November 30, 2025
Mystery Island is our first Port that was actually an uninhabited island. No one lives here, all that is really there is a landing strip ( from WW2) and a few shack type buildings. The land is owned by people who live on nearby islands, but they believe this island is haunted at night! During the day, if a cruise ship is in port, they will come over and offer massages, umbrella & chair rentals, lobster & coconuts and local crafts.
No one sure where name Mystery Island came from - one theory is Japanese couldn't see air strip from sea and thus couldn't tell where planes were coming and going too in WW2. Queen Elizabeth visited Mystery Island back when cruising by on her beloved Yacht. We loved our relaxing day there ! Easy tender ride from our ship - we could go back and forth for lunch. Beautiful beach and water. Just had a lazy relaxing chill day catching up with friends.
Vanuatu is also know for being a land with cannibalism. Below is a left over cooking pot also on Mystery Island, haunting!!
Happy Thanksgiving 2025! I have so much to be thankful for this year. I am truly living a dream and loving every minute of it! We were at Sea today traveling from Vanuatu to Fiji .
Next we were at Eden on the River , for a little nature walk and a swim in the cool refreshing water. This place was great with giant rocks to slide down, inter-tubes for floating and rope bridges to climb. All set in this gorgeous park with tons of flowers & fauna.
We crammed a lot of touring into this day! We did a giant loop around whole island and though it is not a large, the roads are not great. Our driver and guide were very informative and friendly and we had lots of laughs and lively conversation in the van. Would recommend Yumi tours, especially Phillip! We started in Port Vila and went counter clockwise around the coastal area.