Hello Again from Cool Bananas
We had an uneventful sail between Vanuatu and New Caledonia. There was a notorious passage we had to come through just off New Caledonia which I had done much research to get wind and tides right for. We sailed through there at dawn, with the seas a slight roll, doing 10 knots!!
When Jenny arrived we headed to Isles of Pines. On the way we had a fantastic experience with some whales. We had stopped to watch them and they came up close to us. They hovered for quite a while until we decided they were getting a little too curious. Such huge creatures!!
The water is a little bracing to get into, (25 deg.), but we brave it a few times to make sure Jenny got the New Caledonian snorkelling experience. The water was soo clear. We saw turtles above the water and turtles below.
To get the lay of the land we hitch hiked around the island. Yes - what we tell our children not to do - we did!! We were picked up by fantastically friendly people, some with little English, but we got there. So much fun.
On the way back we stopped at Amedee Lighthouse, which Daryl and I last visited 20 years ago. The snorkelling there was great, a reserve, so the fish were generally big. Met some cruisers there, got invited to a birthday celebration, and have spent time with them since, which has been nice.
We are feeling well travelled when we invite a cruising couple, that anchored in a bay with us, over for a drink and then establish we last saw them in Antigua!!! It is a small world. They are also from Hamilton but were on a friend's boat in Antigua and now cruising on their own. It was like a reunion.
We have to say that things here are expensive. They have a 40% sales tax added to everything. A loaf of 'Natures Fresh' bread is $13, steak is over $40 a kilo, scallops $90 a kilo at the fish market, asparagus $50 a kilo. Needless to say we are not eating those particular foods and have found cheaper alternatives. The local baguettes are always good and the pastries a cheap lunch.
I gave myself a haircut yesterday. Oh how I miss my own hairdresser!! I braved it and had a cut in Vanuatu, but the language barrier here was a little great to risk it. Daryl thinks it looks fine, but I can imagine when my hairdresser will say when I get home.
We have had a bit of time in Noumea. I've enjoyed people watching - the French - they have such a 'stylie' way of dressing!!! Their clothes, fabrics, shoes are so…. classy.
We have had a change in our original plan. We have decided to stay on in New Caledonia, not go to Australia, and then sail back to NZ in mid November. That way we can continue to enjoy New Caledonia and hopefully get out to some of the outer islands which we missed coming in because we came in later than first planned.
Best Wishes
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