Lemon Tree

Nothing too exciting to report this week so have resorted to a photo of my lemon tree which is looking very healthy with lots of lemons on it!

I could have taken a before and after shot of my nose,  post surgery with the lovely bandage I had to wear for a week, and then the lovely look after the bandage finally came off but decided I did not really need a photo of that. I am just glad the bandage is off, my nose still feels awfully funny and I suspect it will take quite a while to heal, but the main thing was they got all the BCC cells.

I have not been able to ride this week so have got lots of little jobs done so that has been good. I have also been practicing my ukulele every day to toughen up my fingers.

Proud Owner of a Ukuele

I am now the  proud owner of a Kala Tenor Ukulele in exotic mahogany! Sounds pretty impressive but unfortunately I don't know how to play it! I have signed up for some lessons at Woden CIT in July so should be fun! It is all my niece Mia's fault- she got a ukulele and came over for the day and somehow I had talked myself into getting a ukulele and Mia and I will learn it together so that is what is happening! I have learnt all about the different sizes of ukuleles there are soprano, concert, tenor etc- they all get slightly bigger! Stay tuned to hear more of my ukulele adventures.

Lachlan's Birthday

Lachlan had a birthday this week, all very low key- I just decided we would have takeaways as he didn't want to go out for dinner. Last Sunday we went over to Bindi and Simon's for dinner and Bindi had made a birthday cake with army soldier candles, so Lachlan, Simon and Charlie had great fun playing with the candles and burning them right down! Later in the week on his actual birthdays he got socks and undies and chocolates- what else can you buy them! We had Chinese takeaway and I made crème brule.

Dealing With Reality

 

Some final views of Pt Vila Harbour on our last day. We made it safely home, lots of delays on our flights but no dramas. This time last week I was walking around in 3/4 pants and t-shirts, it was 2 degrees when I got up this morning! It is always good to be home though, had a fantastic trip, just loved Vanuatu and would go back again for sure. It was a great adventure for mum, we got off the beaten track a bit and got a glimpse into real life in Vanuatu.

Bike Ride

Went for a bike ride on a very basic bike, had a wonderful time riding into the one main village about 12 km away. I stopped of at a local school and enjoyed watching the kids at play, they also waved to me. As I rode along, everyone called out hello, I passed teenagers walking home for school, boys carrying sling shots and large knives, I high fived one boy and they all laughed.mi stopped and spoke to a group of girls and one was named Suzanne so when I said my name was Susan they all laughed, I had a great ride! I stopped and brought 2 mandarins on a little road side stall, it turns out I brought two piles about 12 mandarins, I didn't have the room to carry them or the time to eat them all so I just took three and told them to keep all the money, they laughed, they really are happy people!

Life Very Simple on Tanna

Life is a lot more simple on Tanna, very few would have electricity and most live in simple huts.

Yasur by Night

No words are needed the pictures tell the story it was pretty spectacular and we were so close!

At Mt Yasur

We arrived at the volcano and had quite a steep walk up to the crater, the volcano would boom and gigantic ash clouds would come up, it was pretty spectacular and sounded awesome, then after about 30 minutes we headed up even further ready for the night show to begin.

Ash Plains and Lava Plains

We headed down to the base of the volcano and saw the ash plains and old lava flow as well as a closer view of the volcano. We also heard a few loud booms!

First Glimpse of the Volcano

We travelled on over the rocky roads up and down some steep climbs. We had a photo stop that gave us our first glimpse of the Mt Yasur and views over the island.

Volcano Tour First Stop

We headed off for our volcano tour, stopping off along the way at a little village where the children came out and sang to us. They gave us some flowers each, and mum got a second bunch, they were pretty fascinated with her white hair. We then stopped off at a little market stall and I could have brought a fruit bat to cook for dinner!

Arriving in Tanna

Monday morning we headed out to the domestic airport where we caught the plane to Tanna, we arrived at the airport, waited for the hand pulled trolleys brought up our luggage to the luggage window and got our luggage. We hopped up in the back of the ute for the ride to White Grass Resort where we were greeted by our delightful French speaking host, given a welcome drink and shown to our lovely little burre. The place has a delightful setting and wonderful views especially in the restaurant.

Village Life

Village life looks pretty basic here in Vanuatu, but the people are always happy and smiling, always say hello, and we have felt very safe.