Moso Island is an island off the northwest coast of

Efate Efate (french: Éfaté) is an island in the Pacific Ocean which is part of the Shefa Province in Vanuatu. It is also known as Île Vate. Geography It is the most populous (approx. 66,000) island in Vanuatu. Efate's land area of makes it Vanu ...

Vanuatu Vanuatu ( or ; ), officially the Republic of Vanuatu (french: link=no, République de Vanuatu; bi, Ripablik blong Vanuatu), is an island country located in the South Pacific Ocean. The archipelago, which is of volcanic origin, is east of no ...

, in

Shefa Province Shefa is one of the six provinces of Vanuatu, located in the center of the country and including the islands of Epi and Efate and the Shepherd Islands. The province's name is derived from the initial letters of SHepherd and EFAte. It has a popula ...

. It is separated from Efate by Namoso Passage, which is wide at its narrowest point. Along with Lelepa, it creates the harbour at north

known as Port Havannah. This harbour was a focal point during

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...

, with many troops stationed there, including posts on Moso itself. Today, small tokens of the soldiers' presence can still be seen on Moso.

History

Seven villages were originally scattered throughout Moso Island until missionaries facilitated their formation into one coastal village, Sunae. This community was divided in two in the early 1990s and some people split from Sunae, forming Tassirki village on central Moso.

Transport

There are no roads or cars on Moso Island. Access to the Island is via banana boat from Tanoliu Village in North East Efate. Once on the Island you can walk anywhere.

Tourism

Tassirki-Village-Chief-Moso-Island-Vanuatu

Tassiriki community, in conjunction with Wan Smolbag Theatre, is the base for a turtle monitoring programme on northwestern Efate. The project is run throughout Vanuatu with the goal of preserving the endangered turtle species found in the Pacific. The community operates a bungalow that accommodates volunteers who stay for short-term periods assisting the locals with the turtle monitoring programme. Sunae community is attempting to initiate a small tour business to the eastern part of the island as part of a community development project. This part of the island is where parts of ''

Les Aventuriers de Koh-Lanta Les Aventuriers de Koh-Lanta was the first season of the French version of Survivor, Koh-lanta. This season took place in Thailand on the island of Koh Rok, and was broadcast on TF1 from August 4, 2001 to September 22, 2001 airing on Saturdays ...

'', the French version of the Survivor TV series, were filmed. Tranquility Dive and Resort is a commercial business run from the western part of the island and is well known for its dive sites. Also now a few luxury homes have been developed and are rented to holiday makers, these homes are off the grid and operate via solar power and rain and well water.

Demographics

There are approximately 240

ni-Vanuatu Ni-Vanuatu (informally abbreviated Ni-Van) is a large group of closely related Melanesian ethnic groups native to the island country of Vanuatu. As such, ''Ni-Vanuatu'' are a mixed ethnolinguistic group with a shared ethnogenesis that speak a mu ...

inhabitants on Moso,2009 Census Summary release final
- Government of Vanuatu the majority in Tassirki village.

Economy

Fishing, subsistence agriculture and tourism make up the economy of Moso. People most frequently fish from the traditional outrigger canoes both during the day and night.

References

{{authority control Islands of Vanuatu Shefa Province