| The
Maskelyne Islands, South Malekula
The
Maskelynes are a group of low lying islands with extensive
coral reefs and mangroves off the southeast tip of Malekula.
The reefs are the main attraction and dive boats and cruising
yachts are regular visitors. The inshore reef conservation
areas around Uluveo and Sakao offer good, easy snorkelling.
Sakao has good sand beaches.
Uluveo
(also called Maskelyne) is the main island in the group.
It's a small island and you can walk around it in less than
an hour. Uluveo is quite densely populated with three villages.
The people travel in canoes to Sakao or to the mainland
to plant their gardens. The Maskelynes are well known for
their expertly crafted dugout canoes. The main source of
income in the group is copra
supplemented by some fishing. Tourism is small with only
20 to 30 visitors a year.
There
are guesthouses in every village on Uluveo but most are
not promoted and not widely known. We visited two in December
2004:
Malog Island Resort,
Peskarus 
Manu Guesthouse, Pellonk
Update,
Sep-2005:
We've been told that the bungalow at Lutes village is really
nice. Check it out and let us know!
There
are three marine conservation areas:
Lovhvari
Marine Conservation Area, Uluveo
Nombong
Sakao Marine Conservation Area, Sakao
Ringi
Te Suh Marine Conservation Area, Uluveo
Services
and Suggestions
Every village on Uluveo has telephones and stores. The stores
are quite well stocked and some even sell Tusker beer (280
Vatu per bottle). There's a medical clinic near the Sangalai
Primary School close to Lutes.
Transport
A speedboat from Point Doucere on the mainland to Uluveo
takes about one hour and costs 200 Vatu shared (2000 Vatu
for a charter). Every village has a speedboat but they don't
run every day. However, there are usually boats at Point
Doucere on days when Air Vanuatu flights land at Lamap's
airstrip. If there's nobody around you can just sit on the
beach and wait.
Lamap
airport is about 5 km south of Lamap (60 minutes walk) and
Point Doucere is a further 20 to 30 minutes walk. A truck
charter from Lamap to the airport is 1200 Vatu (100 Vatu
if shared).
See
our Malekula page for Air Vanuatu flight details and more
transport information.
Last
updated: March 2006 by Stephen.
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