November 27, 2025
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.
First stop was probably my favorite of the day! We visited a local kindergarten and got to meet the teacher / owner and kids! They sang 3 songs for us and then I decided to share with them my goofy robot arm trick. They ate it up - I am huge hit with 5 year olds - they all practiced along with their teacher with big smiles on their faces! Here's some video's capturing the FUN.
After the school we went to Pepeyo Cultural Village, sometimes these are tourist traps but this was entertaining & educational. They were very good musicians and the foot preparation for walking on hot rocks was unique.
Day 3 started with a trip out to see Manta Ray . Sure enough we saw one in the first few minutes. The only thing disappointing was the amount of trash in the water here - plastic everything. The guides clean up what they can, but it appears to be a losing battle. SO SAD!
Day 1 @ Eco Cove Resort we met this lovely young couple, Camille and Timothe from France. At the 6:30 pm nightly briefing, we found out we were randomly paired with them for the next day's excursion to the famed Melissa's Garden in the Fam Islands, which is about a 35 minutes boat ride from resort. We sat with them at dinner and instantly connected.
Getting to Cove Eco Resort on Yeben Island in Raja Ampat , Indonesia took us three plane rides, a ferry and finally a private boat ride to the resort. We left Perth, Australia on Easter Sunday Morning and we arrived at Cove Eco Resort at sunset on Tuesday night. It is a beautiful spot, but like alot of places in Raja Ampat remote and your biggest cost is fuel / transport to get there and back. We got hit especially hard for having to change our flights on Easter due to the weather we hit in Australia, delaying our departure by a day. But all is good and we are excited to be here!