A Handy Guide to Vanuatu Trivia Quiz

Answer: Coral Sea

The archipelago of islands that make up the nation of Vanuatu is located approximately 1,750 km (1,100 miles) east of Australia in the South Pacific Ocean. The area of water between the two countries is referred to as the Coral Sea and gets its name because of the large number of coral reefs located within it. In particular the Great Barrier Reef, the largest coral reef system in the world, is found in the Coral Sea.

The sea also gave its name to the Battle of the Coral Sea, a significant naval battle of the Second World War in which the allied forces of the USA and Australia fought against Japan.

The Tasman Sea lies between Australia and New Zealand; the Timor Sea is located off the North-West coast of Australia; and the Arafura Sea lies between Australia and the island of New Guinea. The picture clue shows some underwater coral.

Answer: 'Land' or 'home'

'Vanua' is the word for 'land' or 'home' in several Austronesian languages and was a patriotic choice of derivation for the name of the new country following independence. The name 'Vanuatu' is difficult to precisely translate into English, but several attempts include: 'Land Forever', 'Our Land' and 'Abiding Land'.

Vanuatu has three official languages - English, French and Bislama (a creole language). However, the people of Vanuatu speak over one hundred different local languages, with many individual islands having their own language or dialect. This makes Vanuatu one of the most diverse countries in the world when considering the number of languages per head of population.

The picture clue of some 'land' is actually a photograph of a National Park in Oregon, USA - so please don't go all the way to Vanuatu in search of this scene!

Answer: Espiritu Santo

The island of Espiritu Santo has an area of about 4,000 square kilometres (1,500 square miles) and as such is the largest of Vanuatu's eighty odd islands. The local economy of the island is generally dependent on subsistence farming but income is also derived from tourism, farming copra and cacao, and fishing. The largest settlement on the island is the town of Luganville, which is also the capital of Sanmo province. Mount Tabwemasana, the highest point in Vanuatu, is also located on Espiritu Santo.

The name Espiritu Santo is Spanish and translates into English as 'Holy Spirit'. In Christian theology, the Holy Spirit is one of the three entities of God that make up the Holy Trinity and is often depicted as a white dove (hence the picture clue). The term 'pneumatology' is applied to the study of both the person and works of the Holy Spirit.

Pulmones, aliento and aire are the respective Spanish words for lungs, breath and air. The Greek prefix 'pneumo' means breath in English and is also used to relate to the lungs or the presence of air.

Answer: Taro

Lap lap is an interesting dish that is prepared and cooked in the leaves of banana plants. Layers of taro paste and coconut milk are spread onto the banana leaf before the chosen meat is added and the whole thing is wrapped up. The lap lap is then cooked in an underground rock oven, a process that also adds to the distinct flavour of the dish.

Although the term 'taro' can be applied to the corms or tubers of several plants of the Araceae family, it is generally used to refer specifically to Colocasia esculenta - a tropical plant with large leaves that is native to India and south-east Asia.

The picture clue shows some taro roots. Radishes belong to the Brassicaceae family; parsnips are closely related to carrots; and potato plants are native to the Americas.

Answer: Shepherd Islands

Shefa Province is made up of the islands of south-central Vanuatu. Like all of Vanuatu's provinces, its name comes from the letters of the names of the larger islands within it; in this case the 'Sh' of the Shepherd Islands and the 'efa' of the island of Efate. Efate is home to Vanuatu's capital city, Port Vila.

The Shepherd Islands consist of around ten main named islands, with Emae and Tongoa being the largest and are among the few islands accessible by air. The other islands can be accessed by boat, although many do not have permanent accommodation for tourists and anyone venturing out there would need to stay with a local family. Despite the name (and the picture clue), sheep farming is not actually an industry practiced on the Shepherd Islands.

The Line Islands are in the central Pacific Ocean and are shared between Kiribati and the USA. The Goat Islands and Green Islands are in Jamaica and Papua New Guinea respectively, although there are many islands called 'Goat Island' or 'Green Island' located around the world.

