Today we went to WAHOO! And it was WAHOO! Mum and Dad went snorkeling and saw some beautiful clown fish, black and white striped fish and other fish. Isaac and I collected glass from coke bottles left behind from WW2 when the US had soldiers in Vanuatu – Hamish.

Today we went around Efate. First we stopped off at wahoo were we did some snorkeling. After going snorkeling Hamish and Isaac collected bits of glass from the old glass coke bottles WEIRD. Then we stopped off at a small village selling coconuts so we bought 9! On the way to the hot springs we had a few lols. When we got to the hot springs we were heaps disappointed. It was just a huge puddle of mud and some boiling hot water from under the earth. Last but not least we stopped off at Eton beach. At first we stopped off because some people needed to go to the toilet but we decided to have a swim and so we did. It was a great day! - Bethany

Last night we watched a war dance now you are probably thinking a war dance would be boring like I did but it was hilarious, weird and Elijah thought some of it was a bit scary. We all really enjoyed it! Now I know I am not supposed to be writing about this but yesterday we swam with turtles it was soooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo cool and amazing. I was like wow and everybody was like wow.

Hi Hamish here! Today we did something so awesome… We drove for about ½ an hour to a place called Turtle Bay. Soon after we arrived we saw some baby turtles – 1 month, 2 months, 10 months and 1 year old. The youngest baby turtles flipped their flippers in my hand and some of them just looked like shells with heads when they tucked their flippers in. We also saw some very huge and ugly coconut crabs. They can claw your finger off so we didn’t touch them. After the patting pool we went to a much larger ocean pool where we fed some huge turtles and saw some reef sharks swimming around. One of the turtles was 70 years old, one was 8o years old. There were smaller ones too. But the best bit of all was when we SWAM with the turtles. Their shells feel hard but slippery and I held onto the shell of one of the big ones and went for a ride! It was sooooo AWESOME! Unfortunately, at the end one of the turtles thought that Elijah’s arm was a piece of pawpaw and he bit his arm – but he was very brave and not many 3 year old boys can say they were bitten by a turtle.

Today was soo cool !! We went to Hideaway Island. We went snorkeling and saw some amazing different coloured fish. It was awesome. We then bought some waterproof postcards and wrote on them. We swam out with them to the underwater post office and posted them. I posted mine to myself as a reminder 4 when we get home. Tomorrow we change where we stay. It will be sad saying goodbye to people but we’re still in Vanuatu and the next place we stay should be just as good! So I am excited.  Posted by BethanyJ.

Hamish posts… Yesterday I went fishing off a catamaran with Mum and John. I caught a little fish called a Redmouth. We also saw a turtle in the water and it was windy so the catamaran went really fast sometime. Other times it was slow and we relaxed in the sun. In the afternoon John took me up to the stone fire and a lady came to clean the fish. When the lady left John put the fish on the end of a sharp stick and stuck it in some rocks to cook it. He turned the stick around two times. When it was cooked John took it off the stick and pinched its skin to open it up and I ate it – YUM YUM !!!!!!!

Today we went to a Vanuatu church at Pango Village with a lady called Elodia, who works for Scripture Union. Pango Village is her home. After church we had a picnic with them Elodia and the Paschke family. We ate Tuluk and other food. We played ball games too, which was fun. After lunch we went to the beach, but didn’t swim because it was low tide. We looked for shells and made sand castles. It was fun even though I couldn’t understand a thing that they were saying at church because it was all in Bislma. Posted by Bethany J.

Cascade waterfall is the best place in the world. You walk up on a footpath next to the waterfall and then most people look at the view then walk back down on the footpath but we swam down the waterfall, carefully looking for the best way down. It was amazingly amazing. Even Elijah swam down with all of us.  We also went to The Secret Garden where we held a snake – freaky… and a green iguana. At a village called ‘Mele Maat’ we watched some traditional Ni Vanuatu weddings and we saw pigs and cows hanging for the wedding feast. It was cool! Posted by Bethany.

Hamish posts …. Today I went with a man called John on two catamaran trips. On the first trip we went to an island that has lots of pawpaw trees. I asked John to get some and so we found some ripe ones and John opened two with a sharp piece of wood and we ate them together. I also brought four, home for the rest of the family and we ate one for dinner tonight. My second catamaran trip with John went for 2 1/2 hours! We went all the way to an island called Erakor where there is a fancy resort. On the island we drew pictures in the sand and I drew a necklace with a starfish for a stencil. Most of the time on the catamaran we lay on our tummies and John steered with his feet. He sang songs and we chatted. Near the end of the trip another man called Roy joined us in a motor boat and John held onto the motor boat to make us go faster. I learned some bislama today – like ‘hureup hureup’ and ‘da ya luk the cadamaran?’. I did like it very much and John was great because our second trip went for two hours after his shift finished. Tomorrow morning he said he will take me fishing … I can’t wait !

Tuesday : Blue lagoon was amazing ! The massive rope swing was heaps of fun and I swam and fed cute little (and big) turtles. It was soo fun. I also swam with sharks and massive fish! Amazing! Today was the best. Blue lagoon was the best thing so far. Posted by BethanyJ (so it turns out that muscles you use on a rope swing are not in regular use… feeling them now! J Danielle)

Wednesday:  Weather not so good today but we didn’t let it stop us. Elijah enjoyed coconut weaving crafts at breakfast and this morning we ‘learned’ to Tok Tok Bislama. Guess what the word for children is? ‘Pikinini’ – sounds like something you might keep in a glass jar on your bedside table!?  So I have 5 pikininis blong mi, which sounds so much more gorgeous than five kids… We visited a French speaking school today with Elodia who works for Scripture Union and teaches in a few different local schools. It was a great experience and I was able to use some very rusty French (high-school French classes were a few too many years ago now). In the afternoon we went with Elodia to the fresh food markets and ate with the locals – Tuluk and Lap Lap. We also bought some local raspberries which Elijah LOVES and saw some other interesting food products we don’t see in Australia (e.g. live crabs tied up with string).  The fire dancing went on despite the rain and we enjoyed every minute of it! (posted by Danielle)

We went to the fresh food and craft markets this morning. There were some cool things there. There were also some cheap shops with lots of things that would have been lots of money in Australia but were really cheap over here.  After that we met a family who works for Scripture Union. We talked and then went out for dinner with them for Chinese at local restaurant that they sometimes go to. Tomorrow we a going to the blue lagoon where you can see right to the bottom and there is a big rope swing… Posted by Bethany J.

My high today was kayaking together – all 7 of us – around the island opposite; even under some of the resort accommodation; then we chilled out in the pool.

Posted by Shaun

First day

Got here last night at like 1:am last night. Found out what there is to do around the resort. We saw this red, spiky starfish. I had never seen anything like it.it was amazing. Tomorrow we are getting a tour round port. Should be funJ.  Plane trip was so fun. We had a buffet breakfast.mm.
Posted by bethany

Flight a little bit delayed but all still very happy and excited. Won't arrive until after midnight Vanuatu time now... zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz

at airport waiting 2 get on plane soooooooooooooooooo excited. will be in different country(Vanautu) in 4 and a half hours. soo cool. posted by Bethany

Hi Hamish here. The day has finally come. We are going to Vanuatu this evening. I am so excited about seeing birds, snorkelling, going to the beautiful waterfall and everything else! I think all of us are.

10 sleeps to go - Vanuatu here we come

We are going to Vanuatu in 10 sleeps and we can't wait. Looking forward to some warmer weather, beach snorkelling, waterfalls and buffet breakfasts. Also excited to be meeting up with friends from Scripture Union, Vanuatu and learning about their ministry (posted by Danielle)