Pacific Insider
There's no time like 'island time'…

Around Vanuatu Tours has launched to lots of happy guests – you see, it’s all about the bloke running the operation. Cuddly George, to me, is the ‘real’ Vanuatu – a tour should be more than a bus and an itinerary – it’s should be about the guy taking you about – and, believe me, you won’t find a better, friendlier, more knowledgeable guide than George – his mobile 777 1022.

Vanuatu’s hospitality school offers amazing quality and value. Open for dinner on Thursdays there’s a choice of entrée, main & dessert but I’m going for an entrée of soupe froide à base de pommes de terre et de poireau (chilled cream of leek and potato soup). If your French is un peu or worse, pointing at the menu is okay…

Then, I think, a main course of poisson du jour grillé servi avec des pattes fraîches sur une sauce au poivron et balsamique (char-grilled fish of the day served with fresh pasta, peppers and balsamic sauce), followed by the soufflé de nectarine servi avec du pistachio (chilled citrus soufflé served with pistachio nuts). How much for three courses? 1800 vatu (AUD$19)! Phone 26044 or 26830 24 hours ahead to book. Bon appétit!

Congratulations to Mr and Mrs Andres, aka Mirasol and Maik (Mike) who married recently at Erakor Island Resort in Vanuatu. Here is the email from Mirasol:

We wanted you to know that our trip and our wedding were fantastic and everything went smoothly. I will definitely recommend your company to my friends and colleagues. Thank you for looking after us.  Our wedding coordinator Lita was fantastic, her professionalism and the extra touches was impressive. She did an exceptional job and an asset to the resort! Erakor Island was a fantastic choice, it was peaceful and not too many people. The staff were friendly.  Thank you once again!  Mr and Mrs Andres.

The Vanuatu Paralympic Committee is a not-for-profit organisation that provides opportunities for people with disabilities in Vanuatu to participate in sports, both domestically and internationally.

The VPC has been working with multiple Vanuatu National Sports Federations to provide sporting programs in archery, athletics, cricket and tennis.

The VPC is supporting elite athletes with a disability to train and compete, with the result that athletes will represent Vanuatu at the London 2012 Paralympics!

Meet Pascal Guillet. Pascal owns and manages Vanuatu Ecotours and he’s a man who loves his work. Because he goes on bushwalks to waterfalls and river kayak safaris and mountain biking, he gets to stay extremely fit, visit beautiful, scenic spots off the beaten track and meet people who enjoy doing the kinds of things he does. You can check out Pascal’s tour options here.

One of Pascal’s bushwalks is to one of my favourite spots on the planet – Lololima Falls. Lololima is on private land owned by the Catholic seminary and Pascal is the only ‘outsider’ to have access to taking people there. I guess I have been there at least a dozen times – it is scenic, relaxing, refreshing and rejuvenating – there aren’t many places where you can pretty much have your own waterfall, swimming hole and rainforest!

Here is a great deal for guests of couples who choose to marry at Erakor Island Resort – accommodation in two-bedroom self-contained apartments for $199 a night (up to four sharing).

Lagoon Beach Resort is Erakor’s ‘sister’ resort and it can be handy for guests with children or couples on a budget who would like to share costs.

Lagoon Beach Resort is located a few minutes from Port Vila town and about 10 minutes from the airport. There are 16 self-contained apartments with two bedrooms upstairs (both air-conditioned) with King Beds that can unzip to two singles. The bathroom (with washing machine and drier) is upstairs; downstairs is a full kitchen, dining and lounge room and outdoor sitting area. There is a pullout sofa bed in the lounge room with TV/DVD (TV/DVD also in the main bedroom). There is a swimming pool and poolside bar/café and a safe lagoon for kayaking. There are four spa villas for couples as well.

Couples who arrange their travel through Small Guide Travel in Australia or with Erakor Island Resort or Lagoon Beach Resort in Vanuatu can have a free wedding website! Here is a link to what the site could look like. All you have to do is shoot us some words (we can help you with the actual writing if you like!) and some photos. This sample is for leading up to the wedding. After the BIG DAY we can simply change the copy to tell people about the day and add a gallery section – and you have your own online wedding album to share with family and friends!

Vanuatu has two unique post offices – one is the underwater post office on Hideaway Island where visitors can purchase a waterproof postcard and snorkel down to post it – the other is on the rim of Mt Yasur, the accessible active volcano on Tanna island (they thought about calling it ‘hotmail’ but that already has a trademark!)

Fly away to Vanuatu with 20 or more of your family & friends for the BEST SPECIAL AVAILABLE in the South Pacific thanks to Erakor Island Resort.

For $3950 you get the wedding ceremony, the reception dinner including beverages for twenty people and a seven-night honeymoon with romantic inclusions!  The fine print is that eight rooms have to be booked at Erakor Island Resort or Lagoon Beach Resort – but as fine print goes, that seems pretty fine!

Kava comes from grating or grinding the root of the kava plant. It is a great stress reliever and is useful in healing urinary tract infections and stomach ailments. But how many shells should you have? Probably no more than three at first although some have a motto that kava is like breasts – one’s too few, three’s too many. Once your lips become numb, you should have had sufficient to be ‘mellow’. Another test is to get up and go for a short walk as kava can also affect the limbs. It can also heighten the senses so bright lights and loud noises may be annoying. If you find that kava agrees with you, you can take some home from Vanuatu with you.