Erakor Lagoon, Port Vila, Vanuatu

Early in March we’d booked to go to Iririki resort which is on a small island a couple of minutes by ferry from the centre of Port Vila, the capital of Vanuatu. Two weeks later the devastating cyclone Pam hit the islands.

Local School, Port Vila, Vanuatu

It was sad to see footage of so much destruction in a place we’d grown to love during our previous trips. Iririki is very exposed and seeing the resort’s destroyed wharf, littered with boats, it was clear that it had been badly affected.

We soon learnt that Iririki would be closed until early December for repairs and so transferred to Poppy’s, a smaller resort on Erakor Lagoon about 20 minutes walk from the centre of town.

Erakor Lagoon, Poppy’s Resort, Port Vila, Vanuatu

Poppy’s had never really closed and had no obvious signs of damage although the owner later told me that total repair cost was likely to reach NZ$1 million.

View from Poppys Apartment., Port Vila, Vanuatu

There were plenty of reminders of Pam all over Port Vila, mainly trees down, roofs missing and defoliation.

Captain Cook Avenue, Port Vila, Vanuatu

It was good to see the market was operating again although there was still a shortage of some produce.

Fruit and Vegetable Market, Port Vila, Vanuatu

Flower Market, Port Vila, Vanuatu

The locals, as always, were really friendly and in good spirits although it was clear the cyclone had taken it’s toll and still remained fresh in people’s minds.

Near Captain Cook Avenue, Port Vila, Vanuatu

The staff at Poppy’s talked about how all their families had been invited to stay in the resort’s concrete constructed burés for protection on the night of the cyclone.

Main Pool, Poppys Resort, Port Vila, Vanuatu

Most of the tourists had already left as there had been plenty of warning. The locals survived the night but sadly much of their own villages were badly damaged.

We visited Erakor Island, which is a very low lying resort in the middle of Erakor Lagoon, where we stayed on our first visit.

Erakor Island Resort, Port Vila, Vanuatu

Sara, the ni-Vanuatu manager, told us how they had to abandon the island when it was overwhelmed by the storm surge.

Erakor Island Resort, Port Vila, Vanuatu

There was still plenty of evidence of “close-shaves” around the island.

Erakor Island Bar, Port Vila, Vanuatu

They hired 200 locals for the clean-up and re-opened 3 weeks later having, among other things, removed a metre of silt from the restaurant.

Erakor Island, Port Vila, Vanuatu

The resorts are slowly re-opening although two of the largest, Iririki and Holiday Inn, are likely to remain closed until December for repairs.

Port Vila Harbour, Vanuatu

The cruise ships are coming back and life is beginning to return to normal. This really is a special place, the people are very resilient but rely heavily on tourism. If you’re thinking of holidaying on a Pacific Island it wouldn’t be a bad time to chose Vanuatu.

Early Morning, Erakor Lagoon, Port Vila, Vanuatu