Educating local villagers about how to provide professional tourism standards for foreign guests is not easy when you consider that many remote local people have not travelled far beyond nearby islands and experienced what it is to be a visitor in a completely different culture. For these remote communities understanding the basic standards guests want requires learning from hands on experience and from simple in the field education.

Sometimes it is humorous to witness the cultural divide. I have seen a foreign guest very anxious as he asked his host why there is no hole in the ground in the toilet. The host laughed and did not understand how the guest could confuse the shower room with the toilet room but to the guest they both looked the same. Two female guests became troubled when they saw their aging host ask two young teenage girls to carry the guest’s bags to the canoe. They commented to me that they were shocked to see the way he was treating the women and what kind of an example was being set for any young men from overseas who might now think women are allowed to be exploited. The female guests did not realise that it is normal in Vanuatu for women and men to carry loads much heavier than their bags, and that the girls were happily assisting and being paid by the host as part of a whole community tourism plan. Bungalow owners discover the many apparent eccentricities of foreign people’s behavior, for example guests genuine love of shelving. Most ni-van houses in the villages have no shelving probably because locals do not have many material things to put on a shelf or a cultural history of shelving. I watched a guest vent his genuine frustrations because there were no shelves in the bungalows. Put a shelf and a small table inside a bungalow and a chair outside the door and you will see guests go into a mild euphoria as they make themselves at home. Don’t provide these things and guests have a tendency to become slightly agitated. How many foreign visitors have been surprised and disappointed to receive a soft limp handshake and no eye contact from the young people at a welcome ceremony without realizing it is a local way of showing respect? How many tour guides realise that foreign guest have no idea what poisonous plants looks like, or that it is taboo to see custom dancers preparing their costumes, to point at a dancer while they are dancing, or for locals to call their in laws by name, or raise their hands above their shoulder in the presence of their mother in law? A local man while watching a science fiction horror movie with a crowd in his village asked a guest where is this place where people can fly in the air and turn into vampires and werewolves. The guest tried to explain that this is not a real place. Local man replied that it must be real because someone made a movie by taking pictures of the places and people with a camera. The guest gave up further explanation as he did not know how to convey the concept of computer generated imagery film making techniques to the local man. I heard described to one community in a remote village that to understand a tourist in rural Vanuatu you have to imagine them as ‘babies in big bodies’ because everything here is new to them. The crowd understood the message.

Everyone has something they know and something to learn. It is necessary to meet in the middle. This is the face to face essence of successful tourism.

One sensitive question that I get asked is how can guests experience life in an authentic Vanuatu village with professional high standards and know that the guest’s influence is helping the whole community in a number of ways and not causing harm? For an excellent example simply look at a tiny island off the southern tip of Mota Lava in the remote north of Vanuatu. This island has emerged as a leading light in rural tourism and community development.

The Rah Island community have become pioneers in Vanuatu, setting a new benchmark for outer island bungalow accommodation and cultural tourism experience standards. This has happened alongside healthy community management through the hard work and cooperation of the entire village, close associations with an Australian tour operator passionate about teaching and assisting healthy community growth, by focusing on professionalism, cultural authenticity, and the leadership of a wise old man who has a vision for helping his whole island and communities beyond. It is a combination that after four years of focused work, with its hardship, struggles and successes, has created a unique island experience that overseas guests are simply raving about.

Under the guidance of Simon Humphries from Vanuatu Custom Travel and the coordination of Father Luke Dini of Rah Paradise Bungalow , the community of Rah Island has embraced with great results the motto “tourism is everyone’s business”. Every family on the island is involved in some way, such as collecting food from the gardens, preparing meals, doing a variety of duties to look after the guests and the bungalows, being tour guides or canoe taxi drivers, catching fish, preparing and providing welcome and farewell celebrations, performing songs, custom activities, dances or running cultural workshops. Rah Island works with villages on Mota Lava for tours and activities to share the work and income tourism generates. The result is that villages are finding a way to bond through tourism.

On Mota Lava guests can visit the Telvit Coconut Crab Conservation area to see and learn about these endangered crabs, then fish with a successful custom method using mud as bait. Guests can visit the schools and medical clinic, meet wood carvers, watch men’s and women’s custom dancing, see sand drawing, climb Sleeping Mountain and more.

On Rah Island guests can tour the village and see what everyday life is like with no electricity, cooking only with fire, and making homes and everyday items by hand from the surrounding bush, gardens and sea. Guests can visit the Rock of Rah and learn about shell money and the reserve banking system, hear local custom stories, do a cooking and weaving workshop, fish from an outrigger canoe, participate in the custom fishing ceremony in November for St Andrew’s Day, snorkel along the reef with impressive coral and fish, or relax on the beach soaking in the incredible view and enjoying exceptional island food. The bungalow owners on Rah are excellent hosts and their cooking skills are highly praised.

