken).
With limited time, flying is probably the safest option.
BTW, you could even do all the things you want on Santo alone.

The others are right. Daily clothes on Malekula are t shirts and surf shorts. The t shirt will be likely to bear an old Ni Vanuatu proverb like "Manchester United". Soccer is big in Vanuatu.

The cheapest way to get to Malekula is by boat. The boats to Malekula leave from beside the Vila town market every 2 weeks but I don't know the timetable. There is always a high tech blackboard sign outside the wharf advising the next departure but it could be to Epi or Tanna or something. If you don't want to wait you will have to fly with Air Vanuatu. Flights go Vila - Norsup direct on Wednesday and Saturday mornings. You can also fly there from Santo on Monday and Tuesday. I suggest that you head for the North end of the island because it is smaller and at least has one road. There are no roads in the South. The roads are only dirt tracks and become impassable during heavy rain. You can pick up a ride on a truck for about US$5-10.

As far as I know there are no hotels on Malekula, not even cheap ones. There are bungalows (essentially a native hut with a bed or two inside) in some of the villages available for about US$20 per person. Some include food and others charge extra. Whatever, it is plain native food. A typical breakfast is bread, jam and tea. The national dish is curried chicken wings and rice. You should carry as much food as you can on the plane from Vila. Everyone does. Every district has a fruit and vegetable market where the produce is very cheap. You will have to ask about which days. Also take lots of 100VT coins, 500 and 1000VT notes. There are no banks and everything is cash. The shops in this area are very basic and may have almost zero stock if a ship has not been by in a while. Other essential items are a mosquito net and plenty of repellant.

Near Norsup airport there are bungalows on Uripiv island ( a regular boat service goes out. This island has a good reef for diving) or near Sanwir and Walarano villages (Rose Bay bungalows). Ask around any trucks at the airport if you want a ride. Expect to pay 500VT or so. Tam tam bungalows are a little further North and you can walk there in a morning. If you feel like a 2 day hike there is Abutarevar bungalow on the North-West side of the island. The dirt road goes there. I'm guessing it would be about 30k from Tam Tam. It is more isolated and more primitive on the West coast - no shops or phones.

This website might give you some idea of how rugged the terrain is at the South end of Malekula.

http://www.malekulahikingtrail.blogspot.com/

I hope this helps you meet your budget.

so guys thanks a lot for your replies but now I am a little bit confused. So what do you think about my plan:

• Port Vila 2nights
• Santo 7/8 nights:
  • Port Orly
  • Lonnoc
  • Three days trekking (Millennium cave, custom village, blue hole or rural Santo). I would like to organizew by vanuatu tourist information ... it's better and cheaper to do by myself with locals???
• Ambryn 4/5 nights:
  • trekking volcanoes
  • North Ambrym Mini Arts Festival Back to My Roots from 26 to 28th august (everybody knows if it's ok or not??)
• Efate 2 nights:
  - North efate: Nguna and/or Pele

But I can change everithing if you suggest that Tanna is a better plays for climbing volcano, snorkelling and custom village.

I hope to hear you soon. Thanks in advance

mario

Tanna is definitely MUCH more interesting than anything on or around Efate.

You're confused ? ? ? What about the rest of us ? ? ?

YOU initially wrote " Particularly I would like to go to Malekula . . . " yet now you have dumped it totally.

Aaaaarrrgghh ! Make up your mind !

dear uncle_sav,

Sincererly I don't understand why you upset me; you told me that people in Malekula dress like western people same as other island so I can find same custom village in other island. This is the reason I begin to take in consideration other options ... Now for example I want to consider Lazlo option to go to tanna ... I am going crazy??

I don't think I have to make up my mind ... if I were all clear, maybe I never write this post, doesen't it?? Sorry If you waste your time answering

thanks

mario

Perhaps you don't understand that the people in the "kastom" villages are all faking it for the tourists. That is how they earn their living. Everywhere you go in Vanuatu to see a "festival" you will have to pay. Vanuatu's most famous festival is the Nagol on Pentecost. It happens only on Saturdays and you have to pay to see it. Same with the ROM dance on Ambrym. The costumes are real Vanuatu tradition but that is not their daily life.

All over Vanuatu the natural dress for the men is surf shorts and t shirts and for the women it is mother hubbard dresses. That doesn't mean you shouldn't go.

There are still plenty of men who catch dinner with a spear or a slingshot. You can learn how to catch a coconut crab with your hands.

Well, in a FEW places traditional dress is still worn in everyday life, and festivals can be seen for free.
But this is not something one can expect to experience on a quick, drop-in trip.

Unfortunately, the style of this forum does not permit me to post any of my pics of the outer islands so I will post a link to someone else's.

http://www.sorenlarsen.co.nz/archive/2003/VoyLog_pics_2003_Vanu_Banks_Noreen/pages/ship%20from%20ureparapara%20ridge_JPG.htm

As far as I can tell these are taken on Ureparapara - the dance scenes. I am fairly sure that this dance was a special show put on for a cruise boat for money. If you can get there, expect to pay. The island is only accessible by boat from Sola. Gaua - the water music. Search "water music" on Youtube. Santo - the beach scenes were shot at Wusi a very remote village on the West side of Santo. It might take 3 - 5 days to hike in there. No road, no electricity, no telephone. The people in the pics are typical of outer island natives. Waterfall - at Waterfall Bay on the West side of Vanua Lava. Chief Kerely will demand money as soon as you step ashore, then you can visit the waterfall.

No grass skirts I'm afraid.

Soren Larsen is a commercial cuising operation. Here is a link to their website for anyone interested.

http://www.sorenlarsen.co.nz/V290a_Vanuatu_Banks_2009.htm

really thank you for the information you give me. So I think I have two option:

• one is Santo-Ambrym-Malekula
• the other is Santo and Tanna

it depens on time and money (no way to go to gua - no enough days trip).

Last question: you think I need to book in advance or the second half of august is not too much busy (expecially if I want to go to Ambryn for Mini Art Festival in Olal village from 26th to 28th august)

thanks again

mario

I am not able to answer your question. You will have to ask at the Air Vanuatu office in Vila.

There are two other festivals that I have discovered. These will be on whether or not any tourists are there.

South West Bay Malekula 12 - 14 August, Vanua Lava September 1 - 3

Expect to pay. At the ROM dance on Ambrym the chief will probably want 3000vt. Malekula will be less because it is harder to get to. You may be fed lunch. The most interesting is Vanua Lava which is a chief's grade taking ceremony. They don't happen too often.

I attended the Art Festival in Olal, Ambrym, 3 years ago.
They did not ask for any money for photos - photography was banned altogether!
Watching was free, but then the only other tourists present were a French couple.

No one in Malekula wears nambas any more apart from for festivals or for tourists. I did a 4-day trek from the east coast to south west bay, across the most remote part of the island and they all wear t-shirts and shorts. They were all extremely friendly however and it was one of the best part of my trips, much better than in south pentecost where lots of people wear nambas every day but can also be quite money-grabbing. As Laszlo said, no need to organise a tour, local people will be very happy to help you, And yeh there are places in vanuatu where everyone wears traditional dress every day and if you are very lucky you can catch genuine festivals or enormous dances without paying but you need time and luck on your side!