Jan 22

Jan 22 The Blue Holes of Vanuatu

The islands of Vanuatu are full of amazing and picturesque places to swim, but the Blue Holes hidden on Espiritu Santo are next level.

Close your eyes and imagine a natural pool, enclosed by jungle and filled with crystal-clear, pure water so blue you will think it came out of a bottle and that is what you will find.

Some of the holes are the product of freshwater springs trickling from the belly of the islands’ mountains, while some oscillate with the tide, filling with fish that dart in their crystal depths like wondrous, native aquariums.

We visited two of the three main Blue Holes on our trip to Santo and I wish we had more time to experience them.

If you are planning a visit of your own, don’t forget to take some cash with you, there’s often an entrance fee that helps cover the amenities provided by the local owners.

Nanda Blue Hole

Our first experience of the stunning Blue Holes was at Nanda – also known as Jackie’s Blue Hole. We exited off the main road heading north out of Luganville and we could have been anywhere!

After paying the entrance fee, we walked a few metres from the carpark and the blue of the water in front was almost overwhelming.

We were lucky enough to have the place to ourselves, and our driver Tusty grabbed some stale bread from the car to show us the size of the fish swimming in this hole. They swam to us as if from nowhere.

Looking into the water from the convenient boardwalk, you could be forgiven for thinking it isn’t very deep, but the pool is actually 13 metres at its deepest point, and you can see all the way to the bottom.

We had our snorkels with us and spent a good half-hour exploring and cooling off in the clearest blue hole on Santo.

Matevulu Blue Hole

There are a couple of ways to get to Matevulu, by car or by kayak from the river mouth. As we could hire kayaks from our lodge, we opted to paddle for an hour to check out this stunning spot – the largest of the blue holes on the island.

Once we actually managed to get to the river mouth (a lot of hard paddling into the wind), the paddle was actually half the fun of this day, watching the water change from salty to fresh along the 3.5km crystal river. On the paddle in we didn’t see anyone else on the water – such a peaceful experience.

The water at this hole isn’t as blue as at Nanda, but it does have some other things working in its favour.

In addition to the clear water and freshwater fish, there are two rope swings for a bit of an adrenalin rush. One is hanging from a massive Banyan tree with a wooden ladder to access it, and the other hangs out from a wooden platform.

We did share this visit with a load of cruise ship passengers so it pays to be aware of when these are docking as it does impact the experience a bit.

Riri Blue Hole

We didn’t visit Riri Blue Hole on our visit given all the other things we wanted to do on the trip. We opted out as this is the closest one to Luganville and a further paddle from our lodge.

The Riri Blue Hole is less developed than the Nanda Blue Hole. A small concrete walkway only surrounds one edge, while the rest is a dense tropical jungle. There is also a diving deck and rope swing here as well.

Although they're the most well-known, Matevulu, Nanda and Ri Ri blue holes aren't the extent of the Vanuatu phenomenon. For those prepared to explore, there are blue holes where few other visitors have ever dared to tread. None of these are signposted, and most are on private land, so special permission may be required and additional fees paid.

I am pretty sure any Blue Hole you visit in Vanuatu is bound to be an amazing experience.