17 Apr: Scenic flight around Noumea
After several early morning showers the weather brightened up and
the hope
of flying
with Jef
become a
reality!
We met him
at Magenta
airport
and
mounted a
small 5
seater
plane. We
took off
and spent
a
magical
30
minutes
flying
around the
coast at
Noumea and
out to the
coral reef
where we
saw a ship
wreck. We
also flew
around the
Amédé
lighthouse
which
stands
majestically
on a
beautiful
island
some 20
kms
or so
from
the
coast.
A
big
thank
you
to Jef
for
a
fabulous
flight!
We spent the rest of the morning in Noumea city centre buying new
trainers
for Sophie
(whose
feet
had
grown
2
sizes!)
and
flip-flops
for
Gaelle.
Then a
serious
look at a
pearl shop
(La maison
des
Perles)
to
hunt
down
Jenny's
long
awaited
birthday
and
Christmas
present!
After
lunch we
returned
to a pearl
shop in
Anse Vata
and
found
a
lovely
twin
aubergine
and green
pearl
pendant
for Jenny.
The sales
lady
was
very
pleasant
and taught
us a lot
about the
culture,
variety
and
quality of
Tahitian
pearls.
Did you
know that
a single
oyster
can
only
produce
up
to 3
pearls and
that each
pearl
takes two
years
to
make?
In
addition
the only
black
pearl in
the world
is the
Tahitian
pearl, but
when we
say black
its colour
can
vary from
aubergine, green,
petrol
blue,
grey,
black,
light blue
to cream. And t
he
nucleus of
each
Tahitian
pearl is
actually a
sphere of
Mexican
mother
of
pearl.
We tried to reserve the Tahiti Air pass for our future stay in
French
Polynesia
at a
couple of
travel
agents
without
success.
We
ended
up
treating
ourselves
to
ice-cream
to make up
for our
wasted
efforts!
We spent the evening with Jef and Hélène and after dinner
waved
goodbye to
Jef who
had to
leave for
Wallis for
work for a
week.
 |
 |
 |
| Jef taking us
for
a
scenic
flight |
The Amédé
lighthouse |
François
flying
the
plane |
18 Apr:
Sailing in
Noumea
This morning François and I returned our hire car and jogged back
to Jef and
Hélène's.
We cooled
off in
their
pool! Then
Hélène and
Jenny went
food
shopping,
before
preparing
our bags
and picnic
for
our
sailing
outing.
The wind was westerly, unusual for Noumea, so our captain
(Hélène)
decided to
take us to
a
nearby island
called
Ilot
Maître.
After
a problematic
exit from
the
marina, we
hoisted
the
sails
and
sailed
happily
with about
20 knots
of wind to
a buoy
just
off
the
island. We
ate a
picnic
lunch on
the deck
before
jumping
into the
water. The
sea was
choppy so
snorkelling
with the
kids
wasn't an
option.
Instead
the
children
played
with the
kayak
tied
to
the
boat!
Hélène
attempted
to row to
shore with
Juliette
and
Anatole,
but
quickly
abandoned
the idea
when they
kept
capsizing!
The return to the Marina was adventurous. The main sail's attach
broke and
we had to
fold the
sail away
and
continue
sailing
back to
the
marina
with
one
sail.
Then
when
we
tried
to
roll up
the
remaining
sail, to
motor into
the
marina,
the
mechanism
failed and
we had to
roll the
sail up
manually.
Fortunately
the motor
didn't
break
down! We
all had a
great time
at sea. A
big thank
you to our
captain,
Hélène.
 |
 |
 |
| Captain
Hélène departing
from the
Marina |
Sailing to
Ilot
Maître |
Tentative
expedition with
the
kayak! |
19 Apr: Noumea beach and Sarraméa
Jenny went out for an early morning run around the
bays followed
by a dip
in the
swimming
pool
whilst
everybody
else
was
still
sleeping. We
didn't
manage to
get down
to the
beach
before
11:30.
