After two days of sailing we finally arrived at Noumea, New Caledonia. My first ever time visiting the South Pacific islands. These islands are part of France but at the moment they just went through a refrendum for independence which they just lost. They're hoping to try again in 18 months. The island was way too big to do in one day and unless you hired a car the only option for me as I don't drive was to explore the city and neighbouring areas such as Lemon beach and the national park. I explored the local market, walked about the town from the court of coconuts to china town and then back to the market. It was a very quiet Sunday. I loved the huge avacados in the market. It was the size of my head. They also sold filifili a fried dough with sprinkles of sugar similar to the doughnut. New Caledonia use the South Pacific Franc but happily accepts Aussie and American dollars. The cost of living on the island is more expensive which was common to island life. Average wage is $10 per hour. So it was pretty expensive to buy anything. I also noticed local people peeing on the streets against walls. Then we went past Anse Vata and up to Ouen Toro national park which had 2 cannons used by the Austalians during the Pacific war. Great views from the top. After exploring Noumea we set off for the next island. Lifou is a lot more rustic. It was definitely smaller and a lot less busier than the main island. Local people relied on the tourist dollars to survive. I climbed up to the highest part of the island which wasn't very high, to visit the tiny church. The walk was an easy 20 minutes but slightly uphill. I met a lovely dog. Then it was back down to the beaches. Lifoe did have wonderful beaches. Jinak bay was a snorkling paradise but have been known to have sharks. The main beach was white sand and close to the cliffs which was great for snorkelling. I swam in the blue ocean and I saw a guy on the beach point at something in the sea and when I looked it was a turtle. It swam right for me and then through my legs and then swam away. Thirty minutes later the turtle came back for another visit. After that exciting morning I headed back to the ship.
My favourite New Caledonian island was definitely the Isle of Pines. What a wonderful little island. On our way there by boat we spotted a few dolphins which was a bonus. The island was small enough for just one village with it's 1000 inhabitants. Vao village had a bank, post office, schools, church and a town hall with a Mayor. The island is filled with beautiful pine trees of all sizes. We visited a cultural exhibition explaining the different types of tribes they have in New Caledonia. There are many tribes and local dialects. Then we visited the old penal colony where all the so called prisoners from France would have been shipped to. Eventually they had the amnesty and was given some land. The beaches were wonderful. The powdery white sand and clear blue waters was simply gorgeous. On the other side of the beach there were snorkelling sites because of the mini islands around called baskets where the fish are plentiful. The remnants of the last hurricane and cyclone were still apparent here with lots of uprooted trees lining some parts of the beach. We also stopped at St Joseph's Bay where the locals still fish in dug out canoes. The islanders houses are right on the beach and their garden is the ocean. I met some of the children and they were just left on their own playing by the beach. They found a dead bird and chased me around with it. Then we headed to St Maurice's Bay where we saw their circle of totem poles that were very striking. Then we made our way back to the beautiful beach where I spent the next few hours swimming and snorkelling.
