look who joined me for a shell of fresh kava in Port Vila

[TheKavaSociety]

So Henry re fresh...you like it better ?

Yep, it's incredible. I think everyone should try it at least once. In fact I've met a guy who can get me 1.5l of chilled fresh kava by plane to Auckland from time to time. Apparently lots of nivans living in NZ get their kava this way!

For those who cant get fresh kava, I can now confirm that @Gourmet Hawaiian Kava ' instants are the closest thing on earth you can get to fresh in terms of taste and his kavas in general are not too far away from fresh when it comes to effects.

 

[Deactivated Account]

Yep, it's incredible. I think everyone should try it at least once.

Its like kissing Jesus on the lips i reckon.

 

[TheKavaSociety]

Have a great trip! Post more pics Henry! Have you tried the Nakamal across from the parliament building? Are you going to Pentecost or Santos?

Thanks, mate! Unfortunately I am only staying on Efate this time. But I think I ll be back to explore tanna and santo in a few months

I've been to that nakamal, but my personal nambawan is the shefa nakamal: the best kava, the best view and the nicest people!

 

[Deleted User01]

Hey @shakas, on that Jungle Boy Video, all I gotta say is "That ain't right". If you throw away that video then I promise to quit bringing up the subject.

 

[Deactivated Account]

Thanks, mate! Unfortunately I am only staying on Efate this time. But I think I ll be back to explore tanna and santo in a few months

Great to see you got there mate & like it. How cool are all the busses & cheap to get anywhere. Let me know if you want my contact details for the village ive stayed at on Tanna a few times. They will pick you up & drop you off at the airport also. Its literally at the base of the volcano & you can see the lava from your hut at night, great to be rumbled & rocked to sleep. They will take you up on the rim & you can sit there & watch it roaring & belching. Still one of the most amazing things ive experienced. Strong kava also but its all strictly chewed if you can get your head around that.

 

[sɥɐʞɐs]

@nemo did you stay in the port resolution area on tanna ? that's where i wanna stay, assuming they make trips to the yasur.

 

[Deactivated Account]

@nemo did you stay in the port resolution area on tanna ? that's where i wanna stay, assuming they make trips to the yasur.

No i was in a small village at the very base of the volcano. When i say village its a few huts they built on the side of their village that they allow guests to stay in.

The volcano & Port Resolution are not far away from each other though as you can in the photo with the ocean in the background, PR is just to the right.

 

[sɥɐʞɐs]

Cool, I'm glad it's not too far. Definitely gotta do Tanna for the volcano & potent masticated kava. I hate riding small islander hopper planes though.

 

[Deactivated Account]

Cool, I'm glad it's not too far. Definitely gotta do Tanna for the volcano & potent masticated kava. I hate riding small islander hopper planes though.

Im def with you on the Island Hopper plane thing mate however they are all aussie & kiwi pilots there. Always reassuring to hear their accents on the PA. We did have chickens on board in palm frond cages on one trip though.

 

[Kojo Douglas]

Have any of you guys been to the Solomons? That's a beautiful place, but it's a bit tough to find Nakamals. There is one in Honiara, but that city is an ethnic time bomb.

 

[sɥɐʞɐs]

Im def with you on the Island Hopper plane thing mate however they are all aussie & kiwi pilots there. Always reassuring to hear their accents on the PA. We did have chickens on board in palm frond cages on one trip though.

Chickens in palm frond cages, on an airplane, might alone make the flight worth it.

Have any of you guys been to the Solomons? That's a beautiful place, but it's a bit tough to find Nakamals. There is one in Honiara, but that city is an ethnic time bomb.

I went to Samoa, but they don't have nakamals and they weren't making fresh kava there. Dry powder.
You could sit around and buy/drink kava at the flea market though.

 

[JonT]

Have any of you guys been to the Solomons? That's a beautiful place, but it's a bit tough to find Nakamals. There is one in Honiara, but that city is an ethnic time bomb.