One of the rare elements of tourism on Rah Island is the development of three key assets and a transparent system to enrich both the guest’s experiences and the communities. The Rah Island Safari Association overseas tourism on Rah. Representing the community are the chiefs of Rah, the three bungalow owners, the outrigger canoe taxi association, coffee/kava bar and game fishing providers, and the Rah Women’s Association. The group works together for the good of all. The Children of Rah Scholarship Fund has been established to receive contributions from Vanuatu Custom Travel for each day guests stay on the island. Visitors have also generously made donations to the scholarship fund which is used at the end of each year to assist families with expenses associated with attending high school boarding college on Pentecost, Santo or Efate for example. The final asset the island has started developing is a Rah Micro-Finance Loan Project to assist with establishing small sustainable projects to raise funds to improve education, health and basic living conditions. After a year of planning and development the micro-finance project received seed funding from Australian investors. The micro-loans are being used to buy flour to make bread, cement for the bungalows, paint and materials to repair the canoe taxis and tools to prepare the gardens for vegetables. Now Father Luke Dini and the people of Rah are sharing their methodology with the village of Totogla on Mota Lava. Father Luke says, “The seed we have planted is growing so well it is bearing fruit. So now we are taking a seed to another village to plant and grow there.” All this has been initiated and created independent of government or NGO assistance and is a credit to the commitment of the people of Rah to the future of their community and their ability to work well together for the benefit of all.

In spite of the difficulties, hurdles and barriers that remote island villages face, the people of Rah Island have shown an example of a system of community management incorporating tourism and the development of their culture, education, finances and health that can be a touchstone for the planning of genuinely successful and sustainable tourism across Vanuatu. Father Luke Dini says, “We must keep the fire burning. Rah Island is small but now it is an example for others.” In the crown of coral and cultural gems surrounding the hub of Port Vila, Rah Island truly is a shining jewel.

For the final word here is some feedback from a group from Melbourne (Australia) who spent a week on Rah Island with Simon Humphries from Vanuatu Custom Travel in 2009 .

“Visiting this tiny remote island, which can be accessed by canoe across a lagoon connecting it with the main island of Mota Lava, is a life changing experience and one which is very humbling. You can expect a very simple but very adequate and comfortable bungalow with all you need to enjoy this place of beauty and ever changing scenes. A place without electricity or hot water with wonderfully clean ablution block and flowers daily in your room. A place where white sands and coral reefs and fish are there to enjoy. While the scent of frangipani wafts around the island - small fires cooking the meals served 3 times a day are burning to provide delicate, delicious and very healthy food.”

'Over years gone by we have been fortunate enough to travel quite extensively through the UK, Europe, the US and Canada. We have had many wonderful experiences visiting places history had taught us about and seen sights we had long dreamt of seeing. However nothing prepared us for our last trip which was to the island of Rah in Vanuatu. We had only a sketchy idea of what to expect as we travelled to this tiny island situated to the north of Espiritu Santo, settled in a glistening ocean of navy blue and turquoise. The island is visually stunning with tall swaying coconut palms, golden beaches, warm lagoons and beautiful sunsets. Yet here was more. We were so openly and warmly greeted by and accepted into the community of Rah who demonstrated so naturally those wonderful traits we seem to spend so long teaching our own children. They were joyful, warm, friendly, thoughtful and caring. They have so little but gave so generously. The richness of their custom and culture overwhelmed us as we were invited to join their daily lives. We spent time sitting under the stars philosophising about our lives and theirs and determined that perhaps we didn't have all the answers. Soul searching can be an indulgent exercise but it can also encourage us to revisit our own values and judge them for their worth. The time we spent with the beautiful people of Rah was a time never to forget and the friendships made are ones to cherish into the future.'

“Since returning to my own country Australia just one week ago my mind is constantly winding backwards to living on an island in the Banks Group that is so rich in Melanesian tribal culture and with people who are so selfless. This area of Vanuatu is without any means of income to support family life other than creatively providing people like us with hospitality for a week of fun and adventure. My week amongst these people was a learning experience of a community who are striving to provide for their children's well being in health and education with great sacrifice. Their community life is one of a team and family quietly and slowly achieving to provide more opportunities. I valued being able to talk to the women in the village who are concerned about women's health issues and how to improve these. Sharing with these women touched my emotions.”

“I find the concept of this form of eco-tourism which indeed ends up supporting the people who need it very good, and we certainly learned a lot during the two weeks. For me it feels as if we came as tourists but left as friends. Best holiday we have had.”

“Rah is a stunning place for photography.”

“One is surrounded by beauty in this silent and remote little paradise. I will return to reconnect with these special people.”

“Their gentleness and self sufficiency is inspirational.”

Air Vanuatu now has three flights a week to Rah Island via Mota Lava airport and offer the new ‘Harbin Y12’ seventeen seat planes on many of these flights.

