Having arrived in Noumea, we took the opportunity to stay a few nights in the marina for a decent rest and the convenience of having everything so much more easily accessible. Also, very importantly, Bill could give the boat a really good hose down on the dock, which the boat sorely needed. We are forever amazed at how dirty the boat gets despite living on the ocean in relatively unpopulated areas.
So we were back in a French speaking Pacific island, where the same currency is used as in French Polynesia, something I’d overlooked when I fastidiously used up the last few pacific francs in Raiatea prior to leaving. It was a treat to buy baguettes & chocolate croissants again, as well as visit the expansive deli section full of cheeses & charcuterie in the large supermarkets! Very conveniently, the fresh market & superb fish market was right adjacent to the marina allowing for very easy reprovisioning. Not at Fiji prices sadly, but you can’t have it all.
Having walked around the town & local vicinity, there was definitely a very French expat feel to Noumea but as I remember from our last visit 16years ago, the place seemed to lack soul. The streets were relatively empty, even the central park area was pretty deserted. I guess after the civil unrest a year ago, the tourist industry has probably significantly waned, but there were not even many locals. The exception was the markets however, which were thriving and full of local life & activity.
We visited the central museum which gave some interesting historical perspective, although the information hadn’t been updated since the mid-70s! Nevertheless, it portrayed the longstanding complex conflict between the indigenous, Melanesian and south East Asian immigrants as well as the French colonial communities.
We were anxious to get out to the small islands in the lagoon, although it continued to blow hard limiting our options. We spent a day & night on a mooring at Ile Signal – a pretty island in a marine park with some good snorkelling within swimming range of the boat. We were delighted to find many turtles, often just resting amongst the coral, completely unfazed by our presence. I had often lamented to Bill our lack of reptilian interactions whilst in the Pacific, but whilst in New Caledonia we were not disappointed.
After a windy night, we retreated to Baie Maa, which was well protected from the breezy weather. We walked the beach, but were not tempted to swim as the water was a little murky being in a mangrove area. I was also very much aware that there have been several shark attacks in New Caledonia which, for its small population of 270,000, has one of the highest rates of shark attacks per capita in the world! I guess it’s not really that different than Australia, but it made me only want to swim in the clear water off the islands in the lagoon.
Some of our fellow cruisers heading to Australia had decided to leave that week – actually on my birthday, the 10th October. Whether Bill was tempted or not, I’m not sure, but I had steadfastly refused to embark on a passage on my birthday! So instead, despite the wind, we sought another small island: Ile Ngebu, to celebrate one more year gone by. Bill made me a birthday breakfast of smoked salmon & scrambled eggs, washed down by a lovely glass of champagne – such a treat!
Again, after a blustery night with gusts over 30 knots, we headed to a very pretty anchorage called Ile Bailly south of Noumea which offered good protection from the wind and splendid views of Mont Dore in the background. We thought this might be a good place from which to head to the small isles in the southern lagoon, but our plans were thwarted yet again by the fickle weather. It appeared as if a weather window to head to Australia might be opening up within a few days – so, another change of plan & we headed to Ile Maître, just a few miles off Noumea. Despite its proximity to the mainland & the fact that the island was home to “Double Tree by Hilton Noumea Ile Maître Resort” with a string of bures along the foreshore, it was a really good spot with turtles galore!
Decision time was looming. We felt that a fairly imminent departure looked best, although the Pacific rally routers suggested departure on a Friday, 3 days later. This happened to be the day after a rally social event on the Thursday night, which would have been great as we seem to have missed them all to date. We deliberated long & hard and contrary to my long established belief of never giving up a free drink, we still felt that the weather looked best for a Thursday departure with strong winds initially, which settled reasonably quickly to steady SE trades.
And so after the departure formalities were completed, we headed off in a brisk ESE wind on the 792nm passage to Bundaberg, leaving New Caledonia behind us. We certainly hadn’t done the cruising grounds justice, but the weather precluded much exploration of the lagoon. Perhaps we’ll return, after all New Caledonia is the nearest Pacific island to Australia.