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On the Land
Trekking
Visit the Vatthe and Loru Conservation area for great walking
and easy trekking. Orchids, butterflies, huge banyan trees and
astonishing rainforest ecology. Vatthe has camping facilities
and a fabulous black sand beach.
A memorial to Pedro Quirres, the first European to discover
Vanuatu in May 1606, is located on the beach near Vatthe
Conservation area.
A new venture now has 3 to 5 night treks into the mountainous
rainforest of the west coast. Stay in villages that few
non-indigenous people have visited, live the simple,
unsophisticated existence of the bush people. Check out Wrecks to Rainforest.
Custom
Life
Espiritu Santo’s ni-Vanautu (of Vanuatu) tour operators can
take you too many remote villages where life is still very
fundamental.
See custom colourful dress, primitive lifestyle, abundant
gardens.
Get caught up with the rhythm of the dancers and the sound of
ancient drums beating.
Watch the ladies preparing, dying and weaving their incredible
clothes, mats and baskets.
Join the men in the preparation and drinking our traditional
drink – kava. Watch and listen as they recount their ancient
folklore and draw their legends in the sand.
The Beachfront team can give you information and contacts for
these remarkable adventures.
Caves
Visit the majestic Millennium Cave.
A medium to hard trek to the village then an incredible
journey to the cave where the fun begins.
Bamboo ladders and walkways, dark caves, stunning stalactites
and deep canyons make this a 'must do' for the adventuresome
visitor to Espiritu Santo. Finish the trek by floating down a
river to a beautiful waterfall.
Blue Holes
Experience the spectacular image of crystal clear water that
has percolated up from natural springs through layers of
limestone giving it an amazing azure colour.
Horse
Riding
Enjoy the spectacular scenery with Splash Extreme Horse Riding
from pony rides to full day trekking; experience the peace and
tranquility of the East Coast Santo seashore, plantations and
rainforest.
WW2
James Michener wrote Tales of the South Pacific while
stationed on Espiritu Santo and Pappy Boyington joined up with
the Black Sheep Squadron operating from the island.
Bomber missions operated from one of the three bomber fields
through much of the war but the major fronts moved north, away
from Vanuatu and the focus switched to maintenance and repair
as well as a base for strategic command.
Espiritu Santo was a supply base and this meant that there was
always plenty of good food and warm beer. Bloody Mary was a
real person and a hero of the enlisted men. She supplied local
women and cheap booze for Yankee dollars. She was Tonkinese
and lived in Luganville until the 1990's.
The importance of the base during the war can still be seen in
the infrastructure that is left behind. Many buildings and
facilities built during the war are still used today. The
aircraft pictured were parked at Bomber 2 airfield, used today
as Espiritu Santo's Pekoa international airport.
Beachfront Resort is built on the site of an old PBY
(seaplane) base.
Local tour operators can show you the remains of bombers, old
airfields, Million Dollar Point and many of the buildings used
by the allied forces.
On the
Water
Zego
Excitement Boats come to Beachfront
The resort has twin hull sports boats powered by 30 hp motors
and suitable for 2 people.
Take a boat out and have fun around Segond Channel and explore
the spectacular rivers.
Scuba
Diving
Dive the 200 metre long SS President Coolidge renowned as the
most accessible shipwreck in the world as a shore dive, with
Allan Power Dive Tours or
Santo Island Dive and
Fish. Talk to Dave Cross for very enthusiastic
suggestions and advice on the fantastic diving.
There are many dives available on the wreck from easy
beginner’s adventures to the very serious deep, penetration
dives.
The waters surrounding our islands also have spectacular reef
diving and more wrecks, the USS Tucker, an American destroyer,
Million Dollar Point, location of American war surplus dumped
into the ocean, MV Dedele plus many stunning coral reefs and
exotic fish life.
Kayaking
Beachfront Resort has single and double sit on kayaks for fun
travel around the shores of Segond Channel and exploring our
pristine rivers. Life jackets are available, if required.
Snorkeling
Snorkel at Million Dollar Point where the Americans dumped
massive amounts of war surplus in 1945.
Bulldozers, forklifts, shipwrecks – it has the lot including
great corals and fish life.
Go snorkeling with the divers if you don’t scuba dive, if
there’s room on the boats you’re always welcome to visit the
pristine reefs.
We have some snorkeling near the resort on a old, wrecked
island trader – the visibility’s not always perfect but the
water’s warm and shallow.
Fishing
Luganville has light sport and reef fishing available with
fast and safe boats to get you to where the action is. Check
out
Santo Island Dive &
Fish in Luganville.
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