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Banks Islands
Lying 65 km to the south of the Torres Islands, the
Banks extend over 144 km lengthwise and include two main
islands : Vanua Lava and Gaua. Custom dancers from the
Banks are known to be superb dancers and they are not an
uncommon sight a Sola, or at Port Vila in some of the
hotels, or at any one of the cultural events. The 1st
September each year is Vanua Lava Day. All welcome -
contact 38 823.
Indeed some even represent Vanuatu overseas.
In these virgin islands, the fauna is still very varied
and, aside from the crabs, the lobsters and the prawns,
you can find turtles, wild pigs, Pacific boas, giant
turtles and crocodiles who apparently escaped from
Bishop Patterson's ship in 1860 and managed to survive
and reproduce until a cyclone devastated them in 1972,
leaving only a few survivors.
Vanua Lava, with an area of 330 km2, is the biggest
island and has its own airstrip, at Sola. The highest
point is Mount Tola in the south of the group, with 946
m. To the north, Mount Sere Ama (921 m) overlooks a
semi-active volcano, with 2 smokeholes and 2 small lakes
where the water level changes constantly.
On the western coast, two magnificent waterfalls cascade
down from the top of the rocks into a beautiful natural
pool carved out with the passage of time, close to the
sea. These are the “Sara” waterfalls (fairly naccessible),
Titinsom Youth Club is nearby.
Neighbouring islands can be reached only by boat, these
are : Ravenga, Kwakea, Nawila and Mota. Mota Lava,
second island to be served by Vanair in the Banks is the
most populated. It is famous for its dances (dancing
stones), its multicoloured statue called Tamata and the
sleeping mountains (contact : Santo or Harry Memorial
Guest House Tel.: 25684 or 24940 or 38823).
To the north-west, the incredible Reef Islands
constitute a group of islands with superb white sand
beaches and coconut trees, they are not inhabited and
team with fish, so a good spot for game fishing. Game
fishing in the Banks has the highest record for heavy
weights in the world. To the very north, Ureparapara, an
old volcano no longer active in the shape of a horseshoe
opening out into the ocean, offers the unique
opportunity of going right into the heart of the crater
by boat. Santa Maria, also known as Gaua, is the second
largest island in the Banks in area (330 km2). It had to
be evacuated in 1973 and continues to experience quite
substantial underground activity. There is no guarantee
that the volcano won't erupt again some day. In fact,
the waters along the southern shores of Lake Letas are
almost always at boiling point, which explains the
orange tinge to the sulphur at Sivi Waterfalls, a few
kilometers downstream from the lake. The two tiny
islands to the east of Gaua are Merig and Merelava,
which can only be accessed by boat,
like Gaua.
Torres Islands
The Torres Islands, which lie some
170 km to the south of the Solomon Islands, extend over
50 km lengthwise.
Made up of 6 islands, of which only 2 are inhabited,
they are famous for their enormous coconut crabs,
pristine white sandy beaches, giant turtles which come
up to bury their eggs in the sand and the caves of
Yeyenwu on the island of Hiu (with stalagmites,
stalactictes and
amazing murals). It has a unique butterfly in the world.
To get to these islands, there are 2 flights per week to
the Banks, on Motalava, and one flight a week to the
Torres, at Linua.
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