on the 27th July, We arrived at auckland international airport around 9am to meet with the crew. There was around 24/25 people on the trip, made up of the Botany Bottom Scratchers dive club, and the Tairua dive club. After checking in, we headed for the departure lounge for a quick bite to eat, but I was too nervous/excited to eat. By around 11:30am, we had boarded the plane; flying Air Vanuatu's 737. This was my first time on a jet plane, let alone my first time overseas. WOW! The acceleration from take-off is incredible!
Touching down on Port Vila, just under 3 hours later, it had just been raining. But the rain was warm. The air was hot. I was in heaven. We cleared Vanuatu customs fairly quickly, got some currency changed into Vatu, and made our seperate ways.Due to Hazel and I booking quite late, we missed the chance to get on the same connecting flight to the northern island, Espiritu Santo, and had to stay overnight on Hideaway island. An excellent spot too, I might add.
We grabbed a "bus" to hideaway island, which had to be push started, and arrived at a sandy beach waiting for a ferry to take us across to Hideaway. It was only when we got onto the wharf at hideaway island did it really sink in for me - the beach on this island was covered not with sand, but CORAL. CORAL! Never in my life had I seen something this magnificent. We quickly checked in, got our bags in our room, had a coffee and begun to explore the island. It was only small; the resort is the island. We had a chat to some of the other guests; also divers, about what there is to see. I was quite amazed to learn how deep the water is - due to the nature of pacific islands being formed by volcanic eruptions, there is a small shelf under the water, extending maybe 10-20 meters, and then a sharp drop into the abyss. One diver pointed out to us where he had dived earlier that day, achieving a maximum depth of 38 meters. His dive location was just off the wharf. Beautiful coral, triggerfish, scorpionfish, angelfish; all of it right at the end of the wharf. Unbelievable.
The following day, we checked out, made our way to the domestic air terminal, jumped onto an ex russian military transporter, and took off for Espiritu Santo, one of the northern islands, to meet up with the rest of the gang. The flight took around 55 minutes, with a quick stop-off on another island (the runway was quite literally a grass strip between the cocunut trees). We were picked up by Luke at the airport, and taken to our home for the next 9 days; Coral Quays Resort. This place was absolute paradise - coconut trees swaying in the breeze, the roads lined with banana and mango trees growing wild, beautiful blue ocean across the road from the resort, clear blue skies...
That afternoon was the first dive for me on Vanuatu. The SS Coolidge. The president coolidge was originally built as a luxury cruise liner, but was acquired by the US navy during world war 2, and put to use as a troop carrier, bringing some 5,500 personnel to the pacific field in one go. Unfortunately (for america, but not for future divers!), it struck a mine on its passage to Vanuatu, managed to limp itself ashore and unload all onboard (bar two people), before it sunk. It sits on the coast of Luganville, a short drive from the resort.
A beach walk-in and a short snorkel later, we were ready to descend. Following the shot line down to the bow of the ship, we are suddenly confronted with the first sighting of this enormous vessel. We tour along the side, going to a depth of some 33 meters (around 100 feet), and enter the ship. We travel through the promenade deck, spending some 15-20 minutes on the ship, before making our way back to 12 meters for our first decompression stop. One word can sum it up : WOW. Over the course of some 6-7 dives on this ship, I had only seen half of it, if that. It's just absolutely massive.
If you're heading to Santo for some diving, make sure you speak to the gents at Aquamarine to get you on your way to exploring one of the largest shipwrecks you'll probably ever see in your lfe. We also dived another wreck, the Henry Bonneaud. This was sunk specifically for divers, and sits around 50 meters deep. This was also where I saw my first shark, a young white pointed reef shark that decided to stop by for a nosey. We also dived one of the reefs, north of Bokissa island. We really could have just snorkelled this - it was only 5-12 meters deep. But it just went on.. and on.. and on.. We would have travelled some 200 meters underwater, and the reef just continued. It was mindblowing; huge coral plates, giant clams, eagle rays - it was like the door to a secret garden had been opened to us. This was an incredibly easy, and beautiful dive. If anybody is diving Vanuatu, make sure you speak to the good blokes at Allen Power Dive Charters to get you to this spot.
Overall, this trip was absolutely fantastic. Even if you're not a diver, there's plenty to do here - visiting local villages, shopping in the markets (fresh peanuts quite literally out of the ground, fresh bunches of bananas, clothes), getting on the Kava, trekking through the jungle, exploring the caves, or just relaxing in the sun.