Vanuatu

I can't believe we have been home for a week already but we had the most amazing time on our holiday.

The first few days were spent doing activities and seeing the sights and the last few days were for pure relaxing.

We spent the first 2 nights on the island of Tanna, home of volcano Mt. Yasur and many ocean blue holes. We had our own blue hole to snorkel in and it was some of the best snorkelling I have ever done. Its just off the beach and is protected by the reef at low tide. Please ignore the water shoes on my hands in the first picture! I was holding them both because I was scared to go in (the water and I are not friends) and finally decided to go in. Glad I did! My body also felt so good in the water and took the pressure off of my back and joints.

The volcano was amazing!! You can drive to about 100 meters from the top then walk up to the rim. It is the most active volcano in the south pacific and even maybe the world, with eruptions happening every few seconds. You could actually see the sound waves rise through the smoke before it would sound like the loudest thunder you have heard. It took our breath away.

The second island we went to was Santo. Its popular due to the Millennium caves. It involves hiking through the jungle, visiting a village, walking through the caves (in nearly a meter of water) then coming back hiking over boulders and drifting in the river. This was not recommended for pregnant women so Barney went alone while I sat by the pool and read my book for about 8 hours. Bliss!

We also drove up the east coast to Lannoc Beach seen below. There is a resort there but it was very quiet so we had the beach to ourselves! Most of the beaches charge an entrance fee except for this one. We had lunch there then headed back to catch our flight to Port Villa.

We spent the last 4 nights in the main town of Port Villa where we spent time kayaking in the lagoon, walking around town and visiting nearby Hideaway Island to snorkel. It boasts the only underwater post office in the world and you can dive down (as seen in the last picture by Barney) and mail a postcard. The snorkelling was great but I didn't last too long as I felt like my lungs were going to collapse.

We also drove up to a fresh water blue hole where Barney swam while I watched from the side. They have a big rope swing and it was very entertaining to watch people attempt to swing from it.

All of our holidays in the past have been very full on and we've always tried to pack in as much as we possibly could. We wanted to make sure we took the time to rest and relax this time and I am so glad we did. We came back Monday night and both went to work the next day. It was the first time we felt we didn't need a holiday from our holiday!

Now, we are beginning to prepare our home (and minds!) for our little bub who will be here before we know it. We've hit the third trimester and are 27 weeks pregnant! Yikes.... its going quick!