Out & About PV
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Out and About in Port
Vila
 A cultural
mural on a wall in the town centre.
 On the
waterfront.
 Just a few of the
bumps we had to avoid.
  Nice to see flashes of colour.
 I didn’t think it appropriate, and
Bear agreed – we will do no One Careful Owners in Vanuatu, just in
case............... This car, we checked, was already in this scrap yard and as
no one was hurt when the tree fell, we put it in.
Cyclone Pam devastated so many islands and the fact there were no deaths was a
miracle.
 The mooring
field in between the yacht club and Iririki Island.
  This lovely
little girl was playing with a bit of rubbish, keeping herself amused as
her mother minded the stall in the market. Asked if she would like to have her
picture taken, she immediately struck a pose using her ‘toy’ as a hat. Lovely,
rich colours everywhere.
  The market inside....................
  ............... and out.
 Style.
 Wetem
socks.
 Bon Marche info
board.
  Fish counter,
not quite what you find in
Tesco’s.
  At the airport we loved this sign, tourism and necessity. Aid
boxes, still needed and thankfully still being
delivered.
 Iririki Island – meaning Small Island or Safe Haven is the traditional land of Ifira Islanders. History. 1910: The first British Hospital in the New Hebrides was erected on Iririki Island in memory of the well-known missionary, John G Paton Memorial Hospital. Patients were seen for such ailments as broken bones, meningitis, and rheumatic fever, and Pacific islanders were trained in tropical disease management. 1913: Iririki Island housed the British Residency who leased the island from missionaries for 99 years. The Residency was located at the peak of Iririki (reached by climbing 179 steps) affording it magnificent views to Port Vila and the surrounding Bay. The original household was built for the Queen for an overnight visit, and subsequently accommodated the British High Commissioner. 1980: At independence, the residence was abandoned although is now currently in use. 1983: After consideration by the Ifira Islanders, they leased the Island to Peter Nicholson to develop into a resort. 1987: Cyclone Uma hit Iririki Island and Port Vila with 200 kilometre winds and flooding, with the resort taking up a year to return to full operation. 1991: Former Geelong AFL player Rick and Ngaire Graham took over Iririki as owner, turning the Resort into a child free sanctuary. 1994: On the 1st of August, American author James A. Michener wrote the classic book ‘Tales of the South Pacific’ after serving in Vanuatu during the Pacific War, subsequently the Resort choose to honour James’ time on Iririki by naming their signature restaurant ‘Micheners’. 2004: The Resort was sold to a private consortium of Australian businessmen 2009: Policy changed to a family friendly resort 2015: Cyclone Pam bore down on Iririki at speeds over 300 kilometres per hour, requiring considerable refurbishment. The resort will be relaunched in December 2015.
Iririki Island the day a cruise ship was in.
We would have loved to pop over to the island, but as everything is closed for maintenance we had to compromise and look at it from the Yacht Club.
The beach at Mele, just down the road from town.
We loved this tree at the beach.
We saw trees felled in the cyclone all around the town.
Typical houses near our little apartment.
Memorial, offices and a bank.
ALL IN ALL A CRUISE SHIP
FRIENDLY TOWN WITH GREAT SHOPS AND ATMOSPHERE
REMARKABLE, AS PAM ONLY HIT SIX MONTHS
AGO |
