Vanuatu (Million Dollar Point)
Million Dollar point on the island of Espiritu Santo is a unique dive with a very different kind of reef to experience. Vanuatu was a staging area for the US offensive in the south Pacific during World War 2. At the end of the war a priority was given to getting troops home, and there simply wasn't room on the ships to get the millions of dollars worth of equipment on board. The American Navy decided for whatever reason that throwing everything that couldn't fit onto the ships into the ocean was a good solution. So Sea Bees constructed ramps into the ocean and proceeded to drive countless vehicles including jeeps, trucks, tractors, bulldozers, etc into the ocean. They also used barges to dump countless crates of objects from weapons, uniforms, cases of coca cola, and many other things, and when they were all done dumping supplies into the ocean, they sank the barges too. That's how million dollar point got its name, from the millions of dollars worth of equipment dumped into the ocean there.
Million dollar point is done as a shore dive and is also relatively shallow and within recreational dive limits. Some areas are also shallow enough for snorkelers to enjoy. You can make numerous dives exploring the massive amount of vehicles and objects left behind and still not see everything. The man made reef attracts a fair amount of sea life, and the beach at the dive site is a nice sandy beach that is great for relaxing and swimming during your surface interval. There are multiple dive operations that dive million dollar point. It's a unique dive site with a unique history, and it's a lot of fun to explore.
