Leaving Tanna today was not an easy one. As this was our last and biggest “away from Western civilisation” adventure, we were all a little sad to leave in one way or another.

The boys certainly made the most of their time here. And when they came home the other night with a little bird they had caught, and I suddenly found myself confronted with the expectation that I should cook it, I realised I might have to broaden my understanding of what constitutes an acceptable protein source.

Nino was more than happy to pluck its feathers, but I have to admit, seeing this poor little thing frying in the pan was a rather chilling experience.

To my surprise, they all eagerly tried it — and apparently the outer parts were quite tasty. “Like really good chicken,” they declared. I must have messed up somewhere along the way, though, because the rest apparently tasted far too bitter. So much for my newly discovered culinary talent.

Before we left, Joe and I quickly went back to the village to say our goodbyes. By lunchtime, we had hoisted anchor and left what had become a rather wavy anchorage over the last couple of days.

Luckily, the waves had dropped from around 3.5 metres to just over 2 metres, and with very little wind, we spent the first few hours motoring. Around 8pm, we were finally able to get the sails up, and since then we’ve been sailing nicely — albeit a little bumpy and hard on the wind.

The trip to Nouméa should hopefully be relatively short and uneventful. If all goes according to plan, we should arrive Tuesday morning, making this a two-night passage and, quite literally, our return to Western civilisation.

But even though we’re looking forward to what comes next, the last week on Tanna will stay with all of us for a very, very long time. It was one of those rare experiences that you know you’ll still be talking about years from now.

And who knows — maybe one day the boys will find their way back here. I have a feeling Tanna isn’t quite finished with them yet.