All photography by Karen T. Bartlett. View her spectacular Vanuatu album at karentbartlett.com
Close your eyes and imagine it: James Michener’s Tales of the South Pacific. The legendary Ring of Fire. Bali H’ai. Missionaries in cook pots. Coral reefs, desert islands, coconut and coffee plantations, giant clam shells half-buried in the sand. Volcanoes shooting molten red lava bombs into the night sky. Grass-skirted (and less) natives. Bamboo and palmetto treehouses and jungle bungalows. Banana leaf-wrapped feasts cooked in hot stones in the ground. Sensuous trade winds and billowing sails. Soft breezes scented with ripe mangoes, papayas, frangipani and jasmine, and vines heavy with passion fruit.
Past centuries merge with the present here on the Melanesian islands of Vanuatu, and with the exception of missionaries in cook pots, all these things still exist, in one of the most exotic and least explored places on Earth.
I can tell you that James Michener didn’t lie when he wrote about his time in the U.S. Navy when these islands were a World War II staging theatre. In many ways, nothing has changed, and the keepers of the culture intend to keep it that way.
Originally named The New Hebrides by Captain James Cook in 1774, these 83 exotic islands floating in the Coral Sea about 750 miles west of Fiji became a sovereign nation only 37 years ago. Although it’s now a republic with a prime minister and a parliament, island life revolves around chief-run villages and ancient customs. Even in the capital city of Port Vila, men still drink locally ground kava from half-coconut shells, and women still wear the boxy, puffy sleeved floral dresses mandated by Scottish Presbyterian missionaries in the late 19th century. (Only the first few were eaten, apparently). Stop signs and traffic lights don’t exist, even on the rare paved roads on half a dozen of the islands.
Still, a small handful of resort properties – some on tiny movie-set islands – dot the archipelago, and more than a handful of excellent international restaurants are scattered throughout Port Vila. A few Australia and New Zealand-based cruise ships only recently discovered the islands; before that, only a rare National Geographic Explorer vessel anchored offshore. Politically, the country is very progressive. As a member of the United Nations since its first year as a sovereign country (with the same number of votes as the U.S.: one), Vanuatu hosts a surprising number of international embassies, and is an active advocate for sustainable development, climate change mitigation, human rights, disarmament, and self-determination. For American travelers with a few weeks to spend, Vanuatu offers the best of both these worlds. If you wish you’d experienced the South Pacific islands of Hawaii or Tahiti before their 20th century cultural homogenization, it’s not too late.
Is Vanuatu a destination for families with children? Absolutely, if you’re into finding Nemo and Dory (a clownfish and a blue tang, respectively), snorkeling among giant hawksbill turtles in the wild, paddling in a real dugout canoe, exploring waterfalls and caves and shell-strewn beaches, and dancing with the natives in authentic cultural ceremonies. Prepare to smile constantly, shake a lot of hands (even children and babes in arms are taught to shake hands when welcoming guests), let go of the Internet but definitely not your camera. Without pictures, I promise you – people won’t believe the stories you bring home.
Getting there from Southwest Florida requires a flight to San Francisco or LA, with connections to Fiji and on to Port Vila. Plan on more than 24 hours door to door. Best weather is the May-October dry season. Visit vanuatutravel.info.