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About Vanuatu

General Information About Vanuatu

Image Source: John Nicholls. Lonnoc Beach, Espiritu Santo Island

Lonnoc Beach, Espiritu Santo Island
John Nicholls
(johnnicholls@vanuatu.com.vu)

Vanuatu is the island nation formerly known as New Hebrides. This South Pacific archipelago is made up of over 80 small islands that are of volcanic origin. Around 65 of these are inhabited. The total population of Vanuatu is around 200,000.

The largest towns are Port Vila, which is also the capital, and Luganville which is situated on the largest island of Espiritu Santo. The capital can be found on Efate which is the third largest island.

The international airport is Bauerfield, which is only 10 minutes from Port Vila.

Language

English, French and Bislama are the official languages of Vanuatu. Bislama is a pidgin language which has evolved from English. It is the first language of many urban residents and the most common second language spoken elsewhere.

Over a hundred indigenous languages are also spoken across the rest of Vanuatu. The country is considered to have the highest density of languages per capita in the world.

Important Dates

The following are a list of holidays observed in Vanuatu:

2010

1 Jan – New Year's Day
21 Feb – Father Lini Day
5 Mar – Custom Chief's Day
2 Apr – Good Friday
5 Apr – Easter Monday
1 May – Labour Day
13 May – Ascension
24 Jul – Children's Day
30 Jul – Independence Day
16 Aug – Assumption Day
5 Oct – Constitution Day
29 Nov – Unity Day
25 Dec – Christmas
26 Dec – Family Day

2011

1 Jan – New Year's Day
21 Feb – Father Lini Day
5 Mar – Custom Chief's Day
22 Apr – Good Friday
25 Apr – Easter Monday
1 May – Labour Day
2 Jun – Ascension
24 Jul – Children's Day
30 Jul – Independence Day
15 Aug – Assumption
5 Oct – Constitution Day
29 Nov – Unity Day
25 Dec – Christmas
26 Dec – Family Day

Flight Times

Air Pacific, Air Vanuatu, Aircalin, Pacific Blue and Quantas have regular flights to Vanuatu. Air Vanuatu and Pacific Blue offer direct flights to Port Vila from Brisbane and Sydney; Air Vanuatu also flies directly from Melbourne and Auckland. Flights via Nadi, Honiara and Noumea are also available.

Air Pacific and Aircalin also provide flights from Nadi and Noumea.

Time Differences

Vanuatu is 11 hours ahead of Greenwich Mean Time (GMT +11). There is no daylight saving in Vanuatu.

Shopping

Shops are usually open from 8:00am to 11:30 am and from 1:30pm to 5:30pm, Mondays to Fridays and 8:00am to 12:00pm on Saturdays. Some shops and supermarkets are open on a Sunday morning.

Restaurants, cafes, banks, supermarkets and the post office do not close between 11:30am and 1:30pm for 'siesta'.

Local markets are great places to purchase flowers, fruit, vegetables and handicrafts. Popular handicrafts include paintings, beaded necklaces, pottery and souvenirs.

Flag

The green represents the richness of the land, the red is the blood that unites the people, black is the colour of the indigenous peoples skin and the yellow depicts enlightenment through Christianity. The ‘Y’ shows the shape of the islands, the tusk of the pig represents prosperity and the mele leaf is a symbol of peace.