Events of Monday 17th February 2020
We left our anchorage off the island of Tanna at about 05:00 to sail north-east around 24 km to the small raised coral atoll island of Aniwa which rises only 42 m above sea level.
At around 08:45 we started to go ashore by Zodiac to meet some of the local villagers. We landed at a small concrete pier allowing us to step from the Zodiac to the land without getting wet.
Passengers being ferried ashore by Zodiac: Aniwa, Vanuatu.
Informally divided into groups, a number of villagers led us on a walk to the nearby village. Our guide, a 24 year old girl, led us along a dirt road to the fairly smart mission church before climbing a very uneven set of concrete steps to the village itself.
Our guide for the village walk: Aniwa, Vanuatu.
Mission Church: Aniwa, Vanuatu.
The extensive village had dwellings in a variety of styles. Most were fairly basic with a timber frame, thatched roof and woven bamboo walls. Corrugated iron sheets were sometimes used for walls and heavy gauge plastic sheets to waterproof the roof. A few buildings were more substantial with concrete-faced blockwork at low level and corrugated sheeting above, featuring a proper hinged door and the odd window frame. Some had a corrugated sheet roof delivering rainwater into a large concrete tank via plastic guttering and pipes. A small number were provided with a solar panel. I saw just one modern, conventionally-built building with a corrugated sheet roof in the 'tropical' style and, elsewhere, one satellite dish.
The Village: Aniwa, Vanuatu
A different dirt road led us back to the landing place. On the way, we passed a shipping container next to a plastic water tank and standpipe which may have been the desalinisation plant we were told the village has. There were a couple of traditional wooden outrigger canoes beached but the preferred craft now seems to be a fibreglass boat fitted with an outboard motor. Near the concrete pier, a group of young boys were happily frolicking in the sea.
Children swimming: Aniwa, Vanuatu.
A group of ladies from the village had laid out an array of fruit and coconuts for the visitors before we said farewell to our friendly hosts and returned to the ship by Zodiac.
Villagers preparing refreshments for their guests: Aniwa, Vanuatu.
Over lunch, the ship repositioned to an anchorage off Turtle Beach and a wet landing by Zodiac was offered for swimming/snorkeling. The alternative, was a Zodiac Cruise. I was exhausted by the morning’s activities, but I'll never pass-up a Zodiac ride.
Zodiac Cruise off Turtle Beach.
View of cliffs from Zodiac Cruise off Turtle Beach.
View of stern of 'Caledonian Sky' showing Marina Deck used for transfer between ship and Zodiacs (Zodiac Cruise off Turtle Beach).
Related posts on this website
This post is in the series labelled 'Tropic of Capricorn’. The first post is here.
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All my Tropic of Capricorn reports
My pictures
This blog post was first published on the ship via a satellite link with limited capacity so the link to my pictures was added later. Pictures in this post can be viewed uncropped, where necessary, by clicking on the image. To view all my pictures taken on Aniwa, see other resolutions or download, select from the album below:-
Aniwa, Vanuatu
[Link to pictures added 5-Mar-2020: Minor edits, pictures embedded 10-Apr-2020]
