The Coongoola day cruise starts with a 40 minute bus trip from Vila across to the western side of Efate. Very pleasant if you're not feeling seedy from too many Tuskers, the local beer, from the night before. The ride affords elevated views of Efate's beautiful south western coast, tropical rainforest and cattle properties. We crowded into a small boat to go from shore to the Coongoola, dropping some divers with their dive boat.
Under Diesel power we cruised across to Tranquillity Island, sometimes with dolphins riding our bow wave, to visit the turtle breeding facility, which gave us the opportunity to handle the turtles and learn about them and the breeding program. After a short walk along the rainforest's edge we boarded the Coongoola to cruise around the island to the ocean side. Anchoring several hundred meters off a beautiful beach we transferred to the beach in two lots with our food and drink.
Some stayed on the beach to snorkel the reefs close by while a boat load of us cruised out to a reef further afield. At that time it was probably the best reef I'd ever seen (much more was to come over the following weeks) with strongly coloured corals and many different fish. The tide was perfect, affording enough depth to swim safely (for both coral, fish and snorkeller) above the reef but have an incredibly close view. We returned to shore for a brilliant BBQ lunch of local beef, chicken, salads and fruit. Once again a boat load headed out to another reef for a snorkel, maybe not as good as the first but still spectacular.
We boarded the Coongoola for the cruise home, initially under sail but as progress was slow and the winds not favourable so the sails were soon furled and made the rest of the cruise under diesel power. Still it was nice to see this boat, with an interesting history including the Sydney to Hobart yacht race, under sail. We can thoroughly recommend the Coongoola day cruise.
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