The three major tenets of the OceanGybe Expedition are garbage, adventure and surf. We generally pick our course and destination dependant on the likelihood of these three variables, and, of course, the wind. As we sail into the Indian Ocean and away from the Pacific, I feel compelled to review, thus far, what we have found since leaving New Zealand almost 2 months ago. Since 95 % of our time on land was based in Vanuatu, this may be a rather one-sided view but at least it will shed some light on how I viewed Vanuatu based on our three major goals.

Adventure: Well, there was definitely no lack of once-in-a-lifetime experiences in Vanuatu. Things that we would never have been able to experience, other than by sailing a yacht and through this expedition. Chewing and drinking some of the most potent kava in the world on Anaietym, standing on the crumbling walls of the mighty Yasur volcano watching it blast molten rock into the heavens, watching an ancient land-diving ceremony deep in the jungle, carrying 18 missionaries across a wave strewn island pass in a new gale, navigating a 2 m wide passage into the empty coral lagoons of the Rowa Islands, visiting the incredible people of Sasara village trying to rebuild after complete devastation by a cyclone, diving the wrecks of the abandoned US military effort in Luganville,… the list goes on and on and on… If one is looking for a truly unique country and culture, relatively unsullied by western ideals, filled with adventure, intrigue, black magic, deep jungles, dizzying waterfalls… look no further than Vanuatu. I have no idea how to travel it overland, it would be incredibly difficult, but the rewards in terms of adventure would far outweigh the obstacles.

So next, Garbage: Yes, lots of it. Vanuatu is a third world nation and somehow, overly polluted beaches and third world countries seem to go hand-in-hand. This is not to imply that first world countries do not have pollution, they DEFINITELY do and it is often A LOT worse than third world pollution, but it seems EVERY third world country has pollution problems. This could be the basic result of a lack of social funding to keep the beaches and coastlines clean.

As with every beach we have been on, there is always garbage on the beaches. Always. We completed garbage studies on Anaietym, Maewo and in the Rowa Islands, each showing the frightening level of ocean borne pollution. For example, the Rowa Islands have no resident population, just few fishermen who occasionally hide from storms in the teeming lagoons, but the beaches are disgusting. Imagine your picture perfect beach; palm trees, bottomless aquamarine water, dazzlingly white sand, and EMPTY. Now you have an image just a small bit as beautiful as the Rowa Islands. Next, imagine the entire area of the beach, from the high tide line up into the surrounding scrub being covered with garbage! We found all sort of things on this beach, light bulbs, plastic syringes, soccer balls, sandals, thousands of bleach containers (why?) and every other sundry item we could think off. Absolutely covered.

The interesting thing to note is that this garbage did not come from the local islanders. These people live a three day walk from the closest store, they only go monthly to pick up basic supplies in terms of rice and building/clothing supplies. Not for food. They are completely self-sufficient, growing and catching all the food they need to survive. There is basically no plastic waste in their lives. We will be posting movie clips of each of these studies up soon, so check the media page for that.

Waves: Very, very little in terms of surf. We did discover numerous reef passes and outcroppings, which on their day, would be absolutely world class. However, due to the wave shadow created by New Caledonia, there is a very small swell window to get surf in Vanuatu. We did surf three of four times, at locations with incredible reef bathymetry but generally the surf size varied from ankle ticklers to waist-high crumblers. Again, on the right day and swell, these spots would be absolutely empty and would be picture perfect hundred meter long barrels – as good as anywhere else in the world. I will elaborate on where these passes and reefs are due to the fact that they are not too difficult to find and just require a little sleuthing. PS. Don’t bother, they are not in the guidebooks for the area.

We are currently cruising towards Indonesia, where there will definitely be huge amounts of surf, depressing amounts of pollution and adventure galore. Yet we all look back upon Vanuatu as one of the highlights of this expedition as far, even though we got very little surf, and would highly recommend it to anyone looking for an adventure, an eye-opening experience and a lesson in the short falls of our consumerist culture.