Vanuatu
08 October 2015 | Tanna, Vanuatu
Mark Morwood (Aug-2017)

It was a quick three-days to Port Resolution on Tanna in Vanuatu, where we were planning a quick stop to see the last volcano of our journey. In fact we had to slow down for the last 24 hours to avoid getting there before light on the 3rd day. We crept in to the anchorage, as the water was a muddy brown color from run-off, so we couldn’t see the depths at all. We weren’t used to that after the clear water we’d had all the way since Panama.
We had notified Customs and Immigration before we arrived, so they drove across the island to clear us in, along with Miss Behaving and another boat that had arrived a day before us. Once cleared in, we went to the local village, Ireupuow, which had been devastated by cyclone Pam just 6 months before. They were busy rebuilding, but trees and crops were all destroyed.
We hired a local guide with a truck to take us, Miss Behaving and another cruising family to Mt Yasur, the active volcano just a 10km drive from the anchorage. It was a very unstructured affair, we were dropped off at the bottom of the path up the cone, with the admonition to don’t get hit by any flying rocks, and don’t fall in. The guide sensibly stayed at the bottom with his vehicle!
The volcano was spectacular. It is a strombolian volcano, and at the time we visited was erupting every 10 minutes or so, sending lava and glowing rocks high into the sky. As the sun set we got a brilliant view looking down into the crater.
After a short 4 day stop in Tanna, it was time to head on to Noumea where we would be meeting the prospective new owners of Por Dos.