Mystery Island, Vanuata

Tuesday, October 13

Today was one of our really fortunate ones in that we were actually able to get to Mystery Island - many cruise ship passengers don't get the chance because the area where the ships have to drop anchor is fairly unprotected and the seas can make it too dangerous for tenders to get to the Island, but hallelujah, we made it. .... and what a magnificent spot it was.

The sun was shining brightly so the water around Mystery Island looked the most magnificent shades of aqua and turquoise as we looked down from Deck 8 where we had breakfast. Mystery Island is only a kilometre long and roughly 4 kilometres to walk around its shoreline so we could see it in its entirety from our vantage point. We finished breakfast and headed down to catch a tender the short distance across to a floating dock at the Island's edge.

Our first view of Mystery Island as seen from Deck 8 (and one of the tenders on its way)

The Island was the picture perfect stuff as seen on postcards with fine sand, rocky outcrops with little rock pools, palm trees and magic coloured water that was so clear we could easily see reef fish, coral and the sea bed below. It was also a gloriously warm day. We ambled along the shoreline and then found a lovely spot to sit, read and take in the beauty around us. A lot of passengers had brought snorkelling gear with them but we had only invested in reef shoes in Honolulu and these made fossicking among the rock pools easier but snorkelling did look a fantastic option for the day. We had been warned about the snorkelling equipment available for hire from locals - both from the quality point of view as well as the health aspect so didn't bother with them. A friend we had met on board offered Al the use of her gear for a short while so he jumped at the opportunity while Tony, Angie & I had to settle for watching "Al Costeau". He said it was amazing how brightly coloured the fish were and the coral was also lovely.

A beautiful spot to stop for a read and sun bake

After Al dried off, we headed off on the rest of our circumnavigation of the Island. The other side was even more beautiful and we can honestly say that we have never seen such deep turquoise water before. It was really breathtaking. Before we knew it, we were back to the start of our walk and the area where the tenders docked. We smiled as we saw the queue of passengers wanting to return to the ship - it was lunchtime after all!

The other side of Mystery Island

We decided to walk along an interior path before heading back but had not gone far when it began to rain. We had seen dark clouds over the nearby Vanuatu Island but the rain really took us by surprise on Mystery Island. We decided to head back to the tenders ourselves and actually got quite wet with the rain coming in through our tender doorway. Like many tropical showers, it was short-lived and soon the sun was out again but we were already committed to returning to the ship. We had a late lunch then noticed it was raining again - the pattern for the rest of the afternoon. We spent a leisurely hour reading then showered and dressed for the 4.30 pm "sail away party". It was beautiful as we began sailing away but the rain soon spoilt the party. Oh well, we had had a wonderful day in the sun on a piece of God's paradise!

 

At the Drinks Stand provided by Volendam

Hard to believe it's the same day! Taken from Deck 8 as we sailed away

 

 

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