Exploring the islands around Grand Terre

We spent a few days in the marina in Noumea, a short day trip out to Ile Nge for some snorkeling, and then headed out north into the lagoon for some exploration!

New Caledonia is made up from a number of islands; Grand Terre being the large long one, surrounded by a fringing reef and a huge lagoon. Within the lagoon sailing is on mostly flat water, with hundreds of islands to anchor off. Mostly uninhabited. This is what we came for.

The weather wasn’t brilliant; with some windy days meaning snorkeling was tricky, but we did get some great island time.

Towing the kids behind the dinghies, lots of swimming, exploring on kayaks, cooking on the beach and exploring on land.

Had a short surf at Passe de Vincent on the reef break which was a bit unnerving, seeing the coral so close below. Not that I caught any waves, but it was good to get in the water.

We caught a spanish mackerel, towing a lure behind the boat. Santana caught two, which we barbequed on the back of Songline one evening- beautiful, fresh delicious fish.

Ile Moro was a lovely protected anchorage, where we tucked behind the island for a couple of nights. Calm water in the morning, turtles swimming around the boat, and lots of water fun.

Next on to Tenia (via Passe de Vincent); another lovely spot but a little rolly at night. The islands are small enough to walk around in a few minutes. Lots of clean white sand. Water not that warm yet – but it is just coming out of winter here and we are not quite in the tropics yet … by a tiny smidge. Still, plenty warm enough for swimming and snorkeling.

Wind started to pick up so we moved around to the Bay de Moustiques on Ile Ducos. Silty water, much bigger islands covered in trees and scrub, closer to the main land. Managed a kite surf! And a long walk up the hill overlooking the anchorage, through scrub and thorns. Great views from the top looking out across the lagoon and reef.

After two (three?) nights in Bay de Moustiques, we moved over to a calm spot in the lee of Presqu’ile de Uitoe. The Santana kids (Tas and Sierra) were back at school in Australia for a week [to stay registered]. Tilly managing to swim 10m unaided now… on the brink of being a “proper” swimmer!

Next stop was Ilot Mbe Kouen; a tiny idyllic spot, a typical “tropical desert island” with a few scrubs on. Not many coconut trees yet; we’re not quite far enough north. The usual casurina (sp?) and tropical vegetation ashore. Lots of dead bleached white coral on the beach to play with. Not great snorkeling… perhaps we’ll get that when we head further south into the “outer lagoon”. Though for Tilly it’s all fantastically exciting.

Then, back to Noumea on Friday. We didn’t really need to stop in for anything; we have weeks worth of water and months of [non-perishable] food, but as we’re going past, and Santana had to drop in to pick up the kids, we figured it was worth a stop. There’s always another spare part to get (just in case), and always fresh fruit and veg to top up on.

Our friends on Jacana were also still in the marina; they have decided not to explore any more of New Caledonia this time, or Vanuatu, but instead head straight on to Fiji, and were departing on Monday morning. Tilly had made good friends with their 8 yr old boy Sasha and we wanted to give them some more play time together. We hope to see them again in Fiji.

And it’s another excuse for a proper shower and a meal out at a restaurant!

On Sunday we took the bus out to the Tjibao Cultural Centre, a museum/exhibition centre celebrating local Kanak culture. The architecture was from the same stable as the Pompidou centre in Paris, and the local art, carvings, totem poles and Pacific islander genesis stories were fascinating.

We didn’t get very far up the east coast, but really to see it all we’d need to spend the whole season just in New Caledonia! We also want to explore the more open southern lagoon and try to see more whales, and the coral and fish are supposed to be better further away from the mainland.