The undiscovered Shepherd Islands

Apart from a couple of cruising yachts and sometimes dive charters, very few people visit the Shepherd Islands. On Tongoa there have been some efforts in recent years to develop small scale tourism and a couple of guesthouses are ready to welcome visitors. We have been only to Tongoa.

The islands in the Shepherds are mostly small and steep featuring cone-shaped extinct volcanic peaks. The scattered islands around Tongoa were once part of a larger land mass that exploded around 1475.

The Shepherds are relatively densely populated. There is little economic activity although fishing is very good. Many people move to Port Vila to find an income. The Shepherds have a distinct culture and kastom remains a strong influence.

It's relatively inexpensive to get to the Shepherds from Port Vila and these islands can be combined with a trip to Epi.

Kaekae kava
'Kaekae kava' means to eat or chew kava. People in the Shepherds like to drink kava in the evening and they prepare it in the traditional way, by chewing the roots. The masticated kava is then placed in a bowl of water to extract the active compounds. The roots are chewed again a couple of times before the bowl of 'muddy water' is suffciently potent. The kava drink is then strained to remove the solids and ready to consume. It's a great honour to sit down with the chief, your host or simply a friend to share a couple of shells of kava. Just make sure your vaccinations are up to date!

Tongoa
On Tongoa each village has something different:
- At Mangarisu village you can see their kastom site and go to the surf beach.
- Purau is another good place for kastom and down on the coast there is a blowhole.
- Kurumabe village has an active geothermal area where Vanuatu Scrubfowl bury their eggs. The 'green hole' has some unique bird watching. On Laika island there is a Wedge-tailed Shearwater colony and the villagers go there to harvest the chicks in April and May each year.
- On the west coast is the Tongoa wall, one of Vanuatu's best dives.
- Panita is a good anchorage for yachts with a long black sand beach.

We feature two bungalows on Tongoa island, both at Pele village:

Kamy Guesthouse, Pele, Tongoa

Serdj Guesthouse, Pele, Tongoa

There are other places to stay on Tongoa although we don't know the current status. At Kurumabe village there is a guesthouse run by the women of the Presbyterian Church. It's cheap and basic. At Panita there's an old, well appointed cottage by the beach that the community was going to renovate as a guest house. Once on Tongoa you can check out these places.

Tongoa has telephones at Lumbukuti, Matangi, Meriu, Panita and Pele villages. Electricity is less common; you'll find private generators at Lumbukuti and Pele. The Silimauri Health Centre at Lumbukuti has the most extensive medical services and there are a basic dispensaries at the more distant villages. Stores are regularly restocked by cargo/passenger boats and there are markets at Morua and Pele (Mondays, Wednesdays or Fridays) where you can buy local produce.

Transport
Air Vanuatu flies to the Shepherds and Epi (Vila, Tongoa, Valesdir, Emae) three days a week (Monday, Wednesday, Saturday, March 2007). A return airfare from Port Vila to Tongoa is 15725 Vatu and to Emae it's 12193 (May 2006). Tourists holding a return Air Vanuatu international ticket are entitled to a 20% discount on this price. Exchange Rates.

If you plan to fly between islands within the Shepherd loop check the timetable carefully as each day has a different routing.Check the Air Vanuatu domestic website for more up-to-date information. When booking you may find flights are fully booked but you arrive at the airport to find there are few passengers (we've been told this is common).

Several small cargo and passenger boats pass through the Shepherds every week. M/V Brooklyn services all the islands in the Shepherds Group. A one way fare to Tongoa was 3000 Vatu in September 2004. In September 2004 Brooklyn was leaving Vila on Tuesday nights and returning on Friday. The phone number for Brooklyn's office in Port Vila is 22754. Brooklyn and other relevant boats can be found at the wharf near the Vila market house. Conditions on these boats are very basic but they're OK for island hopping when the ocean is calm.

Tongoa has a lot of roads for a small island and several trucks. If it's too far to walk then you shouldn't have much difficulty finding transport.

Last updated: January 2007 by Stephen (based on September 2004 information).