Vanuatu: Volcanoes, Wrecks And Cannibals

With bubbling volcanoes, dreamlike beaches and natives with quirky cults, the island kingdom of Vanuatu has everything the South Seas have to offer: exotic nature, romance, beauty. More than 100 languages are spoken here despite the fact that there are only 200,000 inhabitants. Many of these are natives who live secluded lives away from civilisation. Peculiar stories are told here: on the island of Tanna the people celebrate a festival in honour of "John Frum", a mystical figure who is said to have appeared to them at the start of the Second World War in the form of a US soldier. He exhorted them to protect their traditions and prophesied their prosperity. His followers still honour him to this day, by marching with bamboo weapons in front of an American flag as they live in hope of the longed-for refrigerator. On a neighbouring island live the descendents of cannibals. There the natives do not pay homage to a Messiah, but instead to their new chief: an Israeli in a loincloth who is to bring them tourism. On many islands, the night sky is lit up blood red by the lava spewing from volcanoes. Our voyage of discovery also takes us underwater to the largest shipwreck in the world, the former luxury liner, the SS Coolidge; a real Mecca for divers.

Download synopsis (352,21 kb)