 
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My Island Home

In 1973 at the age of only six weeks Simon Humphries parents travelled with him from Geelong Victoria to Santo Island, Vanuatu.  In those days Vanuatu was named the New Hebrides and was under French and British rule. As a ‘ pikinini’ (local language for ‘child’) Simon spoke the native pidgin English called Bislama before he learnt to speak English.  Simon’s parents, uncle and auntie worked in Vanuatu assisting the training and education of people on many islands.  His father, Malcolm Humphries, worked as an accountant, business teacher and community facilitator across many of the islands of Vanuatu.  Malcolm was trained and assisted some Vanuatu people to set up the first 50% or more ni-van (people of Vanuatu) owned and run businesses. The young men and women that Malcolm Humphries assisted in the early 1970’s went on to be valuable leaders, business owners, accountants, teachers, medical professionals, and respected government representatives. For the young pikinini Simon, his family’s love of the people, place, and spirit of adventure has obviously had a strong impact on the child.  Now, at a similar age to his father before him, Simon does valuable work in rural tourism and community development through the successful specialist community tourism business Vanuatu Custom Travel. 

Back in Australia, Simon wanted for many years to reconnect with a deep sense of island home and meet his adopted family in the archipelago of Vanuatu. His journey took him deep into the landscape and heart of a ‘forgotten’ people and a nation that outlawed cannibalism in the 1960’s and became an independent republic in 1980.  His experiences and connections with the people and places in Vanuatu has opened up the pathway for culturally respectful ‘tribal’ tourism with an authenticity that comes only from strong personal connections to local communities.  Vanuatu Custom Travel’s website puts it succinctly – ‘Stunning Locations, Extraordinary People, Unforgettable Experiences’. His work includes living with remote tribes, co-ordinating transport, accommodation and activities, running workshops, service assessments and training then connecting these hidden islands of paradise with travel agents, specialist companies and guests from around the world.  It sounds like something from an Indiana Jones movie. 

Finding My Tribe

“Last year I returned to Rah Island in the north of Vanuatu and as I arrived on the beach at the southern tip of Mota Lava Island where a short canoe ride would take me to Rah, a local villager came up to me with a big smile on his face and shook my hand.  He said in perfect English, “Welcome home Simon.”  I was touched and moved by his sincere and kind welcome.  When my host Father Luke Dini, a man whose hospitality is second to none, passion and vision for his community is inspiring in itself, reached the beach on Rah another local villager came up to me and said without any prompting, “Welcome home.”  As we walked across the tiny island through the village, I greeted people I had not seen for many months. I felt almost overwhelmed with joy to be back there.  I am very appreciative that through chance and some exploration I am connected to a wonderful community in such a stunning picturesque place.  When I first arrived at Rah in 2006 I felt a profound sense that Rah was my island home.  I had a sense this was my ‘tribe’.  I have used that term since back in Australia to describe maybe why some people fit in easily and others do not.  Later that day at the bungalows I told Father Luke of my happy astonishment at the warm “Welcome home” I received on arrival.  I felt a bit awkward as I asked him as politely as possible if he had arranged for the islanders to say that, thinking maybe he did this to impress me to help with Rah’s tourism.  He laughed.” 

“No. They did that on their own. I had nothing to do with it at all.  The people of Rah are very special.  They meet you with their heart.  We know straight away what a person is like because we feel people in our heart.  This is a gift the Melanesian people have that we share with visitors.” 

“That is the kind of people they are on Rah.  I had many engaging, enjoyable heart-felt conversations with Father Luke over the week of my stay.”

Losing Home

A few months later in January 2008 Rah Island and its neighbour Mota Lava Island were struck by a cyclone that destroyed gardens, trees, water supplies and homes.  It is not just the cyclones wind and rain that cause damage but also the salt water in the air that kills all plant life turning rich fertile gardens and jungle into a brown lifeless wasteland.  Father Luke Dini’s beach bungalow was washed out to sea and with it his hopes and dreams of sharing his culture and community with guests from around the world.

“I am in a very dark place,” he said after the cyclone. “I have never felt such loss and sorrow before.  I have lost everything.  Before when a cyclone has come and caused damage I have been able to rebuild.  Now I am an old man.  This place has been my home for more than 20 years.  It is hard to find any hope that I will be able to rebuild my bungalows and see my dream happen.  I am in a very dark place.  Like never before.  Before, when disasters came, I never cried.  Today I wept.”

Simon was deeply touched when he heard these words from his close friend on Rah and from a number of villagers how food supplies were destroyed and people had very little to eat or drink.  Roads, homes and essential services were all damaged.  In response Simon spoke to the very socially conscious community of St Mary’s church in West End (Brisbane) where he feels another sense of ‘tribe’.  The story of Father Luke’s deep loss and feeling of hopelessness and the desperation of the people on these islands touched the hearts of this community and within a week they had raised over $2,000 as a donation.  The funds were sent to a nearby island to be collected by boat and then distributed by the community to help those in greatest.  Father Luke was given some funds to rebuild his home and bungalows and with tears in his eyes he thanked Simon for what he and the people from St Mary’s had done. 

