Lavaline in the Shadow of the Pandemic
Lavaline in the Shadow of the Pandemic
At the very latest when the WHO declared a pandemic status on 11.03.2020, it was clear that COVID-19 could cause us difficulties. However, all our flights had already been firmly booked at that time. Without a chance for a refund we had to at least try to get into Vanuatu with the hope that we would make it back sometime, whenever that might be.
20.03.2020, Port Vila
Quarantine & travel restrictions
Vanuatu is an archipelago of 80 islands in the fire belt of the South Pacific and lies about 2000 km northeast of Australia. Since my departure a week ago, events have been happening faster than I can keep track of. Three quarters of the team have barely made it to the capital Port Vila. Our volcano experts and connoisseurs of the country Basti, Ulla and Thomas are not among them. Basti and Ulla unfortunately couldn't take off at all, because both Australia and the other hub New Zealand closed their borders to foreigners. The friendly French volcanologist Thomas has been in quarantine in New Caledonia for a week, (where he would still be a month later). Rafael was spared the same fate only thanks to sheer luck. Marinus, responsible for rigging and safety, had no problems entering since he was coming from "safe" New Zealand. Johannes, my father and I could also show a clean travel history via Qatar and Australia; our cameraman Felix, however, had to take a detour via the USA instead of Singapore and only barely made it through before Trump closed the borders for Europeans on March 13th. Fortunately, none of us have a fever, otherwise we would have to go into quarantine here...
Basti, Ulla and Thomas are essential for the project with their many years of experience in obtaining permits, especially on site at the volcano. The fact that none of them made it here almost makes us desperate, as we see no chance of convincing the authorities of our project without them. Our only hope is that Thomas will make it here somehow after all.
First impressions of Vanuatu
While we wait for him, we explore the island of Efate a bit, in whose capital, Port Vila, we currently are. The number one local means of transport are countless taxi buses: You simply hail one and get on. At the market there is an election campaign going on. Vanuatu with its 300.000 inhabitants is a parliamentary democracy, but there are almost as many parties as dialects. So they have to cooperate a lot, which might not be that difficult for them. The first thing we notice here are the friendly people, everyone is extremely happy to see us. Without exception they all smile at us warmly as we drive by and wave. The title of “the happiest people in the world” is rightfully theirs. Our highlight here was a boat trip to a cave, where we dived through the reef between colorful fishes – a pure South Sea dream.
Hope & Decision
Yesterday, out of the confines of his quarantine, Thomas sent us the mobile phone numbers of two locals: Production assistant Jackson Iakapas and volcano guide Phillip. Both live at Yasur Volcano. Thanks to Jackson we got a film permit in no time at all. We have permission to fly to Tanna tomorrow in two chartered propeller planes! However, without the help of Basti, Ulla or Thomas, we still don't know whether the locals will trust us enough to let us stretch the highline as close as we need to the crater.
Another big problem is that Vanuatu, which is currently still Corona-free, declared a national state of emergency yesterday. That means that from the day after tomorrow all external borders will be closed and there will be exit restrictions like in Europe. These precautions are more than understandable when considering the capacities of the local public health system. They only have TWO (!) respirators for all 300,000 inhabitants! One thing is clear: If Covid-19 breaks out here, it will be really bad. Thinking about the fact that theoretically we could have brought the virus here with us, makes us feel worried and guilty.
In two days, no one will be able to enter or leave the archipelago. Our decision has already been made. While the normal tourists are doing their best to fly back to their homeland, we are moving further and further away from ours - knowing that we might not be able to leave for months.
Locked in the jungle of Tanna
Our time in the jungle of Tanna, our home for the next five weeks, was to be significantly influenced by the pandemic. Immediately after our arrival, all shops were closed and the 80 islands of Vanuatu were sealed off from each other because there were individual cases of suspected Corona infection. We, as the only tourists on the island, were sometimes given a wide berth when passing by. The thoughts nagged at us: What will happen if the virus gets here? Will attitudes towards us change and we will be chased away? That outcome is almost impossible to imagine though, given the warmth that is generally shown to us. With every passing day without a confirmed Corona case, the hope grows that Vanuatu managed to keep the virus at bay with its tactical early isolation... But how long will we be stranded here? Opening the border before finding a vaccine or an effective drug would hardly be justifiable from a medical perspective. It could easily take months until that time comes. No matter how long our stay will turn out to be, one thing is clear: As long as the virus doesn't break out here, we will not only survive - since there is always enough in the jungle to sustain us, despite the destruction of our villages crops by the vulcano - but we will thrive, since Jackson and his family are very concerned about our general well-being.
Under the motto #staysafeTAFEA, we produced clips for the Vanuatu Ministry of Health, broadcasted on television and distributed via social media. These are intended to explain the function and purpose of hygiene measures and to foster a general understanding of the crisis among the people. There is enough to fill a whole blog on the topic, which you can find at this link.
Despite the prospect of being on Tanna for perhaps forever, we paradoxically still feel huge time pressure during our entire stay to successfully complete the project. There is always the chance that the German government will suddenly pick up its last stranded citizens, even from islands as remote as Tanna. As time continues to pass we are still missing the all-important aerial shots for LavaLine. The propellers for our big drone and the charger for the small one unfortunately remained with Basti and Ulla on the other side of the world.
Johannes spent almost four weeks pulling out all the stops to find replacements - but due to the Corona-induced trade shut-down, all attempts to procure propellers from outside failed. At the point where we already know that our return flight would be in three days, we finally found a charger on Efate. This charger arrived in Tanna just in time. Soon after we were also able to return to the main island, because the state of emergency had been suspended for just a few days due to a change of government - perfect timing and incredible luck!
Happy successful team, from left to right: Jackson, Felix, Phillip, Rafael, Alex, Tom, Raimon, Marinus
Coming back
After six weeks filled with exciting experiences in the jungle it is more than unreal to return to a familiar world only to find that it has been turned upside down by Corona. Looking back, we can say: We had not one, but several huge servings of luck that helped our project succeed despite quarantine, travel restrictions, shutdown, and total lockdown. Plus, everyone except Rafael, managed to get back home. Since the international friendship of the repatriation programme unfortunately only extends to citizens from within European borders, Rafael was not allowed on board the plane and is still in Vanuatu. Despite the prospect of not being able to go home for a few months, Rafael is in good spirits and is making the best of his situation. You can follow his adventures on his instagram.