Northern Province, New Caledonia - Part 1

Thursday, 14 June to Thursday, 21 June 2018

We left Mouly at 0625 in a 15-20 knot easterly breeze. We set the spinnaker as soon as we had exited the lagoon and made good time, averaging 8 knots across the passage. Highlight of the trip was seeing 2 pods of what we think were Pygmy Killer Whales about 10 miles out from the pass. Initially we thought they were dolphins, but their black bodies, square heads and behaviour (including breaching) looked more like whales. The somewhat rare Pygmy Killer Whales (actually a type of dolphin) seemed the closest match when we got some internet and checked. Sadly, no pictures even though they were close to us as we were too busy trying to work out what they were. They seemed to like sticking their heads out of the water, spyhopping. We were also pleased to get our second mackerel for the trip as we entered the passage at about 1500. 

We followed the markers into the village of Touho were we anchored off the small marina. This was a very protected anchorage and the village had a service station close to the beach with a well-stocked store and produce from the local bakery. Fresh bread, pastries and croissants – more exercise needed if we are going to eat like this. 

The distinctive pine above was planted in 1870 to mark the first marriage between a Kanak and European in the village. 

Locals collecting in the shallows on dusk

On our second night here, we were joined by Nicky C, who are also going around the island but in a shorter timeframe than us.

Christmas tree in the Mairie (town hall)

On Monday, we headed up to Hienghene for 2 nights. We had hoped to go into the small marina here but all the buoys in the river have been removed and Warren wasn’t happy with the depth at the marina. We anchored off Tours Notre-Dame (or La Poule, The Chicken), an interesting rock formation at the entrance of the bay.

We went ashore on Sunday and walked to the Cultural Centre which is being renovated. 

This was the first cultural centre in New Caledonia, built on the site of the 1975 Melanesia 2000 Festival attended by 2,000 performers and 50,000 spectators.  The festival marked the beginning of a process aimed at recognising and supporting Kanak culture. Local tribes spent a year transforming a swamp and building 2 huts for the centre. Sadly one of the local chiefs and 9 of his subjects who worked on the project were murdered during the 1984 “disturbances”.

This was once a prosperous place, cruise ships used to stop at Hienghene and there was a Club Med nearby. It all looks a bit sad these days.

Cascades de Tao

From Hienghene, we headed further north to Baie de Pam passing numerous waterfalls on the way. This is one of the few anchorages in the area recommended for the NE wind that was expected overnight. It wasn’t so great for the 30 knot southerly that came through instead. Next morning we moved further north to Poingam, protected from any wind in the south quarter. 

Anchored about 500m offshore at Poingam

You guessed it, we had a northerly our first night here, again not in any of the 4 forecast models we looked at. We sat it out and were pleased to see the wind stay in the south for the next 2 nights we were anchored there. 

We had an interesting 2 hour walk up the hills behind the resort to see the wild horses and the nearby salt pan.

View from the top

We followed this with lunch at Relais de Poingam on the beach. Very nice and Warren even ate the seaweed accompanying our venison. 

Our original plan was to sail further north from Poingam to the Belep Islands, however with strong SE winds expected, we decided to make this our most northerly anchorage of the trip.

Loyalty Islands

Tuesday, 5 June to Wednesday, 13 June 2018

We left Port Boise at 0630 on Tuesday morning for the 100nm leg to Lifou Island in the Loyalty Group. We motored in light winds until 1020 when the wind had built enough to raise the spinnaker for the first time this trip. 

The wind stubbornly stayed in the SSE so it was not the best sailing angle but as the wind increased to 15-20 knots the sail became more enjoyable. 

Hard work this sailing

Highlight of the day was catching an 85cm Spanish mackerel which was dinner as we approached Lifou. 

We stayed well clear of the reefs and were happy to anchor in the dark at about 2200 having been here twice before. We could see an anchor light as we approached and we discovered Ansoba, another rally boat anchored close to shore.  

Ansoba (an Island Packet, Lester) at Drueulu

With bad weather headed our way, we headed off for Ouvea while Ansoba were going to sit it out at Drueulu. We had a later start than we had planned after we decided to go ashore and buy a baguette at the small shop. The breeze was E 15-20 most of the day and we sailed under main and jib only in the frequent rain squalls. The wind freshened and waves increased as we approached the pass at about 1700 and we were glad to gybe and enter the protected pass and lagoon. We anchored just on dark off the Hotel Paradis d’Ouvea after 50nm.

