vanuatu

[robyn2839]

are there any good timbers to be had in vanuatu,vila neumea,lifu etc,will be there from tuesday.....thought i would suss out some wood if there is anything special there......bob

ps going by ship

[crowie]

G'Day Robyn,
We had a fortnight on Aore Island off Espiritu Santo [north island] in September/October last year....
I saw some very nice local timbers but for the life of me can not remember the names..
I've attached some of the photos of the timber I saw at the resort saw mill, a local workshop and around Luganville.
The people were beautiful though very poor by our standards, still doing a long of subsistence living.
We always took a bag of lollies with us to share with the local children [plus local family headman], as they are a big luxury.
We got a better exchange rate when we exchanged Aussie dollars in the local banks than here in Australia.
We did some family gift shopping in the Local Woman's Coop's to ensure the money went to the right people.
Fuel there was very expensive, food was priced okay in the mostly Chinese owned supermarkets and eating out, tourist prices were fair.
The gent we went on a few tours with around Santo earned about $200 a month for working 6.5days a week and his rent was $100 a month.
I would like to return for another holiday one day; you're lucky to have storage room on your ship for timber to bring back.
Enjoy the holiday. Cheers, crowie

[robyn2839]

thanks Crowie ,some beautiful timbers there thankyou for the great photos.....bob
ps thanks for the lollies tip,great idea

[johnc]

Just back from Vila and Tanna, there are a couple of timber yards in Vila and most of the smaller islands will have small timber yards. If its a cruise ship you will have trouble getting raw timber back through customs or even on board ship. There is a bit of variety don't know how dry it is and the place does suffer from ant and borer. I was out in the back blocks going through the villages didn't see anything I thought worthwhile returning with.