We got going promptly as we had about 20 miles to go to our next stop. Once we were out of the shelter of the smaller islands we had a great sail north, with winds peaking at about 22 knots, we averaged a good 9-10knots boat speed a lot of the time. There was quite a side swell initially which made it a bit bumpy, but that evened out and we had a comfy sail. We went and anchored outside the Ratua Private Island resort, a tiny little island in a channel between two bigger islands just south of Luganville. An idyllic situation nicely protected.
Rowan had read the snorkelling was excellent, we got the anchor down by 2pm and went straight off to the reef to snorkel. We wanted to get some good light before the sun started to sink. It really was stunning, the coral was amazing and the fish life was by far the best we have seen so far, with big schools of large fish. We definitely saw about four fish we have never seen before. The resort protects this bit of coral, it is obvious by the abundance of fish, that it is not fished by the locals, it was really impressive. You could see the locals in their little outrigger canoes fishing on the other side of the bay. Lets hope the resort brings enough into the local economy to compensate.
Rowan had booked us in for dinner, he had read they are yacht friendly resort, which is impressive as they must be one of the most exclusive, expensive resorts in Vanuatu, £500 a night to stay. We went in around 5pm to have a look around in daylight. The whole place is beautifully done. All the buildings have been brought from Indonesia by a French philanthropist, a lot of them historic teak structures repurposed, really sympathetic to the environment. It was bought in 2017 by a NZ family. The gorgeous white beach in front of the resort, with the reef beyond and magnificent trees on the beach, make it a stunning location. It was a set meal, a seafood platter, that was very rich and tasty, followed by cheesecake which was ok, but the whole experience was a real treat. There did not seem to be many people about, a South African family with 3 teenage kids, and an Asian couple and that appeared to be all. Tourism has really taken a knock here.
The coral comes alive in the sunshine
Little clown fish sussing out Rowan in their soft coral
So much going on, so many different fish in the different kinds of coral
I love the colour combinations
A few colourful clams about, but not a lot like in Fiji
A dugong????
Reception at the resort
The Indonesian buildings
Everywhere beautifully landscaped
Sunset drinks almost on the beach
The wood carving is a very similar style to ours
The dining room looking out over the reef
The reef we snorkelled around is all under that flat water
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