Now, six months later, Simon is returning with guests to Rah Island to visit his island home and close friend Father Luke who is very glad to be able to receive visitors once more in his new Rah Beach Bungalow.  “It is a miracle,” Father Luke commented. “The cyclone destroyed everything.  I did not know how I would go on.  I really thought I had lost everything. But the cyclone also brought plenty of new sand up onto the beach and made it even more beautiful than before.  Now the beach is twice the size. It is very beautiful. I have been able to rebuild my home.  Good things can come from disasters.  I am very glad.”

Bridge Between Worlds

From a chance encounter at Santo airport in 2006, Father Luke and Simon have built a bridge between their island homes and communities in Australia and Vanuatu.  They have opened the way for travellers from across the globe to experience the heart-felt Rah hospitality.  One guest from Venezuela commented, “I have never had a welcome like this in my life before, ever.  It’s incredible.  These people just give so much love.  That is what they do.”  An Italian couple on honeymoon in June this year wrote to Simon thanking him for their Rah Island holiday.  “We just came back to Port Vila from these amazing days on Rah Island, and these have been for sure the best moments of our honeymoon and we will bring them back in our hearts to Italy!!!  Father Luke Dini and all the Rah Island community have been extraordinary in welcoming us, taking care of us and allowing us to experience a wonderful time.  We talked extensively to Father Luke and we have been really positively impressed by his ideas and behaviours, he is a great man!  Thank you very much for organizing these days and for having chosen Rah as your key destination, it is a wonderful place.”

Festival Celebrations

The people of Rah are happy to share their island home, culture and heart-felt hospitality with visitors. 

The Round Island Canoe Race (September 20) is the opportunity to participate in a fun 30 minute outrigger canoe race around Rah Island, experience warm hospitality and rare cultural festivities with the chance to compete for prizes in this very picturesque part of Vanuatu hidden from the usual tourist tracks.

The Saint Andrew’s Day Cultural Festival (November 25-30) is an event occurring once a year and includes 3 days of extraordinary, unique and authentic cultural activities in a stunning location.  Guests can participate in a community custom fishing event using vines and coconut leaves, bows and arrows to catch their dinner.  Other highlights include a variety of custom dances, singing, feasting and a church service that mixes traditional ‘ kastom’ Melanesian ceremony, songs and dance with a powerful gospel choir.  

With its culture, reef, lagoon, bushwalking, gardens, local activities and tours Rah Island is a genuine find for travellers who want to get off the beaten track and discover how people used to live before television, cars and mobile phones.  It is a very friendly happy place.

There Is No Place Like Home.

After answering the call and making many new discoveries along the journey, how hard is it to go back to where we began?  The answer is different for everyone.  Simon reflects, “In my travels to many of Vanuatu’s islands I have consistently met extraordinary, heartfelt, compassionate, happy people; seen truly inspiring, breath taking locations and had incredible experiences. It is hard to put into words.  It is my life dream come true. I am inspired to find ways for people to experience this island spirit in a professional, reliable, responsible way. I am so grateful that my first home was in Vanuatu.”  Simon is continuing the adventure and work his family started 35 years ago.  He is assisting community development and bridging worlds.     

Paradise Found.

Simon says, “I have been privileged to find a few places in the world where I feel at home.  I have made good friends in the process. These relationships and places really inspire me.  This is what drives me to share the culture of Vanuatu, my island home, with people from around the world.  For me home is a few things; a feeling of deep peace and stillness within myself, of sharing moments of joy and wonder with people, plus being in beautiful places.  That is what I love.  I think it is true that home is where the heart is.  I feel it when I am with people I love, in places I love, doing what I love; especially when I share experiences with others.”

Answering The Call.

The search for places and communities we feel connected to and at home in is surely a search from within us for a sense of peace and happiness.  Home is a feeling of the heart. Travel helps us discover such wonderful gifts waiting within us and in people and the world abroad.

For more information on tours, festival and travel in Vanuatu see Simon’s website   www.vanuatucustomtravel.com   For reservations or bookings contact Simon at ask@vanuatucustomtravel.com or call Sure Thing Travel for reservations on 02 8212 4507 (Australia) or +61 2 8212 4507 (from outside Australia). 

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The men of Nereingman Village on Mota Lava Island had come across the small lagoon to open the first canoe race around Rah Island.   It was the exciting culmination of a week of activities. The drummers appeared out of the trees first and found their place in the middle of the crowd.   After forming a tight circle, facing each other, they started to play.   The dancers whirled and pounded around the drummers.   Rhythms created with tam tams and voices were answered by the cadence of shells tied in thick bunches to the dancers ankles.  

