Ambrym,
the black island
Ambrym
is sometimes called the black island after the expansive
ash plain covering the interior. With two active volcanos
and strong kastom,
Ambrym is certainly a good destination for adventure travel
in the South Pacific.
Trekking
to the Benbow and Marum active volcanos draws most tourists
to Ambrym. You can also walk right around the island.
Mid-year
you are bound to encounter Roms.
The costume consists of a tall, brightly painted conical
mask and a cloak of dry banana leaves. Roms represent spirits
and Ambrym islanders are terrified of them. Ambrym islanders
are also said to be skilled in magic and sorcery.
Carvings are a requirement for grade-taking on Ambrym. In
the kastom natsaros
you can see tall, multi-faced tam-tams and tree fern sculptures.
Some good carvings are produced commercially for the tourist
trade and export too. Another important cultural tradition
on Ambrym is sand drawing (artistic designs which illustrate
local legends or leave messages).
North
Ambrym has an annual cultural festival featuring Rom dancing,
grade-taking and sand drawing around mid-July every year.
The interior villages of West Ambrym also welcome visitors
to see their annual Rom dances. Tourists pay to witness
a Rom dance (around 3000 Vatu per person) or visit a kastom
natsaro (around 2000 Vatu per person), the fees asked
will vary.
Most
of Ambrym's population lives along the southwest and northern
coastlines. The villagers generate a meagre income from
copra, fishing and wood carvings. Living on west Ambrym
can be hard as it's a dry, rain shadow area and acid rain
from the volcanos damages gardens.
Ambrym
is not far from Santo or Port Vila and relatively cheap
to get to. A good travelling strategy is island hopping
via Ambrym by plane and/or ship between Vila and Santo.
On a
budget, there are some cheap and good places to stay on
west Ambrym. Mobile phones are all around Ambrym now and
this development makes it so much easier to contact people.
Bungalows
Today there's more interest in tourism as the islanders
see a small, steady flow of tourists attracted to the volcanos.
The main tourist season is during the cooler months from
April to September. We feature the following places to visit:
Wakon Sunset Bungalow and Lake Fanteng Conservation Area, Dip Point 
Craig Cove Commercial Guesthouse 
Sam's Guesthouse, Craig Cove 
Bulevak Guesthouse, Baiap 
Polibetakevar Guesthouse
Bae Luk Guesthouse, Meltungon 
Black Beach Bungalows, Lonmei 
Island Experience, Port Vato 
John Melkrem Guesthouse, Lalinda 
Lalinda PWMU Guesthouse 
Savuli Community Bungalow, Toak 
Vetmet Bungalows, Ranvetlam 
Willie Salong Guesthouse, Ranvetlam 
Bangwere Bungalows, Ranvetlam 
Solomon Douglas Bungalows, Ranon 
There
are more places to stay in Ambrym. In the west we've heard
about bungalows at Sesivi, Sanesup and a cheaper guesthouse
at Meltungon (1500 Vatu per night). In the southeast there
are PWMU Guesthouses in Etas, Fenafo, Toak, Ulei and one
under construction at Endu. Nali
Guest House (link to VTO site) is at Sameo.
Do
something for the travelling community, share your knowledge
and send us in a report if
you find a place that should be on this website.
Air
Transport
Ambrym has two airfields, one in the west at Craig Cove
and one in the east at Ulei. There more landings and bigger
planes at Craig Cove and more flights from Vila than from
Santo. Air Vanuatu still has a weekly 'milk run' service
Santo-Norsup (Malekula)-Craig Cove-Ulei-Paama-Vila. Check
the Air
Vanuatu domestic website for the latest schedule and
fares. Tourists with a return Air Vanuatu international
ticket are entitled to a 20% discount on domestic flights.
Exchange Rates.
| Airport |
Return
Santo fare
(Vatu) |
Return
Port Vila fare
(Vatu) |
Flights
per week |
| Craig Cove |
16490 |
21058 |
3 |
| Ulei |
19033 |
20045 |
1 |
Sea
Transport
Many ships between Efate and Santo sail via Ambrym. Some
of the more frequent ships are L/C Brisk and L/C Tina-1,
L/C Sarafenua, M/V Halice-1 (formerly Belama) and M/V Saratoka
(southeast Ambrym).
Brisk
and Tina-1 provide a regular weekly service between Vila
and Santo in both directions stopping at Epi (Lamen Bay),
Ambrym (Craig Cove, Ranon, sometimes Olal), Pentecost (many
passages along the west) and Ambae (Lolowai). Santo-Ambrym
is 4200 Vatu (20 hours), Ambrym-Epi is 1000 Vatu. Brisk
passes Ambrym towards Santo on Tuesday and Tina-1 on Wednesday
towards Vila. Island hopping by ship from Ambrym to Pentecost
or Epi is a good idea.
Saratoka
is a small timber boat with regular services from Port Vila
to Epi, Paama and southeast Ambrym (Taveak), departing on
Monday nights. You can find her at the wharf near the Port
Vila market.
North
Ambrym has no airport. Speedboats run down to Craig Cove
to meet Air Vanuatu flights. From Craig Cove a boat costs
12000 Vatu to Ranvetlam, 13000 Vatu to Ranon or about 2000
Vatu per person on a shared trip. You have a fair chance
of sharing a ride on Air Vanuatu flight days. The journey
two to three hours. An alternative to to wait for a passing
ship. Exchange Rates.
Land
Transport
West Ambrym has public transport trucks at Meltungon, Baiap,
Port Vato and Lalinda. Services are not regular. The best
days for trucks are when the Craig Cove bank is open (Tuesday,
Friday) or there's a Air Vanuatu flight (Tuesday, Saturday).
Southeast
Ambrym has a couple of trucks with irregular services. Drivers
may try to overcharge tourists, check the fares listed below. You
may end up paying a full charter. Exchange Rates.
| Truck
journey |
Charter
fare (Vatu) |
Shared
(Vatu) |
| Craig
Cove - Polibetakevar/Meltungon |
2000 |
500 |
| Craig
Cove - Baiap |
1500 |
500 |
| Craig
Cove - Port Vato/Lalinda |
5000 |
1000 |
| Toak
- Endu |
4000 |
|
An effective
and free way to get around west Ambrym is to walk, it's
not that hard.
Last
updated: April 2009 by Stephen.
|