Gaelle
found a
dead
baby black
and yellow
stripped
snake,
called a
Tricot
Rayé on
the sands.
Juliette
found
a
dead
jellyfish
and all
the girls
found lots
of shells
covered
with
mother of
pearl. We
ate lunch
at teh
snack bar
of the
Meridian
Hotel. Lunch
was a bit
rushed
unfortunately
as we had
to
leave
Noumea
before
1:00 pm to
make it to
the
bungalow
we'd
reserved
for the
night in
La Foa
before
2:30 pm...
We arrived
only 10
minutes
late at
the bungalow,
unpacked
our
luggage and
set off to
explore
the area.
We chose
to go
inland
for
a swim
in
a river
rather
than head
for the
beach. We
drove up
to
Sarraméa
and walked
along a
muddy
track to
get to the
beautiful
swimming
hole
called
Trou
Feillet.
Unfortuntely
the river
was
already
in
the
shade,
but
François
and the
girls had
great fun
in
the
water
sliding
down the
rocks. The
lovely
green rolling pastures
around the
river
reminded
us of the
Jura
back
home...
Before returning to the bungalow we stopped off at the park in La
Foa to see
the giant
wooden
totem
statues
and the
kids used
up the
rest
of
their
energy in
the
playground.
In the
evening
we cooked
dinner in
the
bungalow's
kitchenette
and read
outside
on
the
terrace,
under the
stars, whilst
the girls
went to
sleep.
 |
 |
 |
| The swimming
hole
in
the
river called Trou
Feillet |
Sliding down
the
rock
slide
in
the
river |
The rolling
pastures
in
Sarraméa |
20 Apr: The west coast of New Caledonia
We headed up to Farino to the lookout point at the town hall. We
were very
warmly
welcomed
by the
town
hall's
staff and
even
offered
a
cup of
coffee.
There was
an
informative
display
about
flying
foxes
and
a fun
game
to
guess from
their
smell
fruits
and
flowers
eaten by
flying
foxes
.
Next we headed to Téremba Fort, built in the 1870's to house
prisoners
shipped
from
France.
The fort
has been
recently
restored
and
has a
stunning
situation
overlooking
the bay.
We climbed
the
watch
tower,
walked
into the
very
unluxurious
prison
cells (in
Australia
prisoners
had
hammocks
to
sleep
on,
but
here
only
wooden
planks!)
and walked
around the
town ruins
(post
office,
bakers,
the
governor's
house and
kitchen
and
workshops).
We ate
lunch on
picnic
tables
in
the old
kitchens
before
heading
further
north to
Bourail to
see
a rock
formation,
shaped
like a
man. We
scrambled
across
rocks
to
access
the
human
shaped rock
pillar,
from which
we had a
lovely
view of
Tortoise
Bay with
it's
backdrop
of
magnificent
tall, thin
and bent
pine
trees!
We then drove to Poé Beach, a 17 km beach sheltered by a
coral reef
and ideal
for
windsurfing!
The small
airport
was just
behind
the
beach
and
we
thought
of
Jef and
Hélène
who
fly up
here
sometimes
for dip!
What
luxury!
Our next destination was Montfaoué as we'd seen in the tourist
guide that
there is
an
impressive
collection
of ancient
stone
engravings
there. The
"secondary
road" was
more of a
dirt track
and
it
took us
a
lot
longer
than
anticipated
to reach
Montfaoué.
After
asking
several
locals how
to get to
the
engravings
and being
told to
find
a man
in a
house
with
a
blue
roof
next
to
the
school, we
ended
up
finding
Guillaume.
For 4000
CFP,
Guillaume
would take
us to see
the
engravings
on his
land. We
drove
another
4kms and
walked
through
water
bogged
fields
before
reaching
the rock
engravings.
