Port Havannah, on the north west corner of the island of Efate is a large sheltered area with many possibilities for anchoring and exploring. We anchored off a village called Ulei which proved very sheltered and we comfortably sat out the strong winds that continued for several days.
Ashore there is a small community with both a primary and secondary school. The road side stalls sell fruit and veg in the afternoons and in the evenings there are various cooked food and snacks. Everyone is very friendly and were happy to chat when we went ashore for a walk. The snacks were enjoyable too; from fresh skewered nuts to samosas and rotis. You could also buy entire cooked meals, but the snacks were sufficient for Derek since it was almost dinner time when we went!
A short walk along the road from the stalls is the ‘American Pool’ fresh water swimming pool enjoyed by the locals, which was labelled as a potential resort location in the past; presumably the local kids gathered there will hope that never comes to be.
Amidst the stalls selling the snacks and food is a World War 2 memorabilia stall, filled with items from an aircraft that ran out of fuel and landed nearby.
A short sail out of the bay and around the north to Pele Island gave us a beautiful anchorage and protected spot between the islands surrounded by reef. We spent a few days here doing boat maintenance and enjoying snorkelling. The afternoon sun descends over the old volcano, which can be walked up from the beach and sets over the sea just to the south.
It was a slightly extended stay in the bay and now we head back to Port Vila to collect a new Balmar alternator which is on its way from New Zealand, replacing the one that failed last week after many years of good service. We could have bought one locally but although we do have a generator providing a second source of power, we would rather wait and get the ‘Rolls Royce’ of marine alternators for peace of mind. Lesley is of course happy because its a good opportunity to reprovision and visit the market again!!
