The coconut grapevine told us about a local villager who offered a hike up to the volcano on Tanna island here in Vanuatu. In our case, SV Beluga had heard from Alex on SV Blue Beryl who heard it from????. The normal experience is to hop in a pick-up truck for a sketchy drive up to watch the sunset at the volcano and ride back down, the cost about a hundred bucks. In our case it would be about $25 USD and involve seven hours and 9 miles of trekking through the jungle. Absolutely perfect.
Finn and Talissa (SV Beluga) earlier went to the village to confirm the hike was possible and at 2:40pm they picked us up and we beached their dinghy. A short hike through the village, we met up with Donovan our guide. He recently started his guiding business to earn money for improving the village’s water system with a long-term goal of developing a business that can train younger men to guide giving them jobs.
It wasn’t long before we stopped at his house to meet his mother. She had very little English skills but spoke fluent French, luckily Talissa could communicate with her. With a lot of hiking ahead of us we didn’t stick around much longer that the time it took for Donovan to get warm clothes and a backpack, but just before leaving we were introduced to Donovan’s wife.
I’m going to pause and share that Donovan was incredible. He shared so much of the history and politics of his island. It was honestly the best guide I ever remember experiencing, anywhere. The first hour or so, he carried a 15-20kg bundle of palm frowns to a village in the hills, for use of construction materials. We took a few breaks where he taught us about local fruits and trees along with their various uses.
Reaching the mountain village, we were introduced to the villagers before being led to a ceremonial ground where arguments get settled (almost always related to land ownership), while the chief would make the final ruling, occasionally it will still result in fist fighting. Earlier in the evening, the boys would have chewed kava and spit into filters made from palm trees. The men will drink the kava, which relaxes them and makes them less aggressive, not a bad idea. Generations ago, the fighting would utilize spears, and well, you can imagine the result.
With miles to make we said our goodbyes and continued down the trail. From here it became much less traveled with climbing over fences (to contain cows), around gates, and under barbwire. Coming to a cleared opening Donovan spit on his hands and feet before climbing a quite tall palm tree. Reaching the top, he hoisted himself above the palm frowns and kicked coconuts down to the ground for us. He borrowed Carl’s knife to free part of the husk making a pair of dumbbells out of the four coconuts. Grabbed them and continued leading us on.
Hiking up a steep section he stopped to show us a rope swing that he made from a hanging vine. After his demonstration, I gave it a go and wow. It swung way out with probably a 30 foot drop if your hands slipped. Everyone else was reluctant but Carl was goaded into trying and had a great swing. Finn made for a lower, small swing, Talissa, the smart one in the group, abstained. Ever the fool, I took a second trip and the centrifugal force (a shocking amount) nearly caused me to lose my grip. Can you say broken back in the middle of a jungle. Ugh, that could have ended poorly.
It was probably another hour before we came to a campsite at the base of the volcano. A bit of history is needed. Donovan’s family owns the land the volcano is on but his uncle was killed when Donovan was a child. He father fled to American Samoa while his mother and siblings escaped to a different island. Years later the feud was relaxed and they returned. His cousins run the entrance gate to visit the volcano and charge 8,000 vatu ($80 USD) per person. It was agreed this would be shared amongst all the villagers but surprise, surprise no money is being shared. I bring this up because, Donovan, while legally has the rights to the land, his guiding is covert and the volcano is only climbed after the tourists who arrive in the pick-up trucks leave.
It was coconuts and snack time while we waited for the other tourists to leave. The coconuts were prepared to drink and straws were fashioned from some sort of reed. So refreshing after 3+ hours of hiking. Every five to fifteen minutes there would be a loud rumble and a pressure wave of air as the volcano erupted, quite intimidating. From another part of the island, Donovan brought sugarcane which wasn’t at all like I expected. Sort of a watermelon flavor with only mild sweetness but a significant amount of liquid. You chew off a piece, suck on it and spit out the pulp.
Soon enough we began the steep climb up a mixture of loose volcanic sand and sharp volcanic rocks. Clearing the ridge, we could see the magma, positioning ourselves close to the edge to waiting for an eruption. It wasn’t long before a blast of magna shot into the air, multiple hundreds of feet. Cooling it would flutter down like leaves and glow on the surface for a few minutes. In between eruptions, gases and ash would waft up and choke us, forcing a retreat away from the cauldron to find fresh air. Time stood still, at some point Donovan wandered back letting us know we should go soon. We waited for a couple more good eruptions before sliding down a different area of the volcano that was sand with almost no hard volcanic rock.
It was a great crew of active people and the pace both up and down was quite brisk. Any expectation of slowing down in the dark jungle was quickly dashed and it was clearly “keep up or get left behind” mentality. I like hiking fast so no complaints but I would not recommend this hike unless you are surefooted, comfortable hiking in the dark over logs, branches, and narrowly cleared trails.
Back at Donovan’s home he shared some lemons with us to take back to our boats and asked for feedback on how he can improve. We all walked away impressed by his intellect, knowledge, personality, charisma, and friendliness. And absolutely amazing experience. Should you want to reach out to Donovan the best option at the moment is via Facebook messenger at facebook.com/Noelnavn.
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