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Vanuatu & Espiritu Santo Ocean Swims

Each year in early June Vanuatu prepares for an invasion of keen Ocean Swimmers, escaping the southern winter in Australia and New Zealand and exchanging the cold confines of indoor pools, shivers and wetsuits for some expansive warm water swimming, exploration and adventure in and around Port Vila and on Vanuatu’s ‘Big’ Island, Espiritu Santo, taking in the Vanuatu Ocean Swim and three days later the Espiritu Santo Aore Swim.     

The clear, sheltered waters and reefs of Port Vila harbor and Iririki Island, just 350 meters offshore from Port Vila Town, provide a natural and inviting challenge for any swimmer and a perfect setting for the Vanuatu Ocean Swim.
 
Starting at Iririki Resort Beach, the Swim follows a rough diamond shaped 3.2Km course which takes swimmers clockwise around Iririki Island, across the deep water entrance to the inner harbor to a turn marker off the seafront at The Mamas Craft Market and back to the beach finish at Iririki. The event attracts swimmers of all ages and abilities, from some of the world’s best to those just into it for fitness, fun and the personal challenge and satisfaction of completing an open water swim in one of the most beautiful harbors in the world.   

Conditions in Port Vila are usually calm and the challenge for most swimmers is the 3.2Km distance. For those who may find that distance a little too challenging there’s also the choice of a 1.5Km swims. On both swims competitors are shepherded around the well marked course by the able staff of Island Dreams Kayak Tours.
With Port Vila as a base many swimmers and their families make the most of an endless variety of tours and activities, a trip to Mele Cascades, a coastal kayak tour, a visit to Ekasup Cultural Village, or to Havana Lodge on the north side of the island for some serious fishing or a relaxing snorkel. 

The Vanuatu Ocean Swim is held on a Saturday and the following Tuesday provides an altogether contrasting challenge, the 2.6Km Espiritu Santo Aore Swim across the Second Channel which separates Espiritu Santo's south coast from the island of Aore.
The Channel was an important WWII anchorage and staging point for the American push on Guadalcanal in the Solomon Islands, with Luganville transforming in a few short months from a sleepy one street, two store villages to a bustling base housing 40,000 troops, four airfields, cinemas, hospitals & wharves carved out of the bush.

The Eastern end of the Channel is home to the President Coolidge, now one of the most famous dive sites in the world. The Coolidge was sunk after hitting a “friendly” mine. Miraculously, all but 2 of the more than 5,000 troops and crew on board were able to escape the sinking ship after the Captain had the presence of mind to run it up onto the reef, before it finally slipped into deeper water and sank.

The swim course runs from Unity Park in Luganville across the Channel to Aore Resort and it can be a daunting swim with the channel unpredictable. On occasions south easterlies and strong tidal currents blow up rough, choppy conditions, turning the swim into a true ocean challenge.

On other days, it’s seemingly lake-like, calm, but never stills, the ever present currents changing direction with the tidal flow through the channel.
A feature of the Espiritu Santo Aore Swim is the unique swimmer support provided by a fleet of traditional outrigger canoes guiding participants across the channel, backed up by more ‘modern’ kayaks and powered craft. It’s a special feeling for swimmers turning to breath or sighting direction and being aware of one of the most ancient forms of water transport quietly paddling alongside.  

It’s not only about swimming though, the events in Vila and Espiritu Santo include ‘Swim with the Stars’ clinics where participants can get tips from top world swimmers, there are also welcome and Awards Functions and unique entertainment showcasing the custom and culture of Vanuatu. At the Espiritu Santo Aore Swim there’s also a Traditional Canoe Race held the day before the Swim, running in the opposite direction, from Aore Resort and finishing in front of a large waiting crowd at Unity Park with place getter rewarded with cash prizes presented for various categories. The race creates a lot of excitement and has helped to rekindle an interest in traditional canoe building skills.       
Just 40 minutes by plane from port Vila, Espiritu Santo is one of those slightly off-the-beaten-tourist-track destinations that is full of surprises and interesting “discoveries”, from the adventure of Millennium Caves, diving the Coolidge, exploring the famous Blue Holes, Champagne Beach, the cultural experiences of VilVil Village to the gourmet delights of Oyster Island, plus, some of the world's nicest places to stay and just relax.

Vanuatu is an ocean swimmers paradise, two totally different swim experiences in two contrasting tourist locations, within a few days in the same country, each with a variety of pre and post swim adventures and activities to take in. 

Dates for 2008, Vanuatu Ocean Swim Saturday 7th June, Espiritu Santo Aore Swim Tuesday 10th June. Click here for the latest news and information on the Swims.

For package information from Australia contact Sarah Beeken at Millennium Travel in Sydney Ph 02 9211 0944 Toll Free 1800 622 523 email sarah@millenniumtravel.com.au
In New Zealand contact Jeremy Shannahan at United Travel Takapuna Ph: 09 4861625.