Vanuatu

Hotels-Hostels Africa America North America South Asia Australia Canada Europe New Zealand Oceania/Pacific Extras Exchange Rates Bookmark site Send page to.... Global-Rooms

The British and French who settled the New Hebrides in the 19th century, agreed in 1906 to an Anglo-French Condominium, which administered the islands until independence in 1980. LOCATION: Oceania, group of islands in the South Pacific Ocean, about three-quarters of the way from Hawaii to Australia CLIMATE: Tropical; moderated by southeast trade winds BORDERS: None More... Vanuatu (Vanuatu means 'Land Eternal') is a quot;Yquot;-shaped chain of 83 islands 800km west of Nadi (Fiji). The islands range from towering volcanic cones to others covered in dense rainforest to others which are raised coral islands with wide beaches and deep natural harbours. The Ni-Vanuatu people are a peaceful, loving, gentle race, who enjoy life's simpler pleasures in a country of unique and diverse customs and culture. There are experiences for the traveller not found anywhere else in the world like the Pentecost Land Dive (the first bungy jump) and the Toka Ceremony on the island of Tanna. The people of Vanuatu are predominantly Melanesian. The Ni Vanuatu have populated the islands for centuries and with more than 115 distinctly different cultures and languages still thriving, Vanuatu is recognised as one of the most culturally diverse countries in the world. There are small communities of French, British, Australian, New Zealand, Vietnamese, Chinese and other Pacific Islands people living in harmony with the Ni Vanuatu. Until 1980 Vanuatu, then known as the New Hebrides, was jointly administered by France and Great Britain as a 'Condominium'. There are many reminders of the days when a gendarme would patrol one side of the main street and a London 'Bobby' the other.