We were up early for a 7:30am take off on the long flight to Vanuatu . The weather was forecast to be good but with strong head winds for the first half of the flight. The winds would shift gradually as we neared mid point and eventually give us a helping tail wind. We would need that as we had both fuel and the arrival airport closing hour of 7:30pm to consider. We decided to fly at 17,000' as the initial winds looked weaker up there and the wind shift was expected to happen earlier at this higher altitude.
Cher of Barrier Aviation was waiting in her office 6:30am to help us clear out of Australia . As the GA facilities at Cairns are on the opposite side of the airport from the main terminal we had to taxi over in order to meet customs and immigration. Once there the procedures were quick and efficient and in less than 30 minutes we were back in the plane ready to depart. I don't know if the customs officials liked us or they just wanted to make sure we left the country but as we started to taxi we noticed the two agents who cleared us inside the terminal had walked out to the tarmac and were waving goodbye!!!!
I have mentioned before the issue of ground handling and again at Cairns our decision to use Barrier Aviation proved to be well worth the relatively little cost. These airports are big and confusing and how an unfamiliar GA pilot would ever know where to go, explain what they are doing to the right people and get clearances without real headaches is beyond me. My advice to anyone doing international flights is to use ground handles at all International terminals. Make sure you know who you are using (get a reference) and get a quote of what they will charge. Ground Handlers have really saved us a lot of trouble and delay.
Pacific views from 17,000'…..
The next issue was the flight itself. The airways over to Port Vila, Vanuatu took us on a “dog leg” route down towards New Caledonia then back up to Vanuatu . This added over 100 miles to the trip and with wind and airport operating hours in the back of our minds we did not want to add any unnecessary distance. Airborne we requested a GPS direct routing straight to Vanuatu . After some co-ordination Australian ATC approved the routing and we just punched one co-ordinate into the GPS – NVVV (Port Vila airport) Here we Come - A big relief!!!!!
Only 500 miles to go…………
This was the first flight which needed the HF radio. I had a quick course on operating it from Kim Squirrel in Darwin but was not really sure I had all the procedures down pat…….turned out I did OK. The radio worked perfectly giving us good reception and transmissions until we left the HF frequencies 900 miles from Brisbane . You must provide frequent position reports in this area – every 30 minutes – including altitude, present lat./long and next 30 minute lat/long. Working out your positions is easy with the Garmin 1000. Just move the system “pointer” along your track line to the distance you will cover, at your ground speed, at the reporting time and it shows the estimated lat/long on the screen.
The winds were just as forecast. Twenty five+ knots of headwind for 500 miles then it started swinging around us eventually becoming a 25 knot tail wind as we got closer to Vanuatu . This meant for a long flight of nearly 9 hours to cover the 1300 miles. We arrived just as dark was falling but well before the closing hours and with nearly 30 gallons of fuel still in the tanks. Again, we really appreciated this great Mooney aircraft's performance and the advanced avionics.
Vanuatu was voted the most “Happy” country in the world several years ago and the moment we got off the airplane we sensed this remarkable spirit. Within minutes of shutting down we had about 10 locals surround the airplane. In some countries this means 10 people looking for “tips”. Not in Vanuatu .
These were very polite customs and immigration officers, airport officials and ground staff coming to welcome us and do their duties right at the airplane. One form to fill out and immigration was done. Quarantine is strict and they take care of that much like Australia without the exorbitant invoice. Even the airport director, David, came all the way across the tarmac to help us relocate the airplane where it would not encounter jet/prop wash from other aircraft which he know would be coming in during our stay. David drove us to the hotel when everything was finished and the next day personally hand delivered some VFR charts as he knew we wanted to do some local island flying. This is a great airport and a great place for GA traffic to land during Pacific crossings.
Vanuatu ATC, Alan gets a big thank you……..
Vanuatu is a poor country but inhabited by incredibly nice people. Everyone smiles genuine smiles and greet visitors even passing on the streets. We enjoyed a day long island tour which covered 120 kilometres on the islands main road – one of the worst roads you would ever travel – but symptomatic of the countries economic condition. Our driver, Joel, was lots of fun and knew every pot hole on that road as well as everyone on the island. He explained the history, culture, problems and reality of Vanuatu in his self taught English style and made the slow trip over these atrocious roads enjoyable.
Villagers doing laundry…
Vanuatu a natural paradise………
One of the highlights was a stop at a native village. The village chief met us in a clearing and presented welcome flowers while explaining the customs of the village. He mentioned that we would see several tribal dances and not to be scared as they were quite aggressive performances. Without warning the bushes around this clearing came alive….with wild screams and a dozen warriors's rushing from blending into nature to “attacking” us. We had no idea they had been hiding in these bushes waiting for our arrival. It was frightening as they looked and sounded so vicious. Wooden clubs and knives raised they were on us in seconds. Vanuatu natives practised cannibalism and the last known cannibalistic act was only 20 years ago. I can vividly imagine what missionaries and others saw in their last seconds years ago.
Vanuatu Welcome…….
Warriors tribal dance……
Two days in Port Vila and we were ready to fly to some other islands. Santo was recommended and on the way up we flew over several other islands. As you can imagine the areas is beautiful at 2000' passing turquoise and deep blue waters, white sand beaches and small out islands. The large island of Ambrym is the site of two active volcanoes and of course we had to circle those.
Initial contact departing Port Vila was VHF but they switch to HF if equipped for the enroute flight. Frequent position reports are expected even on this short 200 mile flight. Flight watch at Santo guided us in to landing on this long paved runway. One taxi seems to stand by at the airport and he took us to town for a reasonable $5 fare.
We spent our first afternoon in Santo snorkelling at “Million $ Point” This is an area where the US military dumped much of their equipment into the ocean at the end of World War II. After unsuccessful attempts to sell heavy equipment to locals, at bargain basement prices, the military decided to scrap everything rather than return it to the US or let it fall into unknown hands. The result is a large “graveyard” of jeeps, bulldozers, cannons and other hardware lying in 10 to 40 meters of water just offshore. This area has become a prime dive sight as coral beds have grown around the equipment bringing lots of marine life with it.
At 2:00am we heard a strange noise and a short time later the room started to shake violently. It only lasted for 5 to 10 seconds but we knew we had experienced an earthquake. This was a mild quake and the locals took no notice of it since no real damage had occurred. It happens quite often in the oceans around here; “not to worry”
We really enjoyed visiting and learning about Vanuatu . It is an extremely pleasant place to be. For pilots there are many grass strips around the many islands. The aviation system here is friendly, easy to follow and avgas is plentiful. There is not a lot to do or see beyond the natural surroundings as development is non existent. Hotel accommodations are generally 3 star (some extreme 5+ star property for the rich and famous) Vanuatu is a great place to totally relax or to do diving and fishing activities. Beyond that – not much – but relaxing, fishing and diving is not a bad way to spend your time.
Cairns to Port Vila, Vanuatu
Pacific views from 17,000'….. 