The gathered crowd grew larger, drawn by the sound of drumming and the cloud of dust thrown up by the dancer’s feet.   The decorated men danced through four changing rhythms indicating four different custom dances before stopping.   The lead drummer stepped away from the group and spoke a few words of thanks to the village chiefs, the organisers of the week long festivities and to the large crowd.   Chief Witford stepped up to respond and with his mouth pressed to an amplifier he thanked the dancers, told the racers to prepare, and explained the afternoon program to the spectators.  

Several people split away from the crowd in different directions to get their canoes.   The first canoe to appear was painted a brilliant aquamarine blue, and had yellow lettering on the side with the name of the event, the date and the name of the canoe.   Two men raced down through the park and the gathered crowd with the canoe hoisted on their shoulders before bending down at the tide line to place it gently in the water.   The outrigger was decorated with bright bougainvillea and fragrant plumeria.   The canoe was small, sharply pointed at both ends and newly hewn especially for this race.   A solo paddler climbed into his canoe just as another canoe came around the point pulled by two men.   This canoe was also newly cut for the race but had been left the natural honey color of the wood and it too was bedecked with flowers all around the edges.   One by one the canoes assembled in the shallow water in front of the public park.   Each canoe was elaborately decorated with flowers and coconut fronds.   The chief gave the racers five minutes to paddle around and warm up.   There were three pairs of men, one single man and two women pulling in the race for a total of five racing canoes.  

Women gathered on the beach in groups speculating about how long the race would take and if it could even be done.   No one had ever raced around Rah Island before.   On the other side there are known to be shallow places that could be dubious for the passage of a canoe, even at high tide.

The currents and tide coming around the point would also be a challenge but luckily the waves were calm and there was only a breath of wind.   The excitement level on the beach for the premiere of the Rah Round Island Canoe Race was tangible.   The racers lined up as the rules were explained through the amplifier by Chief Witford, who was perched atop a rock sticking out of the water marking the starting line and the point at which the racers would have to turn into the beach when they came back around.   The finish line was the tide line on the beach.  

Off the canoes went and almost immediately Watson, the lone canoeist, sprang into the lead.   Could he sustain such a frantic pace all the way around Rah Island all by himself? Groups started moving around, following the canoes up the beach, and when the beach ran out they followed the canoes over the rocks and through the water in some places.   Those of us not adventurous enough to follow the race all the way around the island stood on the beach and wondered, listening to reports yelled back by people standing on the point. Runners came giving reports of the progress around and 20 minutes after the chief had thrown up his arms for the start, Watson rounded the point in his canoe, still pulling furiously.   The racers had beaten the sunset and it looked like Watson would beat everyone and carry home the $100 (AUD) prize by himself.   A minute later two canoes came around the point together closely followed by a fourth canoe. We watched as Watson reached the starting stone and turned his canoe toward the beach. There was no question who would win the race.   The race for who would place second was where the excitement lay as two canoes were neck and neck around the rock and a third close behind.   As each canoe landed on the beach and claimed their place the custom dancers danced down to meet them bearing flowers and escorted them back up to the park where they were plied with congratulations and refreshed with green coconuts The two women pulled up to the beach in last place a few minutes behind the other racers, exhausted but still triumphant for being the only women adventurous enough to enter the race.

As the racers shook hands and told their race stories to the crowd the sunset took over the entertainment and provided a spectacular closing to the wildly successful first ever Rah Round Island Canoe Race.   As groups dispersed into the gathering darkness we could hear plans being made and canoes already being redesigned in anticipation of next years race.

The people of Rah and Mota Lava invite guests to share their unique culture, beautiful islands and Rah Round Island Canoe Race festival with visitors.   The race was created and organised by Father Luke Dini from Rah Island with the help of Simon Humphries from Vanuatu Custom Travel.   Canoe races and other activities can also be arranged for groups and clubs on request.   For information on the Rah Round Island Canoe Race 2008 (September 27), contact Simon at info@vanuatucustomtravel.com   or phone Sure Thing Travel for reservations on (02) 8212 4507 (Australia) .  

For other Vanuatu information, photos, festival dates and special tours to the outer islands explore www.vanuatucustomtravel.com

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The journey in a small plane is part of the intrepid adventure of getting to this region of Vanuatu. It carries you over multiple lush green islands, surrounded by coral reefs and hypnotic turquoise water. The flights seem more like a sky bus for locals hopping on and off to different islands with various over sized fruits, from melons to pineapples.

As soon as you step off the plane onto Mota Lava friendly locals greet you. It is as clear as their oceans to see that Vanuatu’s main attraction is the islanders. They are the beauty that lies around them personified. Rah Island is a small pocket of beauty off the mainland of Mota Lava and is only 1.7km in radius. It has around 200-250 inhabitants and resembles a textbook paradise. This is where my travel companions and I were staying in beach bungalows. The rooms are basic but fitted with all the essentials - a bed, table, mosquito net, and a hurricane lamp.

