Vanuatu

Only been back to Sydney for 2 days and off in an airplane again! This time I went to...

"Vanuatu? Wo ist das denn?" was the question more than one of my German friends asked. The small country is seldom heard of. I first learned about it a few years back when I administered our Plan website for which we had a (free) .de.vu domain; the "vu" stands for Vanuatu.

The Melanesian island group is located roughly between Australia, New Guinea and Fiji. It was formerly co-governed by the French and British, known under the old name 'New Hebrides', and has been independent since 1980. This week they celebrate their 30-year existence as a nation. The emphasis of the word Vanuatu, by the way, is on the second 'a'.

I came here in order to relax for a few days in warmer temperatures before heading home, but it's not as warm as I had hoped. Overcast with clouds, very windy, rough sea and too cold for swimming. That was a bit disappointing. But it is still a good getaway here, and it is a little warmer than Sydney. I'm staying in a small resort near the capital Port Vila on the island of Efate and have a big self-contained bungalow all for myself.

The island is tropic and volcanic and there are beautiful creeks with waterfalls coming from the inland mountains. This image shows me at the picturesque Mele Cascades. You can walk up alongside, and in, these rapids of crystal clear water and get as wet as you like! Very pretty place.