Vila Buggies

A popular way to see the area around Vila is an off road buggy tour. Six of us helmeted and goggled up (the roads are either dusty or muddy, or both so sunglasses don't cut it) for a morning cruising the streets of Vila and surrounds in 250cc off-road buggies. For Kate and I it also served as pre-marital counselling, as Kate questioned and I defended my approach to driving on Vanuatu's drive on the right, rough around the edges roads (or maybe rough everywhere roads). Anyone's enjoyment of this activity will largely depend on one, your attitude, and two, the mechanical soundness of your particular buggy. As we headed off road a couple of buggies had trouble getting up a steep hill, one eventually coming to grief. For me, who had been driving the front buggy behind the guide, it meant I was volunteered to go with the guide for an extra drive to pick up the stranded passengers while the rest had refreshments. I handed over the keys to my buggy to the stranded and cruised back to the refreshment stop on the guide's quad bike.

From there we cruised back out onto one of few bitumen roads and headed for Turtle Bay resort. I'd like to point out that I was suitably restrained with my criticism now that Kate was driving. But now our buggy was to become a casualty, which through a few coincidences (including a guide's quad bike dying) left us stranded by the side of the road for forty-five minutes. Still it was a pleasant experience as we met a couple of local girls who we had a good chat to while waiting. Eventually they called their brother/father who owned a bus and he gave us a ride to Turtle Bay. Shortly before we reached their resort we met the guide returning in search of us.

Kate continued to the resort in the bus while I returned with the guide to our buggy, a fun ride since speed was no issue now that we had no conservative drivers to wait for. By this time the support crew had arrived with another buggy for me to continue on in and the return was suitably quick and fun (less Kate in my ear about my driving ;).

The lunch break gave us an opportunity to snorkel, see and handle baby turtles and fill up on more great Vanuatu Beef, cooked to our liking, and salad. The resort also had a number of coconut crabs, who with their sharp claws chop the coconut off the tree and also apparently use rocks to break open the coconuts. The crabs are a local delicacy, with a ban on their capture and eating recently lifted.

We returned to Vila by a more direct route to end a fun day, despite our long wait by the side of the road. There was no trouble getting a discount for our inconvenience and since everyone drives the buggies like they're stolen across very rough roads I imagine it is a tough gig to keep the buggies on the road. Thoroughly recommend this as a fun way to see the area around the buggies, just don't expect the same ride and steering as your sedan and be prepared with the right attitude if you're one of the unlucky few whose buggy doesn't quite make it.