The landing at Bauerfield Airport went well with disembarkation reminiscent of the good old days at the old Adelaide Airport. You get a good view of the terminal from the tarmac. First impressions tell us that road infrastructure here is rough, the locals love to get out and about on a Friday night, and many buildings seem to have suffered from the cyclone earlier in the year.
Breakfast is provided at the restaurant so we wondered down at 8 am to make our selection and enjoy the local fare - for Sue and I it was scrumptious muesli with yoghurt and local fruit. The plan was to walk to the main part of town, check out the local markets and get some local cash. What turned out to be a 20 minute walk which should have been 10 minutes, ended up at Nambatu (Au Bon Marche #2 the local supermarket chain) in a different part of town. Arriving at night didn't help with my bearings. Thankfully upon my approach, a local Ni-Vanuatu pointed us to the supermarket - who knows where else I would have lead my family. Lots of locals called out 'Hello' as we wondered along, with big smiles, making me wonder if they knew we had no idea where we were.
Food and refreshments were purchased and we caught one of the many buses home to our apartment. One of things about the bus service is that it's completely unlike the services we are used to. The buses are mini buses (think Toyota Hi-ace) with a red B on the number plate and are privately owned. They don't follow set routes and you flag one down like a taxi, then tell the driver where you want to go and ask for a price. Jump in, enjoy the ride and don't be surprised if the driver picks up other passengers on the way. It is after all a bus service.
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