We arrived on the Monday and preparations were already underway for the St Andrews Day Festival on the Thursday. The beach was being raked, costumes were being woven and fish were getting caught. They may not be fussed with knowing the time, but Ni-Vans certainly are efficient and resourceful.

The whole village and all its generations get together and use a traditional and unique method of catching large numbers of fish. A 1.2 kilometre long fishing line is made out of palm leaves tied around very long vine. Men, women and small children (known locally as pikininis) drag the fence to the edge of the reef and bring it back to shore forming a “U shape.” The vine rope, which the palm leaves are tied to, is poisonous to the fish, which are trapped inside on display in the shallow water of the reef. The locals seize them with spears, bows and arrows. The process seemed quite laborious to me, but the sense of community was astonishing. Following this spectacle I sat at the shore and gutted our fresh catch with the women of the village.

The St Andrews Day festival kicked off with a church ceremony attended by as many as could fit on the seats inside. The overspill of churchgoers leaned in through the windows to listen to the sermons. The service was spoken in pigeon English and the readings were bridged with gospel singing. The harmonies made the hairs on the back of my neck stand up with their power – they sound awesome! There is absolutely no shortage of food, as after the ceremony we sat and ate fish until our stomachs hurt. While the dancers got ready to entertain, the villagers from Mota Lava and Rah gathered around to watch all generations dance away the afternoon. The dances ended with the famous ‘Snake Dance’ where the men cover themselves in charcoal and ochre and mimic the sea snake of the water. Young and old sat watching, equally amused as each other by the festivities. I looked on, celebrating this breathtaking day.

My time on the island was over too soon and I made my way back to Sydney the day after the festival. But I will without a doubt return to this special region of Vanuatu again, hopefully for another festival. The Ni-vans are onto something measuring life not in minutes, hours and sunsets but in moments like these.

For information on other festivals on Rah Island (including a new Round Island Canoe Race in September), Mota Lava and other hidden parts of Vanuatu see www.vanuatucustomtravel.com or email info@vanuatucustomtravel.com

 
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A Christmas Day church service on Mota Lava powerfully combines elements of Melanesian and Western custom, dance and ritual.   This is something the people of Mota Lava are unique in doing and have demonstrated by request on other islands in the past.   It is also one of the special highlights for tourists and guests who come during a festival.   A gospel choir also sang and danced.   After the church service a large birthday cake was cut, accompanied by fun songs and dances performed especially for the day by a number of excellent local string bands.  

Christmas afternoon was filled with custom dancing.   Highlights included the Banks magic hat dance. Some of the hats were adorned with objects such as an airplane, an island, a watermelon or other food, a variety of large fish, and a ginger cat standing tall on one dancer’s head.   The locals were very excited to see a special dance by the chiefs not performed for 30 years which involved the senior representative of the chiefs with vine wrapped around his torso being hit with sticks during the dance. The women also performed.   Many people often joined in the dancing.   The children performed a range of dances, from custom dance to an hilarious demonstration of the ill effects of adults drinking kava.   Included in the day’s program was a demonstration of Western hip hop dancing by locals boys.   Christmas day on Mota Lava has a strong local flavour and is a culturally rich and very fun experience for all.  

The nights from Xmas to New Year were filled with parties, disco dances and DVD movies in the villages.   Boxing Day was family day when people share a relaxing time with their relatives.   On Dec 28 and 29 there were 6 weddings in the local villages which a large number of guests from Port Vila came for.   One wedding combined Western and Melanesian cultures and was followed by custom dancing, the paying of the bride price ritual, a large feast, more dancing and then the villagers presenting their gifts as the bride was shown to her new home and her parents said farewell to their daughter.   The locals showed excellent hospitality and assisted tourists and guests to be as informed and involved as they wished.

Warm days drifted by filled with volleyball (the locals are excellent players), soccer and children’s games while the adults rested or made preparations.   New Year’s Eve was full of parties, dancing, DVD movies, singing and string bands.   At midnight the gas cylinder bells were rung and rung and rung so the whole island knew it was now New Year’s Day and a time to celebrate.

Between all of these festivities tourists dived for lobsters at night, caught fish during the day, had a tour of the rock of Rah (a custom reserve bank for shell money), climbed to the top for panoramic views, and shared fun times and entertaining stories with locals.   There are excellent corals with an array of fish to snorkel around near the marine conservation area on Rah Island.   At night meals were often fresh fish, lobster or coconut crab plus some local treats only found on Mota Lava or in the Banks.

  “Tourism is everybody’s business.”

