We couldn’t get enough when we came across Daniel Cooke’s photographs uploaded to his Instagram page. Incredibly breathtaking to say the least, last week we were able to chat with Daniel regarding his life for the past year and a half, when his family packed up their home in Orange, and moved to Sulphur Bay, Vanuatu.

Daniel explains, It was challenging at first but we have grown accustomed to the food and climate and lifestyle. We live in what in Australia would be called a tin shed but in this context it's pretty flash (though a bit hot in summer). We are situated in the slopes of Mt Yasur Volcano. It has been erupting continuously. The sky glows an ethereal red at night behind our house. The shock waves from the explosions cause our tin house to rattle and the curtains to blow in. It is a curious sensation sitting on our pit toilet when the shock wave causes a puff of air to come up out of the hole!

As a botanical watercolour Artist, I am fascinated (and daunted) by the caleidoscopic array of colourful plants here. Whilst I do still crack open the paints every now and then and am itching to paint, I’ve found the camera to be a great creative outlet. I particularly like to capture natural portraits in black and white as well as aspects of the traditional culture.

Most of the photos are taken on my phones Pixel two and three. I also have a Moment tele lens that I use sporadically. The volcanic ash and salt air make for a very harsh environment on camera gear, so I opted to leave my SLR and lenses at home. It's also a lot less conspicuous. As they say, 'the best camera is the one you have got with you!’

Our main role has been to help and encourage the local Presbyterian church in Sulphur Bay. It has been challenging and energizing to learn two new languages and to try to communicate the message of God's love for people from every tribe and language into a different culture and worldview than my own.

Sulphur Bay is famous for being the birth place of the John Frum cargo cult. Their belief centres around the enigmatic 'John Frum' who will one day return and bring with him all the trappings of Western civilization including education, trucks and iceboxes (refrigerators).

The main overarching framework for all of life here, though, is kastom. This encompasses every aspect of life from making rain come or go away, to who can officially harvest the first yam of the season, to who can dig a grave.

Needless to say, our involvement in Sulphur Bay is a tremendous privilege and we are gently and respectfully endeavouring to do more good than harm! Jen has been teaching our kids at home but they also go to the local school with their many friends. Jen has had the opportunity to train the local teachers as well.

Life in the village is a very communal affair, which means there are lots of celebrations and community events. It also means that your business is everyone's business. In the last month or so we have participated in a couple of circumcision ceremonies, a first ‘sick moon’ (period) for the chief's daughter, two deds (funerals) and a kastom marriage.

These all involve the exchange of copious amounts of woven mats, yams, kava and several unfortunate pigs. This is followed by a feast of laplap made of mashed root vegetables wrapped in leaves and cooked under hot rocks with the aforementioned pigs. The men then go to the nakamal (meeting place) and drink kava which they have chewed, spat, and squeezed into shared coconut shells.

Vanuatu is one of just twelve countries to have avoided Covid19. In the early days I spent a lot of time raising awareness about practising good hygiene and informing people of the latest developments. Being such a communal society and not having the luxury of social distancing, viruses can spread rapidly. Sharing kava, and spit, a case in point!

At times it can be quite confronting with death, sickness and conflict being regular parts of life. It can also be confusing due to miscommunication and conflicting expectations when our differing worldviews collide. For example, it's easier for our friends to say 'yes' when they really mean 'no' so as not to cause offence. This can be problematic if we are depending on someone to pick us up or when planning any activities.

There are so many things to love about the people and lifestyle here.”

You can find more of Daniels photographs on Instagram at ‘Danielcookeart’