I heard there might be two in Honiara, but the only one I've been to was on the waterfront surrounded by caged animals, and it was more like a mix of alcohol and kava. I think it was called Pacific Haus. I thought the vibe was friendly which was a surprise after what I'd been told (and was told whilst in the bar). The kava was also the strongest I've had anywhere.

 

[Deactivated Account]

I forgot to ask mate...how is the 156% humidity at this time of year

 

[TheKavaSociety]

I forgot to ask mate...how is the 156% humidity at this time of year

Pretty bad.. it is bloody hot. But not as hot as it was in Brisbane when I went there last year in late December!

 

[Deactivated Account]

Pretty bad.. it is bloody hot. But not as hot as it was in Brisbane when I went there last year in late December!

I guess I'm used to it here. 32c at 9am yesterday & the news said parts hit 46 at2pm

But some of those more closed in nakamals that don't get a sea breezes & Sofies is one of them the humidy can be oppressing. Shefa gets a breeze though.

So have you been getting takeaway plastic for breakfast yet ?

Breakfast of champions !

 

[TheKavaSociety]

Bad day at the port vila nakamals. I went to a few of the most reputable places and they all had "leftover", sour and acidic kava. In general, I would say that while a good shell of fresh kava is a great experience, there are lots of questionable kava businesses here (some kava shops in port vila sell K@ now and I overheard a kava seller recommending using a bit of wild kava leaves to increase potency of regular kava!) and many nakamals do not seem too concerned about the quality of their products. I will write more about it in a separate post, but generally speaking the urban kava culture here isn't necessarily "amazing". While I do like fresh kava and I have had a great time here (Vanuatu is great, even for non kava drinkers), I also look forward to drinking my @Gourmet Hawaiian Kava when I get back to New Zealand

 

[Deactivated Account]

Yeah it does turn very quickly, always best to get in early which is why I buy a plastic early also & get it into a fridge.

 

[sɥɐʞɐs]

Bad day at the port vila nakamals. I went to a few of the most reputable places and they all had "leftover", sour and acidic kava. In general, I would say that while a good shell of fresh kava is a great experience, there are lots of questionable kava businesses here (some kava shops in port vila sell K***** now and I overheard a kava seller recommending using a bit of wild kava leaves to increase potency of regular kava!) and many nakamals do not seem too concerned about the quality of their products. I will write more about it in a separate post, but generally speaking the urban kava culture here isn't necessarily "amazing". While I do like fresh kava and I have had a great time here (Vanuatu is great, even for non kava drinkers), I also look forward to drinking my @Gourmet Hawaiian Kava when I get back to New Zealand

Looking forward to your full write up. Maybe you could pinpoint some nakamals on a map of port vila too.
Have you tried some different ones now, for different mixes ?

There's this blog I used to read about various nakamals, he mentions that 'sweet' kava you were talking about and also talks about the first batch of the afternoon being the best a few times, here's a quote:
"Chiefs first bucket, as usual, was great stuff. SHEFA for some reason was serving up cold and sweet kava, which someone told me is a sign that they made dry kava for sale. That shit should be outlawed. 24 Haoa was standard, good stuff. Shifted between the two stalls because Apu Willie doesn't like right-side kava toward the end of the bucket."

There's also a bit about a place that serves a consistent mix:
" @ White Gate in Freshwater Park, I am finding that when Jimmy makes kava for sale here it's not the best, but then again it's mostly free for me so no complaints. It's always clean, it's only one kind/species of kava, and it all comes from the same area on Pentecost, so those are three bonuses.

Would you say any of your fresh experiences were superior to anything you could achieve at home, or do you still feel that ghk instant is just about the same ?

 

[nj valid]

Is it expensive to travel to the South Pacific? Looks amazing!!

 

[kavadude]

Is it expensive to travel to the South Pacific? Looks amazing!!

I think the plane ticket is the most expensive part for most of us, if you live in the States it's well over $1k. The cost of living there is very low and if you're chilling out in nature and drinking kava I can't imagine you'll rack up a huge bill.