The Rah Island community of chiefs, bungalow owners and their wives, women’s group, church leaders, local government representative and citizens met to discuss tourism development for their island in 2007.   They have been led by Father Luke Dini over the past few months in working with Simon Humphries from Vanuatu Custom Travel to improve standards, knowledge and understanding and to lift sustainable tourism on their island to a new level.   They have been developing innovative opportunities with strong local support and healthy rewards through some exciting tourism initiatives facilitated and managed by Vanuatu Custom Travel.    The new direction was declared a ‘golden opportunity’ by Patron Wosei, the new Rah Island chief for 2007.   He encouraged the community to work together as one for the benefit of all.   Through discussion and demonstration the Rah Island community understood that tourism is everybody’s business as the responsibilities and rewards are shared and spread across the whole community.

2007 is looking like a very exciting year for Mota Lava and Rah Island tourism.   They are developing initiatives for new festivals, eco-tourism and cultural tourism.   They have opened their islands up to cultural sharing and exchange for the benefit of visitors and locals.   Vanuatu Custom Travel, an Australian based organisation working closely with rural island communities in Vanuatu, has assisted them and is offering tourists and guests the opportunity to share in this very beautiful culture, people and place in Vanuatu’s paradise. If you would like to be involved in establishing some exciting new community building tourism initiatives or want to visit and see for yourself this and other beautiful parts of Vanuatu ‘off the beaten track’ then see www.vanuatucustomtravel.com and email info@vanuatucustomtravel.com .They will be very pleased to offer their specialist assistance, unique village access and custom crafted tour programs to help you discover hidden magical parts of paradise.  

Festivals for 2007

See the islands at their best during festivals.   Major Festivals for 2007 are on January 25 (St Paul’s Day), June 11 (St Barnabas Day), August 24 (St Bartholomew’s Day), September (date to be confirmed) Mota Lava Arts Festival, September 29 (‘new’ Round Rah Island Canoe Race), November 30 (St Andrew’s Day), December 25 (Christmas Day) and December 31 (New Year’s Eve).   The festivals have unique cross cultural church services, dancing, feasts and local customs such as traditional reef fishing with coconut palms, bows and arrows.   These are very rare and rich experiences with beautiful people in an idyllic location.  

From the experiences of 2006, tourists and guests can look forward to their time on Rah Island and Mota Lava to be fun, authentic and unforgettable.   Go and you will know.

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After spending a few months living in Vanuatu last year I am convinced that the locals there live in a tropical Garden of Eden.   On the volcanic islands of Tanna and Ambrym, where the earth is a rich black volcanic soil, the whole island felt so alive and verdant I thought I would sprout roots or leaves if I stood still long enough.   And this aliveness and vitality are in the people too.   They are strong, healthy, athletic, and happy.   After living in village bungalows and eating the local foods, walking through the jungles, climbing volcanoes, paddling outrigger canoes, snorkeling and seeing local gardens in the lush peaceful surroundings of nature I felt clear, open, healthy and very ALIVE!   And why not?   When you live on the side of an active volcano there is energy under your feet that seems to enrich everything!

Right now as you sit and read this there are very likely villagers on Ambrym Island climbing the silent steep ridges of a volcano to get to their gardens; preparing costumes and masks for a spectacular Rom dance, cultural festival or ceremony; thatching and weaving bamboo houses or a first aid post; or fishing from outrigger canoes with huge hooks to catch big deep sea fish with names like Wahoo and Mahi Mahi.   In one village they might be making their own salt, sugar cane syrup, or coconut oil.   There is a very good chance you would hear the sound of coconuts being scratched to make coconut cream.   In North Ambrym fresh coconut milk is squeezed from strong hands over a hot firestone placed in a coconut shell, boiling and thickening the milk in seconds. The cream is poured onto fresh baked breadfruit that someone has beaten to soften and make doughy after taking it out of the ashes of an open fire. There will be chickens and a few pigs running through the village and probably a few kids and adults chasing the pets loudly through the village.   Right now the young people might be playing a formidable game of volleyball or soccer.   The air will definitely be filled with the sound of laughter and most people will be smiling for the sheer contentment of living life exactly as it is with people they care for in a land that provides all they need.   No TV. No traffic.   No busy noisy landscape of advertisements or city traffic to stir up the mind into its habitual chatter and stress. I felt so at peace on Ambrym, in awe at the sense of grandness the place has.   And somewhere in a village, perhaps out at sea on a canoe, in a smoke filled kitchen or up in the gardens, there may be a local ni-van villager wondering right now what people are doing in other parts of the world at this time, wondering what your life is like, and wondering how many pigs you might own.

I had the privilege of discovering such a place on North Ambrym in Vanuatu.   I stayed for 2 weeks and was won over by the vitality of the people and the land, by the villager’s friendliness, generosity, strength, and curiosity about the world beyond their own land.