Guillaume
related
that the
engravings
mainly
represented
the sun
and water,
the
important
elements
for his
Kanak
ancestors
and that
he could
find
each
drawing
in
the
nature. We
weren't
able to
get a
clear
answer
from him
however
when we
asked
which
river a
certain
water
drawing
represented... A
bit
mysterious
to us
Occidentals!
We spent
more time
accompanied
by
Guillaume
than
planned
and the
sun
was
already
setting
when we
drove back
down from
Montfaoué.
We still
a
long way
to
go to
get
to the
gîte
reserved
in the
Atéou
tribe. The
first half
of the
journey
was on the
main road
to Koné,
but the
second
half
was a
23km
long,
dirt
track
up
into
the
mountains.
A 4WD was
essential
as the
track had
recently
been
flooded
and there
were
boggy
and
rugged
sections.
There were
a couple
of
signposts
along
the
way,
but
nothing
towards
the end
and we
were
beginning
to lose
faith
of
ever
finding
the gîte!
We
eventually
arrived in
the dark
at
7:30
pm!
François
had been
to the
tourist
office in
La Foa
this
morning
to
phone
the
gîte
to
confirm
the
booking,
however
the old
couple
running
the gîte
apparently
thought we
had
cancelled
and
therefore
weren't
expecting
us!
The gîte was a small wooden chalet type building, with 8
mattresses
on the
floor.
They
kindly lent
us a few
sheets and
then
started
preparing
dinner for
us in
their
rustic
kitchen.
The toilet
and
shower
left a lot
to be
desired...
After an aperitif we'd brought with us, we tucked into a
delicious
meal of
curried
prawns,
rice and a
coleslaw
salad with
sweetcorn.
The
girls were
treated
to chicken
thighs
instead
of
prawns.
We
had 3
cats
and a
couple
of dogs
pestering
us for
scraps as
we ate in
a large
shelter, come
dining
room.
We finally settled down to a good night's sleep, pleased to have
discovered
today several
aspects of
the "real"
New
Caledonia.
 |
 |
 |
| The watch
tower
at
Fort
Téremba |
The human like
rock
at
Bourail |
Sophie looking
at
the
engravings
at
Montfaoué |
21 Apr: Voh and the north
After breakfast at the gîte in Atéou we left for the 50
minute
drive
back
down
to
the
coast.
The
views
of
the
mountains,
valleys
and
distinct
sea
were
spectacular.
We stopped
at the
town hall
in Voh to
get
directions for
the walk
up the
Kathépaïk
mountains
to view
the
famous
Voh
H
eart,
drawn
by
vegetation
in the
mangroves
in the
surrounding
plains.
The track
is
4WD
accessible
so we
decided to
drive half
the way
and walk
the rest.
We
could
see
the
famous
heart
quite well
from the
picnic
area 350
metres
up
the
mountain,
but it was
regrettably
not as
stunning
as
the
spectacular
photos
taken from
the air.
We ate a
picnic
lunch at
Voh,
before
beginning
the drive
north to
Koumac,
across the
island
to
the
east
and
on to
Hienghène.
We planned
to stop
off on the
way at
the
Tao waterfall.
Unfortunately,
as road
signs are
few
and
far
between in
the north,
we missed
the road
east and
arrived
52
kms
further
up
north
in
Poum! A
100 km
detour...
As
a
result
we
had no
time
to
stop at
the
waterfall
and
had to
drive
directly
to the
hotel
Hienghène
(Koulnoué,
a former
Club Med
hotel).
The
scenery
on
the
east of
the
mainland
is
beautiful
as the
road
follows
the coast
and
the
small
tribal
towns are
much more
rural than
on the
west
coast.
The
mountains
are close
to the
coast and
the
landscape
is
dotted
with
waterfalls
and
beautifully
clear
rivers. We
took the
barge
with
the
car
over
the
river
at
Ouaième;
the last
barge in
operation
on the
island.