Answer: New Hebrides

Captain James Cook first visited the archipelago now known as Vanuatu in 1774 and named it after the Hebrides, a chain of islands in western Scotland. The name survived right up until Vanuatu became an independent nation in 1980. Cook was however not the first European to visit Vanuatu - it had previously been 'discovered' by a Spanish expedition led by Fernandes de Queirós, in 1606, and then again by the Frenchman, Louis de Bougainville, in 1768.

European influence in Vanuatu has only affected the country's relatively modern history. The islands are believed to have been populated for thousands of years by Melanesian peoples, who probably originally migrated to the area from south-east Asia. Melanesia is the term used to refer to the area of Oceania comprising of Papua New Guinea, the Solomon Islands, Fiji and Vanuatu.

As can be seen on the map in the picture clue, the Banks Islands and Torres Islands are both small archipelagos in northern Vanuatu. New Caledonia is the name for a nearby island group that remains a 'special collectivity' of France.

Answer: White-bellied honeyeater

An alternative name for the white-bellied honeyeater is New Hebrides honeyeater. This then probably gives away the fact that the bird is found in the New Hebrides, now known as Vanuatu. The term 'endemic' means that these birds can only be found in the wild in Vanuatu.

However, the white-bellied honeyeater is just one species of a family that is found throughout Australia, New Zealand, New Guinea and other smaller Pacific Ocean island nations, such as Vanuatu. In general, honeyeaters are small to medium sized birds that feed on a combination of nectar (hence the name), fruit, and small insects. Many of these birds also have the distinctive slender beak that is an ideal tool for sucking nectar out of flowers.

As the range of the white-bellied honeyeater is restricted to the relatively 'off the beaten track' islands of Vanuatu, it has not been subject to much scientific study. The picture clue is in fact a photograph of its close relative, the New Holland honeyeater. Hummingbirds are only found in the Americas; the red-billed dwarf hornbill is native to Africa; and the Hoatzin is native to South America and also known as a stinkbird.

Answer: True

Vanuatu is located approximately 1,750 km (1,100 miles) east of Australia in the South Pacific Ocean. Therefore, as shown in the picture clue, Vanuatu is also located near the boundary between the Pacific and Australian (or Indo-Australian) tectonic plates. It is part of the 'ring of fire', the area of high seismic activity that surrounds the Pacific Ocean. The country was hit by around five earthquakes that exceeded 6.0 on the Richter scale in 2014. This compared to just two in 2013 but around ten in 2012.

In addition to the threat of earthquakes, Vanuatu is also home to a range of active volcanoes, both on land and under the surrounding water. This is not surprising given that the archipelago consists of islands of volcanic origin.

Answer: Connecticut

Although there is a distance of around 1,300 kilometres (or 800 miles) between the most northerly and southerly islands of Vanuatu, the total land area of the country amounts to only about 12,200 square kilometres (or 4,700 square miles). The three largest islands (Espiritu Santo, Malakula and Efate) account for just over half of the land area.

Connecticut has a total land area of around 12,500 square kilometres (4,800 square miles) making it pretty similar in size to Vanuatu. Maryland, Hawaii and Rhode Island have land areas of 25,100, 16,600 and 2,700 square kilometres (9,700, 6,400 and 1,000 square miles) respectively.

The picture clue shows some nutmeg - Connecticut is often known as the 'Nutmeg State' although the official state nickname is actually the 'Constitution State'.

Answer: Prince Philip

The Prince Philip Movement probably developed on Tanna, a small island in the Tafea province of Vanuatu, either before or around the time of Prince Philip's official visits to Vanuatu (then known as the New Hebrides) in the early 1970s. 'Cargo cult' is a general term used for some of the religious beliefs held by generally small groups of Melanesian people.

It is thought that these ni-Vanuatu (the term used for the people of Vanuatu) became so keen on Prince Philip because his position as the husband of Queen Elizabeth II matched their stories of the son of a spirit who married a powerful woman. Although Prince Philip's views on the Prince Philip Movement are not known, he did send its members several signed photographs of himself!

The picture clue shows a view across Edinburgh, the capital city of Scotland. Prince Philip is also known as the Duke of Edinburgh. Princes Andrew and Edward are Prince Philip and Queen Elizabeth II's two younger sons. Prince Harry is their grandson, the son of Prince Charles and the late Diana, Princess of Wales.