Hole leaps into another dimension. The
Nanda Blue Hole is a deep waterhole in the
middle of a jungle, surrounded by lush,
flower-filled gardens with bark-chip paths
meandering through them. There’s a café by
its edge, and many seating areas and viewing
platforms to take in this astounding natural
spectacle. Donning snorkelling masks
(provided by hosts Calvin and Julie) we begin
our exploration of the Blue Hole, and we’re
immediately surrounded by thousands of fish,
many of them swimming right up to our faces
to check us out. We swim above underwater
hillsides of soft-as-silk, gently undulating
moss that look like enchanted grasslands;
dive down to peer into craggy cave entrances,
where the locals say the really big fish are;
and snorkel above artfully eroded rock faces
where thousands of fish nibble at mineral
snacks and other miniscule underwater
creatures. Floating around in Nanda Blue
Hole, feeling weightless and looking up
through prehistoric-looking bright yellow fern
fronds, we decide that Santo’s Blue Holes
have to be some of the Pacific Ocean’s
best-kept secrets.LOBSTER, CULTURE &
CHAMPAGNE BEACHThe Blue Holes of Santo are not the only places
where the water colour needs a new word to
trump azure. Champagne Beach, on the east
coast of Santo, is a bay where the eye-achingly
turquoise water meets sand so white that it’s
hard to look at it without sunglasses on. The
shape of the coastline resembles the old-
fashioned squat champagne glass, with the
gentle lapping of waves at low tide emulating
bubbles. It’s not uncommon to be the only
people on the beach, and you can snorkel right
off the shoreline above a world of rocks and
coral where multitudes of fish frolic. And it’s
a cinch finding Nemo — there are plenty of the
lovable orange and white striped bug-eyed
cuties peeping out from their anemone homes.Just up the road is the equally stunning Port
Olry Harbour, where a local Ni-Vanuatu family
has established their Little Paradise Restaurant
— which has no walls and sports sand floors,
a thatched roof, and some of the best views in
Santo. Here you can sit at log seat tables on the
white-sanded beach, or lie in a hammock
hooked between palm trees while sipping on a
cold wine or beer. Then sit in the shade and
tuck into one of the biggest, most sensational
servings of Lobster Thermidor you’ll ever be
offered, for around $40.RELAX & REJUVENATE
We ascend the stairs to stand above the blue lagoon, where
we can clearly see schools of fish swimming through the
rocky outcrops on the bottom. We’re the only ones there.