| Torres
Islands, the forgotten islands of Vanuatu
The
Torres Islands are special in Vanuatu. Far away from Port
Vila and lightly populated they are often overlooked and
rarely visited by tourists. The natural environment is mostly
in good shape and coconut crabs are still abundant. It's
a good place to relax and feast on fish, coconut crabs and
lobster. The white sand beaches are some of Vanuatu's finest
and there's rumoured to be good surf on Hiu Island.
The
small village of Lunghariki on Loh hosts the administrative
centre for the Torres Islands (an empty government building).
There is a community phone (38565) and medical clinic there
but no wharf, no banks, no police station and few very basic
stores. There's almost no copra
production in the Torres Islands so ships visit only when
there's a reasonable load of cargo booked for the islands
which is only a few times each year. It's a good time to
visit soon after a ship because the stores will be full
and there will be no shortages.
The
distances are short but it's difficult travelling between
the different islands in the Torres group. However, there
should be enough time in one week to visit neighbouring
islands. Operational outboard engines are scarce and there's
often a shortage of fuel. There are a couple of sailing
canoes about, the technology was introduced by the Vanuatu
Cultural Centre in the 1990s, but they are unsafe in heavy
swells. For reference, a one way speedboat charter between
Loh and Hiu takes about two hours and costs around 10000
Vatu.
At present
there are only two island bungalows in the Torres group:
Kamilisa Memorial
Resort, Linua Island 
Joseph's Bungalow, Lunghariki,
Loh Island 
John Wycliff had an unfinished bungalow on Linua in May
2004. In 2005 there were reports of two bungalows on Loh
(Lenua Guesthouse and Josedith Bungalow). If you've recently
been to the Torres and have news about these bungalows then
please contact us.
The
costs of flying to the Torres Islands are a big deterrent
to travellers and ships are not a practical alternative.
If you have time, you can get more value out of your airfares
if you visit a couple of more islands in the Banks on your
travels. A super Banks and Torres tour takes at least three
weeks and visits the Torres Islands, Vanua Lava, Mota Lava
and Gaua (study the Air Vanuatu timetable and plan your
route). Note, loop fares and stopovers add little to the
cost of a return fare to the Torres Islands.
Transport
There's one Air Vanuatu flight a week to the Torres Islands,
on Fridays from Santo (March 2007). It lands at Linua, adjacent
to Loh Island. At low tide you can wade across the estuary
between Linua and Loh. At other times people use canoes.
An adult return fare to the Torres Islands is 47383 Vatu
from Port Vila or 29405 Vatu from Santo (May 2006). International
flights to Santo (since 2007) have made visiting Torres
quite a bit cheaper. Tourists with a return Air Vanuatu
ticket are entitled to a 20% discount. Exchange
Rates.
Last
updated: May 2005 by Stephen
|