Blue Holes and Cassiopeia Found
23 October 2014 | Vanuatu
Kim
We are anchored off of Oyster Bay Island Resort. It is a small, peaceful little place with really slow internet. The bay is idyllic and well protected. The pass to come in is one of the smallest we have ever been through and can only be managed at extreme high tide. It is a bit sketchy, but it is marked so not a big issue. We came up here to get away from town and to see the famous "blue holes" which are up the rivers. They are clear fresh water holes that come up from the ground.
We started up the river in our dinghy, with the crew from Arcturus. We were towing the three kids in Zack's kayak which made navigation in the shallow river a bit tricky. When we came to the bridge we cut them loose and they paddled the rest of the way up on their own steam. If you are following us be aware that at the bridge they tell you to pay there but you are supposed to pay at the bleu hole. At the first blue hole there was a docking platform to tie the dinghy to. There was a short ladder to climb up with a tiny platform and a rope swing. We had a great few hours singing into the blue hole and doing diving tricks. It was a great afternoon and Zack and I kayaked back to the boat together and beat the dinghy.
We took a day off for the kids to play on the beach before we went up to the next blue hole, which was in the next river down on the island, both within dinghy range of the other. The next river was deeper and easier to navigate. We dragged both kayaks this time so the kids could not be so crowded. The river was longer and it was amazing. Huge trees grow right in the river, there are ferns growing on the trees and it feels like you are going up a jungle river in the Amazon. The river itself is a great experience. The blue hole here was a lot bigger and so was the rope swing. You needed to swim across the hole to get to the swing and it was a lot colder than the last blue hole. The swing was from huge Banyan tree, which is a super cool tree with roots that hang down and form an almost lattice frameworks. Beautiful! The steps went up at least 10 feet to a diving platform. Zack, Khan and Jarrah went straight for it, taking the plunge from the top. David was straight at it as well. I, on the other hand took 6 tries to get a dive from the top. It was pretty scary up there! Not that you would think so watching Zack dive off. Watch for videos. We won't be able to upload them until we get to Australia.
We spent a few more days in the anchorage playing on the beach. We were getting ready to make our departure and there were some local guys fishing in dugouts. I got out the binoculars to watch the progress and just happened to look at the name on an old wooden boat that looked as though it had been in the anchorage for quite a while. We hadn't seen anyone on the boat and had not given it much thought. I read the name, "Cassiopeia", shit, I have been looking for Cassiopeia the entire time we have been in Vanuatu. I thought we would find her in Port Vila and I had actually given up on finding her. But, here she is and we are leaving in about 3 hours. Cassiopeia belongs to Harold who I know from long ago days when he sailed out of Coral Bay. There is another boat that has been in the anchorage for several months, but they are not home for me to ask where to find Harold. I decided to go into the resort to see if I could get any info. The bartender seemed a bit hesitant to give me any info. When I told him we hailed from the same port and I was just looking to say hi, he did confirm it was Harold's boat and that he was living on it. We hadn't seen anyone on the boat the entire time we were there. We went back to the boat and had not even gone below when a dinghy started across the bay from the car park on the other side. I got out the binoculars and low and behold here comes Harold. I hadn't thought I would recognize him, it has been 15 years, but he looks exactly the same. He saw me looking at him with the binocs and waved. We waved him over and all had a good laugh and told some Coral Bay stories and Vanuatu stories and it was a good time. Now we can leave Vanuatu. We are checked out and will most likely be leaving either tomorrow morning or early Sunday. Our plan is to stop at Huon Reef for a few days and then Chesterfield Reef for a few days. This will break the trip into smaller passages which will be good for everyone. We are traveling with Arcturus and Allure, so it will be a good time for the kids too. We should be in Australia in about 2 weeks.
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