Mystery Island
Another beautiful day in Paradise and this would turn out to be one of our favourite destinations, Mystery Island. This is a tiny, uninhabited islet in Vanuatu Tafea Province, officially charted under the indigenous name Inyeug. Mystery Island only has a few huts for overnighters, modern amenities for cruise passengers and some tracks around the island. Sailing up to it looked like it was a very small island and so it was. We lined up for our tender ride and soon were getting off on the jetty near the beach. The island was all beach and the sand was beautiful and white and the water as clear and blue as could be. There were a couple of locals playing guitars for us and apart from them, the groups selling sea trips were waiting to take bookings..
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Now for a walk around this island and take in the peacefulness of this pristine place. The colour of the sea and the fact that one could see right through the water was just amazing. It was not an effort to walk the sand and there were some sealife scattered among the rocks but surprisingly no seaweed. Staff from the boat were walking around the beach with cool drinks if one needed them as they played on the sand.
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As we explored further along the grassy tracks adjacent to the beaches, we found interesting trees, plant life, huts that were toilet facilities and the odd canoe!
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We decided to book a boat trip out to see the underwater cave and maybe some turtles. Our young swimmer was very good in the water and soon we were at the underwater cave where he dived in and disappeared from sight. Not too long however, he reappeared some distance away after swimming through the cave as we got closer we could see the opening and marvelled at how clever he was. then it was off to see if we could find a turtle, one was spotted in front of us, swimming at a very fast pace. We were lucky to get a photo and that was one of the highlights of the day..
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Back to shore and time to walk around the whole island and take in the lovely scenery. The well worn walking track was very easy to follow and we saw lots of different trees and plants and even came across the runway that was situated in the middle of the island. It is still in use today and we were not sure that we would like to land here. The canoes that were on hire here were very unusual as they looked like bathtubs but were so practical as they were clear and obviously the canoeists could see through the water and spot any fish that were around. A delightful swim was next and all too soon it was time to board the tender and head back to Voyager… what a fabulous day!
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