Flying with Air Vanuatu is one fantastic adventure. You see the propellers whiz zing, skim over crater lakes, coral reefs rugged coastlines and ocean carpet, and sit with men who have bush knives on their knees.
The pilots are strict about everyone having a seat. When one passenger was left standing in the aisle the pilot waited patiently. Eventually somebody offered their seat and hopped out - the next plane was due in three days. No sweat.
Flights to Futuna was cancelled for a while. The grass on the landing strip was too long for safe landing because the lawn mower had broken. The only way to get the spare part was by plane. Tricky.
And when a mate was needed for the crocodile living in Sulpur River, a tranquillised croc was loaded into the plane. A bit big for the small plane, it's head went thru the cockpit and rested between the two pilots. It sure is the way to fly.
Vanuatu is a country of small islands and I am heading to one in the south called Tanna.
Tanna island is one of Vanuatu's most popular destinations, especially for those wishing to gaze into the red-hot lava depths of an active volcano. Apart from the fuming, furious Mt Yasur (the world's most accessible volcano), there are undisturbed rain forests, coffee plantations, plains where wild horses run, hot springs, blue holes and waterfalls. Christianity, cargo cults, and kastom are important, and all natural phenomena have a fourth dimension of spirituality and mystique.
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