Vanuatu: The land of world's first underwater post office
Whether we admit or not, we are all intrigued by the world that exists under the water. The reason is pretty much simple. Much of it still remains largely unknown to humans till date. by and we, the curious creatures of nature, are drawn towards mysteries. Inadvertently. Now, what if we told you that in a place called Vanuatu, there’s not just exotic marine flora and fauna, but also an underwater post office? Sounds exciting, isn’t it? Well, It’s not just an underwater post office, rather, the world’s first. For the unversed, Vanuatu is a republic situated in the South Pacific Ocean.
Vanuatu Post: World’s first underwater post office
In the world full of emails and WhatsApp messages, it seems that sending or receiving letters by post is quite a luxury. Now, imagine receiving a postcard all the way from the world’s first underwater post office. How thrilling is that!
Well, that’s exactly where the special post office of Vanuatu is located: Under the ocean in the island of Mele, almost 160 feet off the coast of mainland, more specifically inside the Hideaway Island marine sanctuary. However, the most exciting part is that, people need to either snorkel or scuba dive to reach the postcard to the post office.
Called Vanuatu Post, it was established on 26th May, 2003 and is 3 metres under water. Here, the postcards are made of waterproof plastic and are not stamped with ink. Instead, they are marked with an embossed special stamp (a special metal device marks each postcard without using ink, as ink can easily be smeared if it comes in contact with water) and are collected daily at 3pm, before being delivered both locally and globally.
Another fun fact about the world’s first underwater post office is that it is only open for business when a flag is flown at its surface.
Interestingly, inspired by Vanuatu Post, three other places in the world now also have underwater post offices: Susami in Japan, Risor in Norway and Pulau Layang-Layang in Malaysia.
Where on earth is Vanuatu?
As already mentioned, Vanuatu is located in the South Pacific Ocean. The island country is towards the east coast of northern Australia and west of Fiji. The nation is comprised of over 80 tropical islands and almost 280,000 people call it their home.
The islands that make up Vanuatu are either mountainous or covered by tropical rainforests. However, the country’s main attraction is Mount Yasur on the Tanna Island, that is currently one of the world’s most accessible active volcanoes. In fact, half of Vanuatu’s islands were formed by volcanic activity throughout history. Not to forget, it is famous for its many tropical beaches.
Finding Vanuatu
Are you wondering, who was the first to discover Vanuatu? The answer is Melanesian people who arrived there as early as 550 BC. Now, fast forward to 1606 AD, the time when it was first brought to limelight by Portuguese navigator Fernandes de Queiros who arrived on the country’s largest island Espiritu Santo and claimed it as part of Spain occupied Portugal. He even named it La Australia del Espiritu Santo.
It wasn’t until 1774 that Vanuatu was globally recognised, when British explorer James Cook put it on the world map. In fact, he had proposed the name New Hebrides.
Towards the late 19th century, both Britain and France established colonies on the island country, and ruled it as a condominium for most part of the 20th century, until Vanuatu became an independent republic in 1980. The name Vanuatu is a reflection of its independent status and is derived from two words, ‘vanua’ meaning 'land or home' and ‘tu’ meaning ‘to stand.’