20 Mar 2025

A million-dollar adventure in Luganville

This morning, we headed ashore for a day on Espiritu Santo. We boarded the best available local transport and headed along paved asphalt roads left behind by the Americans after WWII when island life returned to peace after more troubled times. The roads have been maintained by the New Zealand government since. However, in a shift in modern allegiances, we learned as we approached Luganville (known to the locals as ‘Chinatown’ now because of all the Chinese businesses), where we encountered a magnificent new asphalt road constructed by the Chinese government.

In Luganville, we visited a local fruit market, where some purchased exotic tasty fruit such as Rambutan and Custard Apples. We marvelled at the twisted braids of tobacco leaves presented in a manner not seen by many. We then visited the WWII war museum with its historical images of a time when 50,000 American troops were stationed here and approximately 500,000 active Allied servicemen passed through before the war ended. Much of Luganville, we learnt, had been built during the war by the Americans.

Then we moved on to the iconic Million Dollar Point, the site where the Americans drove all their vehicles and equipment into the sea at the end of the war. Now, the site is famous for its snorkelling and diving around the artificial reefs formed by all the artillery and sunken vehicles. After the morning of visiting these sites, we headed back out of town with a new awareness of the shift in the balance of overseas aid coming into Vanuatu. 

An afternoon spent swimming in the translucent waters of the famous blue hole and enjoying champagne sipped on the powder sands of Champagne Beach was the perfect way to end the day.

Images © C. Finch, Heritage Expeditions