Chill Restaurant

I love the Chill Restaurant in Port Vila. It is up the stairs next to the Au Bon Marche Supermarket and the Port Vila Market. It's a lovely restaurant that overlooks the harbour. If you look straight down below you can see a big array of fish swimming. Some really big ones too. We took our young Ni-Van friend to lunch there for a treat. The lunch meals are fabulous and for the equivalent of about $12 it's a steal. You even get a free beverage with the meal and that includes a Tusker (local beer) or a wine. I'm sold!

Anyone for Crab?

I love making friends in Vanuatu and it's certainly not hard to do. I met these lovely Mamas on a stroll around the backstreets of Port Vila one day. Vanuatu has won Lonely Planets "Happiest Place on Earth" title twice since 2009....I wonder why?

Exotic Fruit

I love discovering all the exotic fruits of Vanuatu that I have never seen or eaten before. This fruit is called Navel Nuts. It has a nut inside that tastes like coconut and the rest of the fruit has a very refreshing taste like coconut juice. Yummy.... By the way all the edible fruits that I come across all seem to start with the letter 'N' in Vanuatu. Maybe there is a reason for this.

George

I love George. George was the very first Ni-Van we became friends with on our first visit to Port Vila. We always make a point of visiting George while we are in town, although that isn't hard considering he and his lovely wife Chris own two beautiful resorts in Port Vila. On this day we were walking along the Lini Highway having not been in Vila long when suddenly George appeared with his arms wide open in front of us.

We're Vanuatu since 1972

I even love the advertising posters in Vanuatu. This one was for Westpac Bank and is on the Lini Highway on your way out of town.

Kevin

I love the friendliness of the Ni-Van people. Kevin is a young Ni-Van who is a teacher in New Zealand. He was home visiting his family in Vanuatu. He was staying in the same motel as us and we bumped into him in the rain in Port Vila and had a chat. Kevin told us on his first day of teaching school in Christchurch, New Zealand, the earthquake hit. He was evacuated to Wellington and has been teaching there ever since.

Gudfala Toilet Pepa

'Gudfala Toilet Pepa Blong Yumi'.......... I just love Bislama!!

Women's Market Mamas

I love the Mamas at the Women's Market in Port Vila. The market is right on the foreshore and full of wonderful things to buy. I love the baskets as they have a different style from every island. My favourite lady and stall is Stella from No.13. She has the best selection of baskets and is happy to tell you where each style is from.

Tropical Flowers

I just love the colour and vibrance of the Flower Market in Port Vila. It's no wonder I love this place!

Baywatch

I love the Baywatch Restaurant on Fatumaru Bay in Port Vila. It has the most wonderful views of the harbour and the food is great. They have a great lunchtime deal for 1000 vatu (approx $10) and with that you get a free lime juice. The owner is French so the food has to be good... right?

Jill's Cafe

I love Jill's Cafe on the Lini Highway in the heart of Port Vila. It has an American style menu....burgers and tacos etc and they do the best breakfast in town in my opinion. It is owned by an American couple Jill and Rick so the meals are genuine. They don't open for dinner though but have a late lunch there and you won't need dinner!

Sleeping Pikinini

I love the pikininis of Vanuatu. This mama was waiting for a bus on the Lini Highway as I strolled past and I couldn't resist this photo opportunity. For once I didn't get a thumbs up or a hand signal!

Corned Beef, Tuna or Mackerel?

I love the supermarkets in Vanuatu with their colourful displays of tinned corned beef, tuna and mackerel. These items are obviously pretty much part of the Ni-Van's staple diet otherwise the supermarket shelves wouldn't be full of it.

Port Vila Town

I love the hustle and bustle of Port Vila town. You can grab a bus just about anywhere and for 150 vatu the bus driver will take you just about anywhere. That's only about $1.50....it's a bargain.

Sophie

I love Sophie who is the attendant at the 'Pablik Toilet' on the Port Vila Foreshore. The toilet is right next to the Nambawan Cafe which I frequent during my stays in Port Vila. That also means I visit Sophie a lot. It's 40 vatu to visit the Ladies Room and I always had a joke with Sophie about getting my money's worth of toilet paper. I took this pic of Sophie on the day I was leaving and she had given me the biggest hugs and kisses. I think she was genuinely sad to say Good Bye to me. So typical of the warmth and friendliness of the local Ni-Van.

Anchor Inn

I love the Anchor Inn. It is one of Port Vila's popular drinking holes. We always meet our friend Simex at the Anchor Inn as his sister-in-law, Rimi works as a waitress there. There was a cruise ship in town when we visited this day and as we walked in Rimi walked up to us and with a straight face and told us that "she was only allowed to serve tourists here!" Ni-Vans have a wicked sense of humour and I have been caught out a few times I can tell you. If you respond with a "Ba u sick!" you will get the biggest laugh out of them.

Supermarket Notice

I love this notice in the bakery section of the local Au Bon Marche supermarket in Port Vila. I would have thought that was obvious!!

Cruise Ship Day

I love these beautiful Green Iguanas that these pikininis come out with when the cruise ship is in. In Port Vila the cruise ships come in very often so the hustle and bustle of the town goes on overdrive. Everyone is out to make some vatu on that day! Can you blame them?

Rozanna

I love Rozanna who works in customer relations at the Erakor Island Resort. Rozanna is originally from Tanna Island, home of the famous Mt Yasur volcano. She lived very close to the volcano on Tanna and she told me she remembers rolling down the black sand of the volcano as a pikinini!

Kava Bar

I love Bislama which is a form of Pidgin English. This is a sign for a local Kava Bar or Nakamal in Port Vila. If you read the sign you can pretty much make out what is said. Mifala... gudfala... yufala... tufala... you gotta just love it!!

Fatumaru Bay

I love Fatumaru Bay which is just a short walk along the Port Vila Foreshore and not far from 'taon'. A lot of the local Ni-Van bring their pikininis here to play and to swim. It's a beautiful harbour especially when the Tall Ship 'Soren Larsen' is moored there.

Top Up - lo ples ia

I love these little Digicel booths that are all over Port Vila. Digicel is a mobile phone company and these booths are where you buy your top up credit. Everyone has a mobile phone in Vanuatu since Digicel brought in some competition.

Lautano II

I love Lautano II, one of Vanuatu's favourite String Bands, I was lucky to see them perform at the Fest' Nalenga and had to pick up their new CD called 'Climate Change'. The new CD launch was at the big Nakamal on the Port Vila foreshore. It's an awesome CD by the way.

Hand Signals

The local Ni-Van use a lot of hand signals in their daily lives and it is very hard to get them to pose without using them. This mother and son are a prime example. These two are Pentecost Islanders living in Port Vila.

Lots of Leis

I love the Women's Market on the Port Vila Foreshore. It is so bright and colourful with an abundance of grass skirts, leis and Mother Hubbards. The Mamas are a wonderful, friendly bunch of ladies.

Sigaret I Kilim Man

I love Bislama, the National language of Vanuatu. Kilim can mean kill or hit in Bislama.

Fest' Napuan

I love the Fest' Napuan. It is Vanuatu's very own Music Festival which is held in Saralana Park every year. It is mainly Reggae and the bands that play come from all over the South Pacific. I was lucky enough to attend the 2011 festival and it was awesome.