The island of Santo in Vanuatu has an amazing history related to WW II. It was home to up to 500,000 US troops during the war as a staging ground for the fight in the Pacific. In 1942, the luxury liner Calvin Coolidge was conscripted to be a troop carrier, and it was packed with 5000 troops and 300 crew as it approached Santo on a quiet Sunday afternoon. Suddenly one of the ships in the area called Segond Channel noticed the liner heading towards the area where mines had been laid out the week before, and franticly signaled “STOP, STOP, STOP” to the captain, who had not been notified of the mines. He immediately ordered full reverse on the engines. However, the forward momentum was still propelling the ship into the mines,  and two explosions rocked the ship as it approached the shore. The captain realized the damage was catastrophic, and immediately ordered full speed ahead to try to beach the ship before it sank. He was able to run in aground on the reef, just short of the shoreline, and in the end only 2 lives were lost. The ship quickly took on water and within an hour was tilted completely on its port side. Shortly afterwards it slipped down the angled slope of the reef back into the water, and finally came to a rest with the bow at 62 feet and the stern at a 240 foot depth. It’s easy to access the wreck from the shore with scuba equipment to see and swim around the intact liner, which is now a thriving artificial reef.

The other draw for tourism is Million Dollar Point, just a half mile from the wreck of the Calvin Coolidge. It is where the US dumped millions of dollars of jeeps, tanks, bulldozers and the rest of the military hardware left over from the war rather than let the French and British have it for free. They offered to sell it for 2% of it’s value, but when that offer was refused they spitefully dumped it in the ocean. It is easily accessible from the shore for a good snorkel or scuba excursion.

I spent the last 3 days of my time in Vanuatu on a nearby island called Aore, and rented an “off the grid” house along the shore. I had use of a bike and enjoyed a few days of pedaling around the island as well as enjoying the reef at my doorstep.

A tracked tank that was dumped in the ocean

A submerged forklift at Million Dollar Point on the island of Santos

The off the grid beach house on Aore in Vanuatu

Sitting area at the beach house I rented for a few days

Photo of the Calvin Coolidge as 5000+ troops abandoned ship an hour before it slipped back under the waves

Ocean view from Freshwater Plantation on the island of Aore

Click to see movie of Explosive lava reaches for the sky

A visit to the Island of Tanna in Vanuatu is worth the trip for the chance to get on the rim of Mt Yasur, a thundering, magma spewing volcano that never disappoints. It seems like I signed a waiver that said standing on the rim of a volcano belching hot lava every five minutes might be dangerous but I don’t think there is a lawyer within 1500 miles of here anyway. There were three vantage points from the rim that were all upwind of the toxic sulfur gases, and the constant rumblings and fiery explosions were mesmerizing. We were also advised that if a cascade of rocketing two thousand degree lava was arcing in our direction, to keep an eye on the trajectory and calmly step aside instead of running like a screaming banshee. We stayed as is got dark enough to contrast the red explosions against the night sky, and then were herded back to the trucks to return to our unscorched habitats. Truly an unforgettable setting and experience.

The thundering crater as seen from the rim

The west side of the volcano has an ash plain that extends for miles

Another fiery explosion gets our attention

I got out of McMurdo with only a 24 hour delay, which is as good as “on time” for most airlines. The next morning in Christchurch was spent sending most of my worldly possessions home from the US post office next to the Antarctic office. That left me with just some carry on bags to take a trip to someplace warm. I spent the next few hours with a helpful travel agent named Josie, and by the early afternoon I was booked to fly out to Vanuatu the next day. It’s a South Pacific nation of 83 islands, with the promise of warm beaches, good diving and an active volcano. Air New Zealand took me to Auckland, and then Air Vanuatu for the 3 hour flight to the main island called Efate. I had booked a nice resort on the beach for the first 5 days, and the rest was going to be figuring it out along the way. After 6 years working in Antarctica without a helicopter ride, I decided Vanuatu was the place to check that off my bucket list. It was wonderful to see the island from the air and take off and land on the floating raft. So far so good, and I’m off to another island called Tanna this afternoon to see the volcano up close and personal.

The Kiwi pilot never missed his postage sized landing zone

Helicopter view of the reef

The resort on the left and the island I kayaked to on the right

The 4 seat chopper on it’s landing raft

A neighboring island that I kayaked to one afternoon

View from my room