About Vanuatu...

Imagine a place where the Earth still breathes fire, where waterfalls tumble through emerald jungles, and where ancient tribes still sing the stories of their ancestors under a sky ablaze with stars. This is Vanuatu—an untamed archipelago scattered across the South Pacific like a trail of volcanic breadcrumbs.

After sailing across the Pacific ocean for a number of weeks visiting different islands and their communities, Vanuatu was certainly one I looked forward to. Was it because the people seemed to be more connected to nature and less connected to technology? Or was it because of its natural wonder and energy, a landscape so rugged and alive I craved connecting to it. Who knows.

Arriving at dawn, the heavens opened. By the time we had our boats launched and had scouted to the area, I was sufficiently soaked but still so excited to visit this place. On the water, local boys in their outrigger canoes appeared from around the headland. Waving at them and smiling, that was all I could do to try and assure them that I was only in awe of them and their beautiful home.

A sense of embarrassment really comes over me in these moments. Maybe because I can't speak their language or that I've turned in this big ship in my modern zodiac, I'm not sure. I just didn't want them to be afraid of me. Anyway, I received lots of smiles, waves and thumbs up which only added to the welcome feeling I had here.

A smiley local boy in his mighty vessel.

The day continued ashore where we had lots fo performances from the local community. The women danced for us but it felt different. I sat trying to work out for a while why this particular community visit felt different as by this point I have been lucky enough to participate in a few around the world.

Myself and a few other colleagues later realised it was because the women were dancing but at each other. Their performance was turned in, like they were in an enclosed circle, facing each other. As a sign of respect and care to each other they perform inwards to one another. As ever, I was covered in goose bumps and nothing else mattered in that moment as they danced, jumped and sang beneath mighty fig trees along the shore.

Local women mid dance & song

In between performances I looked around the area, it seemed that this was the heart of this community. Elder sat outside their homes, dressed up for our visit but not involving themselves in all the action. I wonder what they thought of us that day.

One particular woman stood out for me, shared in the picture below. I immediately wanted to take her picture so subtly hid behind a tree with my lens in her sight. It wasn't until afterwards that the pictures struck a chord with me. This particular elder watching from afar had quite a few big growths on her face and neck. It wasn't her physical appearance that had me thinking, not at all. She sat their in such a peaceful, beautiful state. It was my own thoughts of whether she had ever been able to have them seen by a doctor. How would she even go about it. How drastically would it have affected her life if at all. Probably not as she lives within a society not based on how many likes you get and how skinny you are. I guess it gave me a perspective shift.

The local elder who caught my eye.

After the performances had finished a load of trucks appeared. I want you to picture a 'yout' or pick up truck with a plank of wood nailed in to the back for a seat, nothing to hold on to and a volcano to drive up. That was my afternoon sorted.

Once I had become used to the burning sensation in my arms from holding on for my life, I began to take in the surroundings. From the ocean, we drove up through jungle. Crossing semi-dry and not so dry rivers, magically not losing any tyres on the way, driving along roads that weren't actually roads and surrounded by sheer drops into dense undergrowth before entering the silty, volcanic, flats of the volcano.

An active volcano may I say, one that I was then about to walk up and stand at its craters edge.

Don't worry though, a sign told me not to pass into the crater so it was certainly safe.

the volcano safety sign.

Jokes aside, we had guides patrolling the edge, the volcanoes activity and keeping us safe. It was one of the most intense moments of my life, feeling the power and rumble of this volcano through my legs and briefly taking in the sulphuric 'eggy' stench.

You cannot imagine living on an island not only so remote but governed by an active volcano and threatened by intensifying cyclone seasons year by year. I have said ti before and i'll say it again, the people I mention above have done and will continue to do the least to cause the climate crisis but are currently affected the worst. These people respect and care for nature every day. They take and use only what they need and not what they want. They are reliant on natures cycles and seasons. If only the rest of the world did the same...

To wrap up my one day on this island into a short form, easy to read, article is rather difficult. What I want you to take from this, is that not only is Vanuatu beautiful but it really doesn't take much to be happy. Well it shouldn't anyway. These people lead such a simplistic life and yet their sense of community and connection to the natural world is unmatched. They sing to nature, they rely on nature, they protect nature.

We have a lot to learn from them.