Shopping for cocktails

We continue to do as little as possible in Vanuatu. The weather has certainly encouraged this endeavour. Yesterday it rained on and off all day, so we chilled indoors, enjoying moody ocean views from the comfort of our villa's lounge.

Today dawned breezy and sunny.  We took advantage of the sunshine and caught the resort's complimentary shuttle bus into town. Downtown Port Vila is pretty much as we recall it two years on from our first visit. Sadly, the devastating earthquake that struck the nation's capital in December 2024 is still evident. Construction sites and empty, weed-strewn plots of land are scattered throughout town. 

The earthquake measured 7.3 on the Richter Scale and killed 14 people. In Port Vila, at least ten buildings collapsed, including one housing the United States, United Kingdom, French and New Zealand embassies and high commissions. Much of this structure pancaked dramatically onto the ground floor level; images of it made headlines in Australia at the time. 

As we walked along the waterfront, we came upon several high-rise buildings with notices identifying their condition.  A sign at the entrance to one empty multi-storey glass-facaded building simply advised it was "Unfit for Occupation". It was all rather sad to see. 

The markets were as colourful as ever.  However, sites like the undercover Main Market were much smaller than those during our last visit. Even the building was smaller. An entire waterfront section of the undercover market has been demolished and fenced off.  We concluded that everyone makes more of an effort whenever a cruise boat is in town.

We stocked up on raw ingredients for ginger caprioskas at the market, then visited a temporary supermarket on the waterfront for a few snacks to accompany our next cocktail hour. It was then time to return to Eratap for a dip in the ocean and book a couple of complimentary massages in the resort's spa tomorrow afternoon. 

Oh yes, and here's where we'll be enjoying our cocktails this afternoon. This is our spacious beachfront villa complete with sun loungers on the coconut palm shaded sundeck, or sun loungers under a thatched cabana.

A day at leisure

Our first day in Vanuatu has passed without much to report. Today we got ourselves fitted for snorkelling gear and some handy reef shoes (to protect us from the coral that lines the beach at low tide). We then took time out to explore the resort, including its Instagram-worthy pool and nifty private jetty.

Garry and I were delighted to spot a colourful pink starfish off the jetty, followed by a sea eel silently stalking prey as it weaved its way through the coral shoals. I then spent several hours building a personal living expenses budget in anticipation of retirement. I've had this on my to-do list for months, so it was great to finally get started on this critical lifestyle project.

We eventually made our way into the warm tropical water shortly after 2:00pm. We spent almost an hour snorkelling along the resort’s shoreline reef. The fish life was abundant, and the coral was blooming in spectacular style everywhere we swam. The yellow-hued Finger-lobed soft coral (Sclerophytum leptoclados) was particularly noteworthy. We came across vast “forests” of it covering the coral ridgelines.

Sadly, we didn't encounter any sea anemones, and thus there were no Nemo fish to be seen. However, I spotted an Angel Fish, plenty of colourful Parrot Fish, and schools of vivid Blue Chromis. The Chromis were everywhere. These tiny, bright blue fish belong to the same group as damselfish.

It was happy hour at the bar this evening. Unsurprisingly, enjoyed a couple of half-price cocktails and sampled some local kava before sitting down to dinner on the edge of the beach (below is the same view at breakfast this morning). It's been a blissful start to our Pacific Island getaway.

UPDATE: 7 June
The pink starfish we spotted yesterday proved to be just one of dozens living around the jetty. Garry and I went for a brief swim off the jetty this afternoon and spotted one starfish after another. Even better, we discovered that they're known as Chocolate Chip Sea Stars (Protoreaster nodosus) thanks to their distinctive markings. However, those chocolate chips are actually conical defensive spines covering their dorsal side. Even worse, some of the starfish aren't pink; they're a semi-camouflaged sandy hue. Ouch!

Eratap Beach Resort

It's taken almost a full day to get here. However, Garry and I are finally kicking back on the beach in Vanuatu. For the next 11 nights, we're living the good life in a roomy one-bedroom beachfront villa at Eratap Beach Resort. The complex is approximately 30 minutes out of Port Vila on the southern coast of Efate Island.

Getting here required two flights, starting with an early 7:00am flight to Brisbane, followed by a two-hour flight across the Coral Sea. Thanks to a one-hour time difference, we landed in Port Vila shortly after 2:00pm. However, it took almost two hours to get from the plane to the resort, thanks to lengthy queues at immigration and the leisurely pace of road traffic travelling on island time.

We landed shortly after a Fiji Airways flight. As a result, a large queue greeted us as we entered the airport's compact immigration hall. It then took another 45 minutes to clear immigration and collect our luggage as immigration officials, operating on island time, reviewed everyone's passports. A Virgin Australia flight landed shortly after us. I felt for its passengers with two planeloads already standing in line.

Garry and I had forgotten how long it takes to travel relatively short distances in the Pacific Islands. Our driver warned us as we left the airport that our journey to Eratap would take at least 40 minutes. At first, I couldn't work out why it was going to take so long to travel barely 19 kilometres. The traffic through Port Vila crawled along at a snail's pace, and then once the town limits were cleared, our pace was slowed again by a relentless stream of potholes and rural animal life. 

The drive's monotony was regularly broken as we watched group after group of flag-waving locals demonstrating support for their favourite FIFA World Cup team. Cars were decked out with flapping flags, locals marched by draped in flags, and children proudly wore their chosen heroes' national colours. This colourful display is all the more impressive considering the competition's opening match doesn't kick off for another week.

However, all was not lost. We arrived in time to enjoy a cold beer and watch a golden sunset from the comfort of our private beachside cabana. Nice!

What's another million?

Two years ago, I posted about Australia’s population reaching 27 million people. Yesterday, the nation chalked up another million shortly after 6:00am. At least, that’s the tally according to the population clock at the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS). The clock counts up based on a growth rate set on 1 July last year. This rate assumes that every minute and 15 seconds, another person is added to the Australian population.

This is the fastest million Australia has ever gained. Eight years ago, I was posting about the country reaching 25 million people, i.e. it then took six years to add another two million, by 2024. This more leisurely growth was impacted in part by the closure of the international border during the COVID pandemic.

According to ABS data released in March, Western Australia recorded the fastest population growth in the year to September 30, rising 2.2 per cent, or about 66,000 people. Queensland and Victoria both grew by 1.7 per cent, adding 97,300 and 122,000 people respectively. However, all this growth is being driven by migration. According to the ABS, only 1.48 babies per woman are being born, on average, well below the replacement fertility rate of 2.1.

If migration continues at its current pace, it’s estimated that Australia’s population will reach an impressive 30 million people by 2031. That’s almost twice the number that lived here when I first visited the country in 1998.

While the population clock is a statistically driven device, we'll be able to confirm its accuracy in a few months. The nation’s five-year census is scheduled to take place on 11 August this year. I wonder if we’ll see an unfavourable rounding error?