Finally we
arrived in
Hienghène
with its
spectacular
black
spiky
rocks and
its famous
laying
hen.
We had reserved a traditional Malaysian hut, called a case, but
unfortunately
we had the
impression
to be
camping;
there was
no private
bathroom,
but a
nearby
shared toilet
and shower
block. We
consulted
our
e-mail
at
the
bar, sipping
our
welcome
cocktails,
and ate a
nice
buffet
dinner on
the
restaurant's
terrace.
When going to bed we found, shock horror, a large cockroach
in the
bed! That
decided
it; we
would ask
to change
the hut
for a
bungalow
with an
ensuite
bathroom
tomorrow!
It's the
same
price, so
why
deprive
ourselves
of modern
comforts!
 |
 |
 |
| The secondary
road
to
Atéou |
The Voh
Heart |
The coast
around
Voh |
 |
 |
 |
| The barge at
Ouaième |
The tradition
hut
at
Koulnoué
Hotel |
The girls
working
hard
in
the
hut! |
22 Apr: Hienghène
We moved room from the cockroach infested traditional hut to a
bungalow
(more like
Club Med
standards!).
Then we
set off to
swim in
the
water
hole
at
the Tao
waterfall.
After
paying a
200 CPF
entrance
fee
for
walking
through
somebody's
land, we
arrived at
the
spectacular
swimming
hole in
the river,
only 100
metres or
so from
the
sea.
We
swam
and
snorkelled
in the
river. It
was
atypical
as there
were
fresh
water
fish
near
the
surface in
the river
water and
salt
water
fish
in
the sea
water
only
2
metres
below
the
surface!
We ate
our
picnic
beside
the
river
and
fed
the
fish our
bread
crumbs.
We had an appointment at 2:00 pm to rent a kayak to paddle around
the Hienghène
Hen, so we
left the
waterfall
and
crossed
back
over
the
Ouaième
river in
the barge.
The kayak
tour
around the
hen and
its
surrounding
black
rocks and
mangroves
was fun!
We saw a
local
poisonous
snake
called a
Tricot
Rayé
soaking up
the sun on
a rock,
however
we
were
not
fortunate
enough
to
spot any
of the
resident
turtles.
The
water
wasn't
very transparent
due to the
recent
floods
over
Easter.
We then returned to the hotel for a spot of snorkelling in the
lagoon,
where
there are
many nice
corals,
followed
by a dip
in the
swimming
pool.
 |
 |
 |
| The family and
the
Hienghène
hen |
The river
mouth
at
Ouaième |
The swimming
hole under
the Tao
waterfall |
23 Apr: Return to Noumea
It's about 450 kms from Hienghène to Noumea, but with the pothole
ridden and
windy
roads the
journey
took nearly 6 hours! Just to give
you an
idea, the
53 km road
between
Kouaoua and Sarraméa has 512
bends!
Needless
to say
that
Sophie didn't manage to complete the
journey
without
being
carsick...
We stopped at the Bâ waterfall in the morning for a refreshing
dip. Only
Jenny and
Sophie
actually
swam; François
was recovering
from a
migraine
and Gaelle
found the water too
cold!
After driving through the open air nickel mines in the mountains
near
Kouaoua,
we stopped
for a
picnic lunch beside the sea under
coconut
trees at
the
presque
île of Kouaoua.
When we arrived back in Noumea we picked up a rental car to drive
to the
airport
tomorrow
morning;
for the 4 of us it costs a third of
the price
to hire a
car rather
than take
an airport shuttle... We
spent the
evening
with
Hélène,
Pacome, Julliette and Anatole and
celebrated
a day late
Julliette's
9th
birtday.
A big thank you to our friends in Nouméa for their hospitality.
We hope
we'll be
able to
return
their kindness when they're next on
holiday in
France.
 |
 |
| Bâ
waterfall |
The nickel
mines |
BACK
| 
