Riri Blue Hole. Located within 3 minutes drive of the site.
Fresh Water Blue Holes
Matevulu and Riri Blue holes are a must for all visitors to Espirtu Santo! Surrounded by lush tropical forest, due to the lime in soil this natural fresh water springs give off an illuminating blue colour, hence the name! Also dotted around the island, these blue holes are refreshing to swim in perfect for washing off the salt after a day at the beach!
One of the best Blue Holes on the Island Riri Blue Hole is the ideal way to end a hot tropical day. Swing from a rope in the trees and take a plunge into clear blue fresh spring water!
Snorkelling
When it’s time to cool off, join the locals for a snorkel at one of Espiritu Santo’s stunning reefs or islands, where the crystal-clear ocean waters right at your door step allows you to the wonders of the underwater inhabitants. Or pack a picnic and head to one of the three islands off the coast within a short boat ride or canoe, with there long stretch of white sand. It’s an idyllic spot to swim or just relax beneath a tree. Matevulu is now a popular snorkeling attraction with a great combination of white sandy beaches and healthy marine life, thanks to the fishing ban by the villagers.
The best water-based activities in Espiritu Santo
If you’re not a scuba diver, don’t skip this number one activity just yet. Even beginners can enjoy scuba diving the SS Coolidge in Espiritu Santo! Scuba diving in Vanuatu is rated in the top 10 dive spots in the world and the underwater world around Espiritu Santo is fascinating. You get to see splendid corals around the smaller islands, shipwrecks like the world famous SS Coolidge and war relics at Million Dollar Point.
If you are not certified or not confident, you could get a first experience or a refresher at one of the dive centres in Luganville. And then, why not go all the way to the deep dive certification so you can explore further down?
Scuba divers who can go to 30 or 40 metres deep will have one of their best experiences at the SS Coolidge. Make sure you plan a night dive
Explore untouched nature on a kayak
Kayaking is perfect to find secluded and untouched spots. You can hire kayaks from many resorts and beaches on the main island such as, Turtle Bay, Bay of Islands, and Matevulu Blue Hole. The offshore islands, Malwepe, Danny and Molono Islands also offer good kayaking opportunities.
Enjoy your experience kayaking from Matevulu Blue Hole to the Bay of Islands where you can find a deserted beach on an untouched island to stop and have your picnic lunch.
If you don’t feel like making efforts, you can get a local young man to paddle for you as you go up the transparent Riri River to the stunning Riri Blue Hole. Visiting the holes is a must-do in Espiritu Santo.
Sip kava with the chief at a Cultural Village
If you’re not on a tight schedule, spending the better part of a day at the Custom & Cultural Village is a great way to experience some of Vanuatu’s oldest customs and traditions.
Tribal greetings, custom song and dance are all part of the experience, as well as demonstrations in basket weaving, traditional food and kava making.
For first timers though, beware Vanuatu kava is the strongest in the South Pacific so do pace yourself.
Trek through Millennium Cave
For those who aren’t afraid of a bit of rough and tumble, tours through Vanuatu’s largest cave reward trekkers with some spectacular sights.
Equipped with at least a medium level of fitness, the experience takes you through tropical forest, scrambling over rocks and boulders, and through Millennium Cave itself which is home to bats and towering rock faces sculptured by the river over time.
There’s also opportunity to swim in waterfalls and take time out for a picnic amid the tropical setting.
Beach hop around the Santo
Many say the best beaches in Vanuatu are found on Espiritu Santo…and we’re inclined to agree.
Soft white sand and Bombay Sapphire blue waters seem to be the norm around this neck or the woods, but there are a few star performers that deserve special mention.
Matevulu Harbour and Champagne Beach for instance is the stuff of tropical holiday dreams; a horseshoe of palm-fringed white sand that is so fine that when it meets the crystal blue water it could be mistaken for milk.
It’s the kind of setting that could challenge some of the world’s most beautiful beaches, and more often than not, you’ll have it all to yourself. Unless a cruise ship has docked.
And although not strictly on Santo, it’s worth the 10-minute boat ride across to Aore Beach which is a snorkeler’s delight.
Million Dollar Point
When the United States military abandoned the Vanuatuan island of Espiritu Santo after occupying it as a base during World War II, it left behind infrastructure works such as roads, buildings and runways. But its oddest legacy might be the millions of dollars of goods it dumped into the ocean — just so the French and British couldn’t have them.
Today, off the shore of what’s been dubbed “Million Dollar Point” in the Pacific Ocean, snorkelers and scuba divers encounter a surprising sight: a fortune’s worth of military tanks, guns and jeeps resting beneath the waves.
Espiritu Santo, an island in the Vanuatu archipelago, was established as a military supply base, naval harbor and airfield after the attack on Pearl Harbor, when the U.S. used it as the launch site for its attack on the Japanese in the Pacific. At the time, parts of Vanuatu were still under British and French colonization.
When America left the military base after the war, the remaining goods — everything from weaponry to bottles of Coca-Cola — were offered to the French and British at a very low price, 6 cents to the dollar. However, the colonizers were going on the assumption that should they refuse to buy the items, the U.S. military would be forced to simply leave them behind for free.
The Americans were having none of this. To spite the British and French, the military made the rash decision to drive all of the vehicles, food, clothing, drinks and other equipment to a wharf on the southern coast of the island. The army then drove all of the vehicles into the sea, used bulldozers to dump the rest of the supplies over the wharf, before also driving the bulldozers into the sea, ensuring that the European countries would not be able to get their hands on the items at all, free or otherwise.
Millions of dollars’ worth of goods was completely destroyed over the period of those two days, rendered unusable at the bottom of the ocean. As a result of the dumping, the waters were contaminated with fuel, rubber, metal and other waste, leaving the local NI Vans shocked at the carnage, though they salvaged what they could once the Americans had finally departed.
Today, you can make your way to Million Dollar Point and take a snorkel or scuba dive through the wreckage, should you desire to swim through this odd memorial to political spite.