Blogs from New Caledonia, Oceania - page 19

Sailing back to New Caledonia - it was great to return to this wonderful country on 'Moet', this time with 2 children with us. We have been living on board and travelling by yacht for almost 9 years now in the Pacific, and feel we could spend a lifetime here and enjoy the place and the people as much as we do now. From Tanna in Vanuatu to Noumea was a fast trip for us, 270 miles in 50 hours. It was great just to have a short passage after the two long ones. Dylan couldn't believe how quickly we saw land again! Some dolphins came to greet us on our way in. Flipping, spinning and diving under the bow, welcoming us into the lagoon. We saw them again a week later in exactly the same ... read more

EN FRANCAIS PLUS BAS MORE PHOTOS HERE As soon as we set foot in Jean's place in Noumea, we were off again to party. Jean's girlfriend is a couples dancing aficionada and we hopped all evening from rock'n roll to swing, salsa, waltz, tango and whatever else, genuinely undisturbed by our total ignorance of the conventional steps, and fully enjoying making total fools of ourselves on the dance floor. Sunday was as the Lord had intended it to be: a day for resting, napping, uploading photos, eating croissants at 3pm and doing nothing. Well, yes, we did pack for the mystery trip to a mystery island that Chris had arranged, and quite efficiently at that: 7 bags of all sizes for 3 days and 2 people (for the record, I travel for one year with one ... read more

The colours of this place are amazing! The finest whitest sand and some of the bluest seas we have seen in the Pacific. Visited New Cal in 2003 and going back in September 2008 for a few months of cruising, swimming, surfing, kiting and swinging happily at anchor. Things I loved about New Caledonia: - buying warm crossiants from the market and having a big bowl of chocolat chaud - surfing the reef breaks - one time a pod of dolphins joined me on the wave! - hiking from one side of Grand Terre to the other - cycling around Isle of Pines - sailing from motu to motu and in Bay du Prony - hanging out with crazy local rodeo champ Tino who brought us big beautiful lobster direct to our boat in the morning ... read more

New Friends The ship is beginning to feel like a very small village. Faces are now familiar and I’m starting to pair the names and faces together. Yesterday at lunch I sat next to Len from …….. Bridgeport!. From the “can you bite off your nose to spite your face” notebook; Joy from Australia did not think she needed a visa for New Guinea, cost in Australia, $25. The government changed the rules and she was required to get one on board at a cost of $104. She took umbrage at this rip off and decided to leave the cruise at New Caledonia and fly home to Australia at a cost of over $1,000 and leaving her friend behind. Standing on principle is fine but I would have chosen a more important and less costly principle. ... read more

The first Sea Day. Today was our first full day at sea and there was just too much to do. Enjoyed breakfast at 7:00, then finished yesterdays blog and welcomed the sunshine, our first since last Friday. Then it was a little ironing. The first of our WWII lectures provided the background for war in the Pacific. The lecturers are military historians well versed in both sides of the conflict. Next I joined the Cruise Critics Meet and Greet. Unlike past M&G, where champagne or coffee and tea and cookies were served and the members interacted, this was more of a Q&A with the Hotel Director, the Culinary Supervisor and the head of Guest Services on the grill. Instead mingling, the time was spent criticizing everything from the boarding process to pancakes at breakfast. Single and ... read more