We all have stories and histories – as individuals and nations. I love to hear about the history of Vanuatu. During orientation I heard about Blackbirding, when people were taken to work on the plantations. I have heard a lot about the rebellion and split between the French and British rule before independence.

This last week I was blessed to travel with my brother and his friend with Tanna Voyage. We set out to explore several areas and join some Kastom tours and more of the natural beauty of Tanna Island.

We visited historical caves, practised shooting a bow and arrow, drank lots of coconuts but more importantly we learnt a lot about the ancient stories of the Tannese people. We heard of the Machichiki and the coconut.

Later we heard of the butterfly and water flow at Nazareth Valley. I couldn’t help but join in the dancing and immerse myself fully into the experience.

I love this about travelling and being in a new place. You have the opportunity to open yourself to new stories, experiences and feelings. It’s not my place to share these stories. These stories belong to the Tannese.

Today, I am taking time to be grateful to all the people who have shared with me. Thank you!

I thought it was about time to write about my actual volunteering work experience. Every Monday through Friday I head from Isangel to the Whitegrass airport. It usually takes me about 45mins. I usually walk to Lenakel, especially on Monday, Wednesday and Friday to go to the market before work. Somewhere along the way walking I will catch a minivan ‘bus’. It is 200 Vatu (approx 2.50 AUD) one way. The buses aren’t on a schedule or set route. You ask to go somewhere and they will take you if they are heading in the right direction, or you wait for the next one. Some days it takes a while to catch a bus, but I just keep walking towards the airport. I have also ridden my bike it’s about 45min ride.

Tanna Travel has a great little office at the airport. The Manager Ruth sits at the front desk, and I sit at the back desk. We book tours and accommodation, provide information and sell handicrafts. I have mainly been focussed on the website and entering new operators into the Bookeasy system. I work from 8-4pm. We usually have power and internet but sometimes it goes down. Flights get cancelled due to wind, rain and sometimes it’s too late and dark for the planes to land.

The only other thing at the airport is a small shop. It sells soft drink, biscuits and tea and coffee when in stock. I have to take lunch with me or go back to town to get something substantial to eat.

Recently I went to some site inspections with Skills Partnership. These inspections are lists of fun, but exhausting bouncing up and down on pot holed dirt roads! It’s great to be able to see more of the Island. I recently went to Lowanamilo. It had a pretty little waterfall.

Life is pretty here. There is definitely an insta-worthy moment every single day.

Every day is amazing and you learn something new. Some days stick out as being really special. Recently I went fishing with some friends and their visitors. I loved being out on the ocean. It was a little wild and the swells were large! Our deep sea fishing was a bust as the swell was too large, but we caught a barracuda and a blue salmon closer to the shore over the reef.

We fire roasted the salmon whole and Kara made a delicious curry with barracuda. Kara’s landlords hosted us all for a lovely night of music and a delicious big lap lap with chicken and spring onions.

It was lovely to spend such a perfect evening eating, singing, playing games with the kids and talking with a couple of other volunteers, their family and our new Tanna friends.

Do you know where your coffee comes from? I’m guessing it doesn’t come from Tanna Island, Vanuatu. I drink Tanna Coffee everyday. While I miss my favourite coffee shop in Noosa, Tanna Coffee is good. There is only 2 espresso machines on the island and they are at the bigger resorts, so I usually have a plunger or use my Italian press.

Everyday, on my way to work, at the airport, I pass many amazing bungalows, some schools including a wood working technical college, a mechanic workshop, UNELCO, the power provider, and several general stores. I often walk a while and then flag down a bus after a while. On a walk recently I stopped at Isaka processing shed.

This is where the bean sorting is done. The beans are checked and quality graded by hand. In Loukatai, just off the main road is the main Tanna Coffee sheds. There are tours that you can join to see Tanna Coffee and also Tanna Farm, with its lovely coconut oil and other products.

Ever thought you wanted to be stranded on an island in the Pacific…

Tanna Island, post cyclone Pam is full of refurbished bungalows, ready for tourists or volunteers just like me. I am staying at Apera on the West Coast of Tanna Island at a lovely property that has plenty to offer someone like me for a long stay as well as for the tourist market.

There is a great beach, volleyball court, lovely garden, restaurant area and my humble new abode.

My villa has everything you would need for a short stay. It’s secure, got fly screens, power, ceiling fans and flushing toilets. I am working on putting a small kitchenette in with a fridge and stove top in so I can cook inside.

I must pre-warn you though, running water is only available for a few hours in the morning at many places, like mine. Remember to boil your water before drinking it too! Armed with this knowledge, you are free to come visit!

Lukim yu!

Tuluk is made from tapioca with shredded meat filling inside. Tanna seems to mainly have beef ones. I saw a lot of pork ones in Port Vila. It is wrapped in banana leaves and steamed.

I call it the meat pie of the Pacific. You can grab it on the go as you run through the market for 100 Vatu (about $1.20 AUD) and it’s already wrapped in a leaf so it’s easy to transport. Ok, so today’s lunch was not the healthiest or full of nutritional value… but it was delicious. I promise I had a big serving of chicken and veggies for dinner to compensate!!

The cyclone has gone taking the rain too. Now we have blue skies again. More importantly we have access to supplies as the ferry could come from Port Vila. Heading to the wharf to wait for my stuff to arrive the atmosphere was infectious. It was a market day so there were lots of people in town shopping as well as waiting for the ferry. It felt like Christmas!

Having had no ferry the week before meant that supplies were low in town. There was a shortage of gas, diesel and the store shelves seemed sparse. The shortages were a good reminder to eat some humble pie and not feel put out by my own lack of ‘stuff’. After all, I had some clothes and basic toiletries. Not to mention a very helpful host sister, who let me take over her kitchen!

There is no system for collecting your things. They are forklifted off and then you take your stuff when you find it. We accidentally ended up with one box that doesn’t belong to us! I thought it was my hosts, and she thought it was mine. Oops.. we will deliver it to the right person today!

The whole process of watching the ferry arrive, the dust, the collection process and everything took about 3 hours. So next time I know not to rush down. I did manage to enjoy a lovely chicken curry at the market and get my hair cut while I waited.

Now, I am off to put my bike together and check out some accommodation!

Cyclone Liua maybe up north but I made it to Tanna Island safely. I flew with Air Vanuatu on a small 20 seater plane. The flight was delayed for an hour. It was raining steadily when we left Port Vila but just overcast when we arrived in Tanna. Considering the weather the flight was pretty smooth and only took about an hour.

At last, I have arrived! YaY!!

I love to drink green coconuts – coconut water then pulling out the soft flesh. Yum! At the market here in Port Vila it is 50 Vatu (approx AUD 60c) for a small one, which is plenty for 1 person to drink, a big one is 100 Vatu and enough for at least 2 people.

Today at our orientation we watched how to open a brown coconut with a bush knife then how to scrape it and make coconut milk and/or cream. After you scrape the coconut put the flesh in a cheese cloth or similar and squeeze, than add a little of the liquid from when you opened it to make cream or more to make milk.

Today all us new volunteers went to Siviri Village. It took about 1hr by bus. We attended the local church. The singing was beautiful. The harmony was magical. It was in Bislama so our lessons came in handy.

After church we had a chance to explore the village. The reef was great. It was low tide. Then we had a big lunch of yam, taro, pumpkin, island cabbage salad, with some chicken wings and mince. But the star of the meal was the traditional lap lap (pictured above). I got to help remove the rocks and uncover it. It was made from grated yam, onion and coconut cream.

After lunch we visited the cave system.