Pentecost,
more than land-diving
Pentecost
is a long, narrow island with a mountainous interior and several
rivers. It's a good place for bushwalking and the crystal
clear rivers are great for cooling down on a hot day. On south
Pentecost you can see the Naghol kastom
(land-diving) 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.
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 regular 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.
Pentecost has regular shipping services that could be useful
for island hopping and connecting to Santo.
If you
like walking it's fairly easy to walk
along the full length of west Pentecost in four or five days.
Bungalows
Several bungalows and guesthouses provide accommodation on
Pentecost:
Langgo Guesthouse, Loltong
Noda
Guesthouse, Vanu 
Nagol Bungalows, Salap 
Panlike Guest House, Ranputor 
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.
There
are a few newer places to stay such as Clement's Guesthouse
in Pangi. Contact us if you can
provide an update. Andrew
Gray features some interesting bungalows:
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.
Airport |
Return
Santo fare
(Vatu) |
Return
Port Vila fare
(Vatu) |
Landings
per week |
Lonorore |
16243 |
26120 |
5 |
Sara |
15725 |
29405 |
4 |
We have
experienced that flights through Pentecost can be fully booked.
This is because they service population and government centres
at Sara and Longana. It's a good idea to book your return.
The airport
at Lonorore was upgragraded in 2009 and is now OK in wet weather.
Sea
Transport
There are several ships passing west Pentecost on the Vila-Santo
route. The L/C Brisk and
L/C Tina-1 are regular and reliable. Good places to find a
ship on Pentecost are Loltong, Bwatnapni, Melsisi and Ranwadi.
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.
Truck
Journey |
Charter
Fare (Vatu) |
Sara
Airport - Loltong |
3000 |
Sara
Airport - Bwatnapni |
c.
8000 |
Lonorore
Airport - Bwatnapni |
6000+ |
Lonorore
Airport - Pangi |
3000 |
Walking
is the cheapest mode of transport. See our walking Pentecost
page.
Last
updated: January 2014 by Stephen. |