We drive down a seemingly endless track of washed out potholes. The virgin jungle is so close, the leaves of the trees heavily laden with rain drops from a passing tropical shower, drag across the windscreen.

It is hard to imagine that at the end of this road less travelled is an understated island resort carved from the wilderness and set in a picture postcard setting on a private isthmus with an ocean beach on one side and a tranquil tropical lagoon on the other. It is a remarkable island paradise, somewhat reminiscent of Gilligan’s Island - so far removed from the hustle and bustle of metropolitan life in Australia.

We are on Efate Island in the nearby Pacific Island Republic of Vanuatu, just a little over two hours from Brisbane. The island is home to the republic’s capital, the culturally rich Port Vila, a vibrant mix of Melanesian people known as ‘ni vans’ and a healthy expatriate population of Australians, New Zealanders and a sprinkling of French.

Port Vila is serviced by an international airport and just 20 minutes from the airport is the island paradise of Eratap, a beach resort which resembles a Melanesian village.

Built by young expatriate Australians Tony and Louisa Pittar, the beach resort is a tribute to their life-long goal to establish their own remote getaway. For the Pittars, it was a sea change of gigantic proportions. Tony had spent much of his former life in merchant banking travelling the world. He used those business trips to search for the ‘right place’ to establish a boutique resort. His search took him to Asia, Africa, the Pacific Islands and the Caribbean. After 12 long years of searching he had almost given up - that magical place was no where to be found!

Finally, friends convinced him to explore Vanuatu. They searched the web and found Eratap Point, a pristine isthmus surrounded by a sparkling ocean beach and an aqua lagoon. On arrival in Vila, they hired a car and drove to Eratap Point.  


It was a beautiful June day - they parked on the beach and decided that Eratap was the site for their resort.  After their holiday, they returned to Sydney. Tony, a qualified accountant, decided to apply for a job in Vanuatu and flew back for the interview.Says Tony, “Something happened along the way. I decided not to take the job but instead, decided to buy the land.”

While Louisa continued with her career in social work in Sydney looking after their two children, Nelson and George, Tony returned to Vanuatu to manage the construction of the resort. Tony worked with architects and engineers in Sydney and Fiji to develop his ‘village’ concept for the resort. “The hardest part of the whole exercise was finding the funding - most banks said we were crazy but finally, through a combination of private equity and the backing of the ANZ Bank in Vanuatu, our dream came to fruition.”

There were no services on the site - no power, no water, no sewerage connections. Eratap was as undeveloped as could be imagined. After 18 months of construction, Tony and Louisa proudly opened Eratap Beach Resort in December 2007, to rave reviews. They have created a resort of unique proportions, environmentally friendly and in keeping with the natural surroundings. The resort is totally self sufficient - two large generators provide power and water is pumped for several miles to a treatment plant at Eratap to provide sparkling fresh water for everyday use. Gas air conditioners have been used in the villas because of their low energy consumption and low emissions. All services are underground.

The resort was constructed by local tradesmen from timbers sourced from North Efate while all other building materials were imported including 15 kilometres of rope for the decorative rope welding around the large exposed beams in the villas and restaurant. The cyclone proof concrete walls are made from local coral while the thatched roofs are made from Nataagora palms which conceal metal and plywood roofing. Louisa sourced all the resort furnishings from Bali.

The villas, built from magnificent natural timbers, all have balconies and beautiful water vistas, five star facilities including ensuite as well as an outdoor shower to use after a swim. While Eratap Beach Resort is remote, all modern communication facilities are available including WI-FI internet access and an impressive mobile phone network.

There are just 12 private one and two bedroom villas including a spa villa and a honeymoon villa on, appropriately named, Honeymoon Point. The resort grounds are beautifully planned and maintained with crushed white coral walking tracks, a large pool, spa, coconut palms, fern and Pandanus trees dotting the three hectare site.

On one side of the resort is a white sandy beach and just 100 metres offshore, is a magnificent coral reef for snorkelling. Apparently, there are no stingers and no sharks here - year round the water is a beautiful aqua as the Pacific Ocean gently caresses the private beach. On the opposite site of the resort, the Pittars have created a lagoon paradise with a large jetty which has been constructed without disturbing the natural environment. Here the resort’s long boats are moored and can be used by resort guests for fishing trips and visiting the nearby island.

We had arrived late in the afternoon and enjoyed a fabulous dinner in the restaurant, an imposing building with magnificent high ceilings and exposed beams with intricate rope work and timber framed doors and windows which allow the gentle Pacific breezes to flow through while stainless steel fans whirl gently overhead. The restaurant is really the ‘big house’ - the resort meeting place.

The restaurant is a relaxing environment accommodating the resort check-in desk, a bar, library and television lounge. A timber deck surrounds the restaurant on two sides providing a superb platform for dining. The restaurant, although less than a year old, has developed an enviable reputation and is regarded as one of the best places to dine in all of Vanuatu. Our meals were superb and the menu features such dishes as organic island beef, the freshest of locally caught seafood and a rich influence of French, Melanesian and English cuisine.

As the first rays of sunlight dance and sparkle on the water, the day dawns and it is literally, ‘welcome to paradise’.  You could be anywhere in the world, gentle sea breezes sway the trees while the white sandy beaches offer a world of privacy often only dreamed about.

There is so much to do here - you can swim, surf, kayak, snorkel, fish, go boating or just explore the island on the many bushwalking tracks or go bike riding. The resort caters for the romantics as well as families and most impressive is their kid’s program which teaches children about local activities and cultures including net fishing, finding coconuts, cooking fish on open fires and basket weaving. The resort simply offers so much diversity, it is unrivalled in its approach to entertainment, education and enjoyment.

Eratap Beach Resort is a magical place – a dream come true for two Australians who dared to be different. They have created a beautiful resort for all to share and enjoy a small piece of paradise. Our visit was, as always, ever too brief but as I drove back on my way to Port Vila’s international airport, I made a commitment to myself - ‘I will be back’ to enjoy and explore more of the natural wonders at Eratap Beach Resort.

For more information, go to  www.eratap.com