Six round bamboo
and leaf bungalows, each with a double and single bed, mosi nets, shared flush
toilets and cold showers. There is solar power in the restaurant, but no power
in the bungalows. Camping in the grounds is allowed. You can choose to cook
your own meals or have tasty meals with local fruits and vegetables in the lodge.
Bungalows including breakfast are 2,150vatu per person, children 12 and under,
1,200vatu, or if you make up a group of 6 or more, 1,250vatu. A 3-course dinner
is 1,400vatu, with simple dinners at 1000vt.
Alcohol is not available and there are no phones, no email, no credit cards
or foreign currency.
Photo left: Melanesian
Feast
You will be treated to gourmet local foods with wild pig, bullock, and plenty
of tasty vegetarian dishes.
Getting There
There are regular flights
from Australia, Fiji, New Caledonia, New Zealand and Solomon Islands to Vanuatu's
capital, Port Vila. The domestic airline, VanAir, has several daily flights
(45 minutes) to Luganville on Santo, which has a variety of shops, banks, telephones,
email centre and post office.
Bus or truck transfer from Luganville to Matantas, 1-2hrs drive. It is best
to contact Vatthe, vatthe@vanuatu.com.vu
and they will organise your transfer. If you need to go, or return at a fixed
time, ie charter transport especially for you, this may cost 6,000 vatu, one
way per person. If time is not a problem and you are happy to wait until 3:00pm
you can catch a daily minibus from the Unity Shell Petrol Station in the middle
of town, to Sara Village, and they will take you on to Matantas for 2,000vatu
pp. It is usually possible to share a passing transport Ute, with locals or
copra, from Matantas back to Luganville, for the same price, but this can not
be guaranteed.
Forest and Bird, New Zealand's oldest and largest conservation organisation,
run a tour once a year to Vatthe, and Tanna Island. See www.forestandbird.org.nz
Combine Vatthe with Lonnoc Beach Bungalows
A visit to Vatthe may be combined with a stay at Lonnoc Beach
Bungalows, set on one of the finest white sand beaches in Vanuatu, with crystal
clear water and live coral reefs, great for snorkeling. The 7 Lonnoc Bungalows
are locally owned and operated, timber frame houses with thatched roofs, flush
toilets and cold showers. Like Vatthe there is plenty to do, visit nearby Loru
another protected area famous for it's megapode (incubator) birds, take a boat
out to Elephant Island for stunning snorkeling, or visit old WWII sites.
Lonnoc is one hour from Matantas, on the east coast of Santo or an hour from
Luganville by bus and transfers can be arranged for you. Vatthe can organise
a package for you.
Six round bamboo
and leaf bungalows, each with a double and single bed, mosi nets, shared flush
toilets and cold showers. There is solar power in the restaurant, but no power
in the bungalows. Camping in the grounds is allowed. You can choose to cook
your own meals or have tasty meals with local fruits and vegetables in the lodge.
Photo left: Melanesian
Feast 
There are regular flights
from Australia, Fiji, New Caledonia, New Zealand and Solomon Islands to Vanuatu's
capital, Port Vila. The domestic airline, VanAir, has several daily flights
(45 minutes) to Luganville on Santo, which has a variety of shops, banks, telephones,
email centre and post office.