Saturday 5th May 2018
Before leaving for our 9 day island excursion of some other islands of Vanuatu, we had all wanted to visit the Falls, they’re supposed to be lovely, and one of the few places not to miss on Efate. We attempted to make an early start, but with 6 of us all faffing about, it was never going to happen! By some miracle we did actually leave the boat just before 9am
Our cab driver George, picked us up ashore and drove us to the Falls, well actually not quite strait to the falls, there were 2 stops along the way to locate parts for the boat!
Unfortunately for us, the cruise ship had come into port that morning, meaning if we didn’t get an early start we would be beaten to it by an invasion of happy cruisers spoiling the quiet of the falls and it would feel more like Disney than desertion!
As we sped along towards the falls we were overtaken by 2 busses loaded to the gills with what looked like cruisers. Happily, only one bus was at the falls when we arrived, so there was still some hope that we would experience the beauty of the location without having to share it with a thousand others.
The Falls fully lived up to their reputation and were tranquil and beautiful, with crystal clear water and amazingly beautiful flora and fauna, not to mention the butterflies and birds. Everyone, with the exception of me, climbed to the top of the falls and made their way down in the water, with Bob filming them all the way.
As I waited at my half way point, I took the opportunity to take photos of my totally gorgeous and peaceful surroundings, which were truly spectacular. Unfortunately the peace didn’t last for very long, when a bus load of cruisers came stomping, puffing and sweating loudly up the path to the base of the falls. They were the usual colorful lot in all their bright Hawaiian floral gear, with floppy hats, long socks and Jesus shoes, or the latest fluorescent Nike trainers. Sporting beetroot pink burnt bits, cameras, bags, towels and noisy kids with the usual inability to speak without shouting. I was thankful for the 20 minutes I had enjoyed prior to this invasion.
Lesley walking back from the falls.
It’s not that I have anything against cruisers, I come from a family of them, its just that I love peace and quiet, and the opportunity to enjoy places of beauty without sharing it with 100 others.
Lesley and Glen got out of the water to join me while Stewart and Don made the trip to the base of the falls in the water, swimming, jumping and sliding their way down. Bob and I took photographs and film of them as Glen and Lesley educated me on the types and names of the beautiful flora surrounding us.
Once back in the town we stopped at a local cruisers hangout for a lunch of fish and chips and a bottle of lovely chilled Sav.
Before we left Efete for the islands, Lesley and I did some last minute provisioning. The boys had said they would get the beer, but as it turned out they were busy on board with God only knows what, ‘another little fix it job’ or something not nearly as important as buying beer, anyway to cut a long story short, the beer didn’t get bought!
We discovered this after lunch when we were all back on board. Lesley and Don shot out in the Dinghy to see if there was anywhere opening selling beer, but it was Saturday and everywhere shut at noon…
To make matters worse we only had 2 bottles of wine.
This was going to be a fun trip!
In a few days time, there wouldn’t be much we all wouldn’t have done for one of these!