Vatthe conservation reserve

Anyone been to the Vatthe conservation reserve on Santo?

I was pretty disappointed with it. The locals at Matantas village charged my partner and I 1600 vatu each for a guide to take us to the Jordan 'river' through the conservation reserve. 600 vatu each was for the conservation fee and 1000 each was the fee for the guide.

Now I wouldn't have minded paying the conservation fee, but if a conservation fee is going to be levied then I would have expected that the empty soft drink tins along the way would have been cleared in a conservation reserve. And the Jordan River was not a river but a tributary off the river which was barely flowing.

We felt pretty ripped off. But I didn't quibble about the price (I would have back home), I figured that bargaining doesn't seem to be the done thing in Vanuatu.

I thought a particular issue with Vatthe, actually like many conservation projects throughout the pacific was that there simply isn't the money or the people to actually make the huge inroads required? I haven't been to Vatthe though so I don't know if that's the case there.

There are groups which go there in a voluntary capacity such as this one if you were interested in going back.

Edited by: sneaker_fish

Thanks for that info. It's good to see programs clearing that vine. I understand that the vine was left by the US, because it grows so fast it was used to cover up their military equipment during the 1940's. It was good to see that the area of Vatthe we walked through was clear of this vine.

Hopefully our money will be put back into the program.

Definately won't be going back though. Once was enough.