So, this was our triumphal return to the waters of the South Pacific. Five years ago we made it to the magical Loyalty Islands of French Polynesia, in the eastern SP, and this time were were heading to New Caledonia in the western SP and the Society Islands off its north coast.
Both huge luxuries and privileges, to be able to get this far from home, in good nick, and see some very far flung turquoise wonderlands.
H and I had 4 days in Japan on the way out, definitely worth doing, from the neon of Tokyo to the older slower vibe of Kyoto.
Slightly surreal to then meet Janine and Ross (who flew via Melbourne) in Noumea, the capital of New Callie. Broad sunshine, palm trees, flipflops and big smiles all round.
We piled off to the marina to find our boat home for the next two weeks. Mr H itching with excitement as birthday surprise No.1 was immediately visible – he had designed, ordered, shipped and sorted the placement of Cambridge blue and white sheep all over the catamaran. Plus had arranged for the boat to be renamed the Sheepy NouNou (his nickname for me), clearing this with the boat company and half the the maritime world. What a top effort, although yes, we have been stared at by the few other boats out and about as the sheep are definitely out and proud….
Next stop was the supermarket. One large trolley packed high with fresh food and some booze was an eye watering £500. Makes Waitrose look like Lidl on super discount day. And as we failed to get a taxi, lucky J & I set off to wheel the trolley back to the boat, ice melting, across several road junctions, hunting for elusive dropped kerbs, much to the amusement of the laughing locals…
And there have inevitably been a few ‘moments’. Notably the first piece of sea life I saw from the boat being a HUGE sea snake of pythonic proportions. Swiftly followed by the 7 hungry sharks thrashing at our back ladder, as we threw the fish guts from our first catch back into the water. And the smaller striped water snakes that also go on land, as I discovered by very nearly treading on one, while looking for coral. As well as the black thing that landed on the boat one night when we were having drinks and I had my back to the water. Shouts of ‘what the hell’s that’ as something unknown (it turned out to be a large sea bird) flapped right by me, were not entirely reassuring..
But the past 2 weeks have taken us to some stunning spots. Where the waters are ten shades of turquoise brilliance. Where we can collect sand dollars (amazing shells) while parrotfish and the odd turtle swim by.
Where the low lying Islands have been nicknamed by us ‘two eyebrows and a tache’ because that’s exactly what they look like. Where there are precisely no restaurants or shops once you leave the main island, so the isolation, privacy and sense of adventure still outweigh the resulting need to ration the baguettes and biscuits…
And (as I wrote this) we are now only a week into the trip. The birthday has been and gone majestically (see other blog entry!) I’m scribbling this on our night sail over to Lifou, allegedly the most beautiful of the three Loyalty Islands. J and R have for a few years said ‘yes, I’d love to sail at night, looking at the stars’. I think the walloping smack of a 16 hour pitch black high sea sail, rolling in gusting winds, on sleep rotation so someone is always up and watching for any stray container ships, has changed their minds!
But at least Ross has caught fish on this trip – our last 2 weeks in the South Pacific involved a lot of chasing birds in the hope they might be eating fish – to no avail. This time, Ross was the fisher king – thank god!
Three days later…
Lifou is truly a stunner. We were mostly hoping to see the Kanak people, different tribes in different areas, each of whom would apparently require a ‘greeting gift’ to be presented to their Chief to enable us to enter their turf.
Not surprisingly they weren’t exactly waiting with bones through their noses, but the custom of presenting a gift is definitely alive and kicking. With the important bit being what you say, so I did the first gift handover and burble in French and J did the second. A pack of Italian pulses, some wasabi peas, a butternut squash, a London tourist sights tea towel and the obligatory 1000 currency note allowed us to wander round, snorkel and not be barbecued for their dinner, perfectly.
The first Village was in a stunning tiny bay, with a large tree trunk with handholds as the way to the foot of the 150 steps up to the top. Luckily, modernity has crept in, and there is also now a concrete slab to crawl up on from your dinghy.. And the second involved weaving through the reef to the spotless beach, and a hunt for exactly which ‘house with the red roof’ the Chief lived in…
And while there are houses, there are still may little tiki huts too, still in use. Cuuuuute. They go well with the palm trees, I think.
We are now on the, probably 22 hour, sail back to the southern lagoon of New Callie, en route to Isle des Pins, described as ‘a tranquil paradise of turquoise bays, white sand beaches and tropical vegetation’. We’ve learned our lesson of having fish for dinner on the sail out, tonight’s offering is a more stomach settling veggie pasta bake. Good job that J is a top cook, I just get to do a lot of clearing up.
Two days later….
Isle des Pins was a stunner, perfect sand, a wide curving bay, 2 small ‘magasins’ where we could top up our baguette collection and even snaffle an ice cream to eat, as we wandered back past the ruins of the former French colony prison. And a hotel with our second bit of WiFi, so we could send a few annoying photos of turquoise paradise back to Blighty.
All interspersed with some great nights on the boat, eating, drinking, hanging out in the nets and sucking up some amazing sunsets…
Last two days now, heading for what we calling ‘the earlobe’, what should be a gorgeous little island near the tache and eyebrows isles. I can hear Ross knocking up ham, eggs and beans for brunch, H fiddling with the sails and J selecting the right bit of baguette from the freezer… happy days.
Just arrived at the earlobe – actually Ile Kouare, another perfect little gem. Low lying, a few trees, whitey white sand and many shades of just lovely water, once we slid in, carefully avoiding the reef. Knocked out our second bbq on the beach, just us and not a soul or other boat in sight. The baguette shaped burgers were a triumph…
Just a shame another bloody snake writhed down the sand past our towels as we were eating, then another was spotted curled up in the tree trunk right next to us. Plus we then realized that the many 'slithery' shapes on the sand were the other 100 hissing brethren, just waiting to come and get us. Snake central, in paradise.
And as our penance for all this, it was pretty much a 2 day journey home. Via Tokyo again, where J&R stopped off for the night and we headed onwards, to get back and collect the cat (who peed in protest in her cat carrier in the car – there's a first), and then the dogs from the kennels. Who were more than delighted ot see us, you've got to love how much a dog loves their hoomans…
So, home now, trying to shake off the 11 hour time difference and get back into the swing of builders, fitters, joiners, cleaners, window men etc etc – all the joys of having moved home.
A huge thanks to Janine and Ross for coming all the way across the world to help me turn 50, and much love to you all – it was a very good trip but it's always nice to be back home x