 ‘Global village reaches remote Ambrym’

One local man told me that his people want to know about the ‘outside’ world because they accept they are no longer isolated from it.   The villagers want to learn from travellers about customs and life in other cultures.   With great respect and pride in his culture he said his community want to know about other’s ways so they can then choose what ‘cargo’ (anything from foreign cultures) to adopt or adapt to their situation and what cargo to leave alone.   I was inspired and moved as he said, “Some things in our village are negotiable, and some things, like our kastom [customs] and traditional culture are not negotiable.” The villagers want to decide how they live.   They want to be empowered.    As I spoke with him I learnt a lot.   Here I was with my apparently ‘civilised’ education and life in a ‘rich and developed’ country learning so much about community, ecology, sustainability, happiness and ‘forgotten’ simple qualities of life from people still very much in touch with the ancient spirits of their land, their tribal humanity, community, deep connectedness to the earth and it seems life itself.  

I watched locals practice sustainability in their organic gardens (which look like jungles) and in their village community without needing to name or label what they do as ‘sustainable’.   They simply live it.   On Efate Island Joel from Bethel village gave me a fascinating tour of his gardens demonstrating companion planting, permaculture techniques, and insect and 'pest' management (for giant African snails and large land crabs).   He explained the medicinal uses for plants.   He cut sugar cane for me to taste and the unused piece he stuck back in the ground straight away without thinking about it so that it would grow into a new plant.   No fertilizer is necessary in Vanuatu. I saw it clearly in this land that the earth has a life force that nurtures growth. Local gardening is often to simply dig a hole, bury a seed, bulb or cutting, then to come back in a few weeks and harvest. (This explains part of my own theory on why maintenance is a foreign concept in to ni-vans).  

Almost everyone seems to know how to garden. An accountant on Efate explained to me how if cassava (also called manioc or tapioca) is planted on a certain angle it improves the yield of a crop considerably more than if it is planted vertically.   People here live close to the land.   Their garden is their bank. It feeds them, clothes them, and provides shelter and tools. And it is all free from Mother Nature. Selling their land is like selling their whole resource and cultural bank.   There is a directness to living in Vanuatu that is a shift in experience and awareness for citified travellers who visit – like a breath of fresh air.

For tropical fruit lovers Vanuatu is taste bud heaven.   Organic. Vine ripened. Garden not farm grown.   Local foods are often cheap compared to back home.   A few times in Vanuatu I would set my eyes on a giant mouth watering golden ripe organic paw paw the size of a small comet only to have my host throw it away because it was not good enough.   For whom?   Not me!   This is gold compared to the plastic tasting gas ripened or rotting fruit I get back home.   My mouth would gape open in disbelief as an absolute jewel of tropical fruit would be thrown away or given to the pigs.   But sure enough, the next fruit my host brings out DOES taste even better.   (Remember REAL FOOD is also seasonal so you won’t get everything all year round).  

When you go to Vanuatu definitely get out and visit the local open air markets.   They’re a lively communal affair.   Have fun and point at things you have never seen before. Take photos of enormous sized fruits. Ask questions. Be amazed at what’s on offer.   Supermarkets will seem like places for the culinary and cultural comatosed compared to Vanuatu marketplaces.   Remember to smile and wiggle your eyebrows at people the way locals do to say ‘hello’ or ‘yes’. If you’re game, try and get someone’s attention by blowing them a loud kiss – all the locals do it.   If you go with the flow, island life is very freeing, rewarding, healthy and fun.   You can easily find yourself feeling happy for no particular reason when you’re in the smiling flow of island ‘elastic’ time.   I asked one local why ni-vans smile so much.   “Why not,” he replied.   Why not indeed. I showed my ignorance and revealed my home cultures milieu for unhappiness and a penchant for not smiling at life each day.   It is as if no-one has told the Vanuatu people they aren’t supposed to be happy.   I like that a lot.   I think they can teach the world a great deal.

If you would like to experience life in a Tropical Garden of Eden, then I highly recommend you find your way to the islands of Vanuatu, and take some photos, stories and thoughts about your life and your culture to share with the people.   The island people will be thrilled and probably amazed to learn about your world as you will be to experience theirs.

I highly recommend a visit to the outer islands to meet the locals who are working very closely with the Brisbane (Australia) based company Vanuatu Custom Travel.   They offer rare access to stunning locations, incredible people and unforgettable experiences in this tropical paradise. Vanuatu Custom Travel also supports grass roots sustainable community development and has volunteering options available if you would like to have a holiday and work on a project that contributes to a community. For more information see the website www.vanuatucustomtravel.com , email info@vanuatucustomtravel.com or call Sure Thing Travel on (02) 8212 4507 (Australia) . 

  In the rural villages of Vanuatu people know how to live.   They live simply and simply LIVE. I have rarely felt so ALIVE in all my life as when I was there.   That was the best gift they gave to me.

In the lush natural environment, culture and rich human nature of the local people, Vanuatu is abundant with wealth and qualities of life missing and disappearing in our ‘developed’ modern cultures.   For this reason places like Vanuatu are priceless living Arks of wisdom and wonders that quite possibly hold the keys to a happy, healthy & sustainable future for all of us - if we approach such places with respect, openness and humility.   Just go and you will know.   Happy travels.

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