Images of Uliveo Island

We spent a few very pleasant days in the Maskelyne Islands. They are about halfway between Port Villa, the capital of Vanuatu, and Luganville where we plan to depart for Australia. The draw to the Maskelyne islands are dugongs. Dugongs are related to Manatees and are quite common in Vanuatu. The first day we anchored in Gaspard Bay and were greeted by several dugongs as we made our way into the bay.

The next day, we made a short trip to Uliveo Island. The entrance is a tricky one. The gap between the surrounding reefs is narrow and the entrance is shallow so we timed our arrival for high tide. The swell was quite large as we made our way towards the entrance but thankfully it died off to a reasonable level as we neared the entrance. Our friends on Renard had given us waypoints to follow on the way in so with me at the helm watching the water and the iPad and Sharlene on the bow scanning the water, we made it in without incident.

There are three small communities on the island. It only takes 40 minutes to walk the trail around the island that joins the communities. (Interestingly, they each have their own church–Presbyterian I believe.) In each community, we chatted with people and had children come around and walk with us. It’s great to find people so warm and friendly. We were struck by how well cared for the homes and yards were. Even in areas that had dirt surrounding the homes, the ground was swept and the yard tidy.

There is a school on the island. It is both a primary and secondary school though it is not in session now. Across the country, teachers are on strike and have been for the past two months. We spoke with the school’s principal and several teachers. Their dispute is not local. Rather, it is a country-wide problem. Many retired teachers are not being paid their retirement income and haven’t been for several years. Unfortunately, Vanuatu has some deep financial challenges though wandering the trails around Uliveo we didn’t feel them. People produce most of what they need from their gardens. What they don’t grow, they get from the sea. Children play freely, running between houses. Sharlene asked some children that had come to chat with us if they had ever been told not to talk to strangers. They didn’t understand the question. It was clear that “stranger danger” is not a thing on Uliveo.

It would have been nice to spend longer on the island but cyclone season is approaching so we left after only a couple of days. We need to continue north to Luganville where we will depart Vanuatu for Australia. We are watching the weather carefully and will depart on the next favourable weather window.