Pentecost, more than land-diving

Pentecost is a long, narrow island with a mountainous interior and several rivers. It's a good island for bushwalking and the clear, cold rivers are great for cooling down on a hot day. On south Pentecost you can see the Naghol (land-diving) kastom and traditional villages.

The Naghol tradition is practised only on south Pentecost, from April to early June each year. Villagers build land-diving towers and men and boys dive from them, bungee jump style, with only elastic vines to break their fall - the original Bungee Jump. It's certainly a spectacular and dangerous leap but injuries are rare. You can find out about commercial dives from the Vanuatu Tourism Office in Port Vila. Land-diving for the tourists is big money with entry fees at 10000 Vatu per person or 7000 Vatu for groups. Some tourists come just for the day to see the land diving and cruise ships started visiting in 2004. A couple of foreigners have land-dived (ask Chief Willie at Nagol Bungalows to tell you the stories) but the Vanuatu Tourism Office does not approve - an injured tourist might be bad for the tourism industry.

Most of Pentecost's population is concentrated in the north and along the west coast. Kava and aelan taro are two main cash crops. Most Pentecost men are dedicated kava drinkers and it's kastom for visitors staying in a village to drink a few shells in the nakamal.

Pentecost is a long island and a good plan for touring the island is to purchase an 'open-jaw' ticket and travel between the Lonorore and Sara airfields by land, finding accommodation en-route. However, road transport is very expensive and it is cheaper (for one person) to travel between Lonorore and Sara by plane than to charter a truck. If you like walking it's fairly easy to walk along the full length of the west coast in four or five days and it's possible to catch a passing ship and skip over some of the longer sections.

Bungalows
Several bungalows and guesthouses provide accommodation on Pentecost:

Noda Guesthouse, Vanu
Nagol Bungalows, Salap
Samuel's Guesthouse, Baravet
Walarua Guesthouse, Lavatu
Walap Beach Bungalows, Wali

There's more accommodation on our Walking Pentecost page that doesn't really fit the commercial bungalow/guesthouse definition. In the south some people choose Pangi's Council Resthouse which is the cheapest. We haven't visited this place. A new tourist bungalow by the beach at Laone was under construction in February 2005.

Air Transport
There are two airstrips on Pentecost. Air Vanuatu services to Pentecost are summarised below (May 2006). Check the Air Vanuatu domestic website for more up-to-date information. Exchange Rates.

We've experienced flights through Pentecost can be fully booked. This is because they service population and government centres at Sara, Longana and Walaha. It's a good idea to book your return.

Sea Transport
There are several ships passing west Pentecost on the Vila-Santo route. The M/V Brisk is one of the most reliable. It passes Pentecost on Tuesday towards Vila and returns on late Friday towards Santo. Other ships servicing Pentecost are less reliable, most of them are rust buckets. Good places to find a ship on Pentecost are Loltong, Bwatnapni, Melsisi, Vanu, Baravet and Pangi. A one way fare between south Pentecost and Santo is about 4000 Vatu. Exchange Rates.

Land Transport
There are roads connecting north and south Pentecost. However, trucks are expensive and there are no regular services. If you're walking along the road you may be offered a lift. Otherwise you'll have to pay the full charter. Some fares are presented below. Exchange Rates.

Walking is the cheapest mode of transport. See our walking Pentecost page.

Last updated: May 2005 by Stephen.