Reefs, caves and big fish
05 August 2010 | Lepela Island
Michael and Jackie
After two days in Tanna with Kerry we finally left Port Vila. It's only a short trip, about 20 miles but it can be quite rough going around the appropriately named Devil's Point to the South West of Vila. The journey was enlivened by the capture of a superb yellow fin tuna, 26lbs which sorted out the Kerry feeding problem. Up to then we had a lot of meat in the freezer but preciously little fish. Kerry is a vegetarian so a freezer full of steaks was not ideal.
Lelepa is a small island where the legendary first chief of the Vanuatans was born. The bay itself is a tricky one to get into since you weave through coral reefs. We recorded our track in so that we could find our way out early in the morning, an experience which was still quite scary even with the track.
The reefs provide excellent snorkeling and on shore there is a massive cave, a lava tube which snakes into the cliffs. There are some ancient paintings on the wall of the cave, depicting hands. The cave was also used as a cyclone refuge by the villagers and the lepers who gave the island its name.