Tanna Things to Do

You really must visit Mt Yasur Volcano if you get the chance...it is amazing!! We arrived just on sunset to find the hot lava being spewed in the air. We could also hear the huge 'booms' from a long way away...very scary when you get up close but fantastic all the same!!!

Mt Yasur is on the opposite side of the island to the airport so you can choose to stay nearby or at one of the resorts near the airport. Either way you will have to do the long trip across the island...

The Black Sand Beach on Tanna Island is amazing... We only saw a small part of it while doing our 4WD Tour but it was great to see.

The 'sand' has come from the volcano. It's the first black sand beach I had ever seen and I loved it!

The village people in Tanna are wonderful. :) They are very friendly and extremely welcoming.

We did a tour around the island in a 4WD and the whole way the kids were yelling out hello and running along side the car. Although some couldn't speak English they still waved and smiled...

Most villagers have 'grass huts' as their homes - they are so well built!! I loved them! Unfortunately many were damaged by Cyclone Ivy in February 2004 so we saw a lot of damage when we were there...very sad...

A visit to Yakel village (or "custom village" as it is commonly known) provides visitors with the opportunity to experience traditional ni-Vanuatu culture untainted by Western influence.

For 2000 VT (about US$18), you are permitted to walk through the village and you're given a warm welcome by the villagers themselves. The homes are all leaf huts, and pigs and chickens roam about freely.

When I arrived, there was nobody in the "residential" part of the village, so I just had a quiet peek around. Everyone was up the path a short ways at the communal gathering area.

In the communal area, the women had spread out a number of beautiful arts and crafts for purchase. It appeared that the men were behind an enormous banyan tree drinking kava. The tree itself had a brilliant little tree house built into it.

After a few minutes, all the men gathered out in the open and began singing and dancing. The women soon joined in. Everyone participated--young, old, male, and female.

One word of caution--you may find yourself accompanied by a bus full of package tourists. This happened to me, and although I have nothing against large tour groups, I hadn't expected to see one here.

I had to pay 1000VT (app. US$9) to visit Yakel.

Visiting Yasur is probably for most people the highlight of their trip to Tanna. It certainly was for me. There are not many places where you can peer over the edge of an active volcano rim as it spews out lava. There are no doubt many operators on the island who can take you here, and they seem to do so primarily in the late afternoon and into the evening when you can see what's shooting out of the crater, which probably makes the visit more interesting and maybe even safer.

Note that all visitors to the volcano will need to pay the 2000 VT entrance fee before making the trip up. For me, this fee was collected the day before as I was being driven to Port Resolution from Lenakel. It may seem a bit pricey, but trust me, it's worth it. That is, unless you regularly stand at the edge of a firey cauldron of explosive molten rock.

For a personal account of my visit to Yasur, see my travelogue entitled "An Evening at the Volcano."

The hike up to view the crater of the volcano is about a 15 min. walk up the black ash. When the wind kicks in, it could make visibility a bit tricky.........add in some drizzle of rain and voila! That makes for one thirsty hiker!

Note: Bring Beer !! ;-)

Tanna's Mt. Yasur is just 360 meters above sea level.....but what it lacks in height, it certainly makes up in activity.

Bits and pieces of molten rock and ash spew out on a regular basis.

It was a very impressive show for us at dusk.......hiking up the side on a windy day and being entertained by the volcano with its awe-inspiring fireworks display of red hot lava rock against the blackened sky.

One of the biggest draws to Tanna Island, is one of the world's most accessible active volcanoes, Mt. Yasur.

Just 360 meters above sea level, reports show that Mt. Yasur averages about 500 explosions per day, which is typical of the volcano's normal activity.

Arriving into this part of the island was like stepping onto an entirely different planet!