Vanuatu Off the Beaten Path Tips by K.Knight

Mystery island, an uninhabited sandy islet all surrounded by coral reefs, lies to the very south of the Vanuatuan island chain. Its real name is Inyeug Island. Inyeug Island was used by the Allied forces during WWII as a landing strip for small aircraft. To this day, this airstrip is used as the airfield for the rugged, mountainous Anaton Island located about 1.5 km's from Inyeug.

You can access the island from Port Vila via aircraft or by cruise ship.

Queen Elizabeth II came to Vanuatu in 1975 on the Royal Yacht Britanica and she and her party stopped off at Mystery Island for a picnic lunch.

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The local inhabitants of Anaton Island do their best to survive by offering the tourists, that are brought in bu cruise ship or light aircraft, a cheap activity. Here the outrigger canoe seems to be self service and business seems to be a little slow. Undaunted by the coral reefs and beautifully clear water.....I went snorkelling!!!

Outrigger Hire COST.........AUS$10.00 up front, unlimited use of the outrigger and AUS$5.00 refunded on return of the outrigger! I just don't know who you pay or where they expect that you will take the outrigger considering you are at least 600 km's from the nearest point of civilisation!

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Phone: You're kidding!!!!
Website: Again....You're kidding!!!!

The snorkelling around the coral reefs of Mystery Island showcase some of the most beautiful fish in the South pacific. The waters are safely surrounded by coral reefs which protect the swimmer from the waters of the open ocean. I would recommend this activity for strong swimmers only and I would advise you to have someone watch you from the shore in case you get into difficulty...Remember, this is a remote are.

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Please don't complicate the task of snorkelling....

If you are not an experienced swimmer, have never snorkelled in you life or you are scared of the water I would suggest a guided snorkelling adventure with some of the local villagers. COST AUS$10.00

If you are an experienced swimmer.....YOU ARE ON A SMALL ISLAND SURROUNDED BY WATER!!!!!

Bring you own snorkelling gear as you can not hire it on this mostly uninhabited island.

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As mentioned above, the local inhabitants of Anaton Island venture onto Mystery Island when tourists pour in and they form an intricate part of your enjoyment experience. I guess the main reson that I travel is to broaden my horizons, meet other people from around the world and gain an insite into their culture and the fabric to their society. I feel that I can achieve this in the South Pacific by respecting these people and spending some time watching their performance or looking at their handicrafts etc.

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just like the outriggers, canoe hire cost is AUS$10.00 up front, unlimited use of the canoe and AUS$5.00 refunded on return of the canoe! I just don't know where they expect that you will take the canoe to to keep it considering you are at least 600 km's from the nearest point of civilisation!

Something tells me that this guy has cornered the local market although business seems a little slow!

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