Veronika Wild

Back on Efate, I do some of the more conventional tours which include dancing and traditional Melanesian feasts. I am particularly taken with the one whose brochure promises that "Our friendly warriors will attack you on arrival." They do. At the sound of a giant conch shell being blown in a forest clearing lit by torches and bedecked with flowers, scantily clad men with spears and clubs, leap out from bushes and trees. There is a bit of dancing based on events in daily life - planting crops, fishing - then a firewalk, another stringband, a taste of kava and quite a lot of cultural information - such as which plants to use to poison fish in a rock pool and which ones to use to render the poison harmless, how to make simple traps for wild pigs or chickens, how Nivans used to use spider webs to catch big fish and how to preserve food after a cyclone. The feast though, proves a little disappointing since it includes potato salad, beetroot and orange juice as well as the u...

A storm brews over Santo Espiritu Santo, the largest island, being closer to the Equator, is much hotter and more humid than Vila. It is also more laid back, cleaner and has home comforts like ATMS, hostel type accommodation and internet cafes. My family hasn't heard from me since I set off on that rusty ship for Ambrym. My first excursion is to Surunda where James Michener lived. It's easy to get there but hard to get back until I run into Daniel, the driver we had on Ambrym. This happens often in Vanuatu. One reason for this is that marriage is patrilocal i.e. traditionally the bride goes to her husband's village, but then his sister has to marry one of her brothers to keep the numbers even and to help build alliances in a country where there are hundreds of different tribes. The result is dense networks of relationships which involve much visiting between islands. The serene house of author James Michener, wartime historian who wrote Tales of the South Pacific on whi...

The Moika is an old Indian cargo ship that has a list to port even before it's loaded. The sign on the bridge says "Safety First." Very confidence inspiring. "Come Monday at six," the crew says. Three days later at 11.30, under cover of darkness we finally get underway. Nivans are a patient lot but no wonder a cheer goes up from the wharf as we leave Port Vila. This phenomenon is known as Island Time and drives foreigners, especially the ubiquitous and punctual Germans, insane. Mine is the only white face in the sea of smiling brown ones. On the open water the journey is rough and the boat heaves and shudders as it is hit by house -sized waves that spray over the passengers huddled on deck. A storm hits. I'm cold, wet and violently sick. Passengers sleep wherever they can. A lovely lady covers me and her son with a sarong and later her coat. Though a crew member offers me shelter in one of their cabins, this actually makes me feel worse, so I go back ...

In case you have been wondering why you haven't heard much from your intrepid correspondent lately, it's because I have been in Vanuatu for the last couple of months. Not only are there hardly any computers - only two out of 84 islands have internet access, but most places do not have electricity. I must admit, I was a little shocked at how little I knew about one of our nearest neighbours. Usually I do a bit of research first but, not wanting to sit home alone when the axe fell on my 25 year marriage, I left on only a couple of days notice expecting that I'd be able to find everything out from the internet or a library when I got there. Not true. Not even the tourist bureau could tell me much, as I doubt that the staff have ever been to the outer islands. Yes, there are brochures about expensive resorts, sapphire beaches, volcanoes and palm fringed islands, but most of Vanuatu is geared to wealthy tourists and tax evaders not budget travellers, so here are a few th...