New Island: Riri Blue Hole

A very early start today! I had to catch the plane from Port Vila to Espiritu Santo, an island about 45 minutes north of Efate Island by air. It’s absolutely stunning—possibly the best place I’ve ever been. I say possibly because, for most of my stay, the weather didn’t exactly cooperate. But today, I had a few lucky moments of sunshine.

My accommodation for the next two nights is at Matevulu Lodge. (I asked the lady in charge if I could live there forever for free—she laughed at me in French. Technically not a no.) The little hut I had was dreamy, and just outside it was my own private access to the beach, with two hammocks—one of which I later used for a nap.

The resort provides kayaks for free, and since the tide was high when I arrived, I kayaked to the Riri Blue Hole—a lagoon with unbelievably clear, blue water. The last lagoon I saw on Efate Island was nice, but this one was on another level. It reaches a depth of about 8 meters at its deepest point. It’s hard to comprehend that kind of depth because the water is so clear, it seems just an arm’s length deep.

Before finding the Blue Hole, I came across a much broader, not-very-blue lagoon. I actually thought that was it, paddled around a bit, and was about to head back. That’s when I heard a local calling out to me. Eventually, I paddled over, and he explained that the real Blue Hole was about 10 minutes further, just past the bridge. I thanked him and was about to head off, but it turned out he was there to collect the entrance fee (which I had known about, but honestly, sometimes it feels odd to pay just to see nature).

For most of the way, I was completely alone, though later I was joined by two other people. I went snorkelling and saw some beautiful fish!

After changing islands and exploring, I took that aforementioned nap and enjoyed some dinner. Then the weather turned. From that point on—it was constant rain.Read more