Our previous visit here had been in perfect weather, unlike our first 2 days this trip where we had rain and 30 knots of wind. We couldn’t leave the boat so did some baking, washing and watched some movies. The wind generator comes into its own in these conditions. On Thursday morning another yacht appeared but anchored about half a mile away. It turned out to be Sweetheart, another RQ yacht on their way to Vanuatu. Small world sometimes!

Sweetheart sitting out the wild weather

On Saturday, in clearing skies we headed ashore and caught a shuttle bus to take us to the Fete du Lagon in Saint Joseph about 35km to the north. We had heard about this Fete in Noumea and were keen to see what it was about.

It is actually celebrating the 10th anniversary of the UNESCO world heritage listing of the Ouvea Lagoon (and 5 other sites around New Caledonia).

There were not a lot of people but those present enjoyed the food stalls, kids traditional dancing, volleyball, bicycle race and basket weaving race!

Warren even surprised me by trying fish sausage and coconut rice after it was recommended by the local doctor – sadly he didn’t enjoy it as much as me. The doctor had an educational display about how much sugar was in various drinks as diabetes is a rising problem here.

We spent some time looking at the displays about conservation of the area and mangrove regeneration projects being undertaken by the locals. One of the conservationists, Romain, who spoke good English, explained it all to us.

Our only worry was when our shuttle didn’t turn up at the prearranged time, or when they said they would after 2 phone calls. Romain helped us out with the French speaking taxi driver and eventually recommended we get a lift with an interviewer for Noumea radio who kindly offered to go out of his way for us.

On Sunday we did a tour of the cliffs of Lekiny with Felix a guide from the Lekiny Tribe. 

This lagoon with its steep cliffs is an amazing sight, however is off limits to visitors unless with a local guide. The bridge across the entrance to the lagoon is frequented by large schools of eagle rays that feed on the outgoing tide.

In perfect weather, we drove to the mouth of a small creek that we had to wade across, and we then climbed up and walked along the cliff face.

At the end of the cliffs, Felix showed us a small grotto that was used by the tribe in 1953 to escape a severe storm which destroyed their village. In 1963 they went back to the cave and had a small service to thank God for saving them. A small chapel was built in the grotto and it is used for the baptism of children in the tribe. Felix said he was baptised there. 

We then went for a snorkel in the lagoon. Where there were lots of fish and some nice coral.

On Monday, we went for a bike ride to Fayaoue for some supplies and arrived back to find RQ yacht Nicky C anchored nearby. We had a beautiful dinner with them at the restaurant (Hotel Paradis)  that evening. We burned some of these calories off the next day with a 36 km ride to the Memorial for the 19 in Hwadrilla. This is a memorial to the 19 Kanaks who were killed on 5 May 1988 by French police and commandos who were brought in to end a hostage drama in a local cave on Ouvea. 

2 of the rescue team were also killed and the memorial was recently visited by President Macron on the 30^th anniversary of the clash.

3 more catamarans arrived at the anchorage, 2 from Australia and one with an Israeli couple on board doing a slow circumnavigation. We enjoyed hearing some of their stories over a cuppa, including how they had to repair the yacht in Fiji after it was holed during cyclone Winston in 2016. We look forward to catching up with them when they come to Brisbane later in the year.

Wednesday afternoon we moved up to Mouly to be ready for an early start on Thursday back across to Grand Terre to continue our lap of New Caledonia.

The South Province of New Caledonia

Thursday, 31 May to Monday, 4 June 2018

This trip we are planning to do a circumnavigation of the big island of New Caledonia, Grande Terre. So, on Thursday we left Ilot Amedee and sailed south to the Baie de Prony. A favourite of ours last trip, we were keen to revisit this large bay in the south province. We enjoyed a pleasant sail in a light ESE, the direction we wanted to go of course, until nearly the entrance to Canal Woodin where we started the motor and make our way to Baie Caroline. This was well protected from the expected NW overnight but still gives us access to the track to the lighthouse at Cap N’Dua on Friday morning.  

The track is wide but slippery in parts due to the red clay. The view from the top is spectacular though and we enjoy a cup of tea with 360 degree views. It’s too early to see any whales but several yachts go past heading south.

Warren can see Ile de Pins

In the afternoon we head to Baie de la Somme on the western side of the Baie de Prony. It has a pontoon which lets us get ashore without the red mud sticking to everything.

There is a path that starts here that goes over 20km to the north through Baie de Carenage. We do the first 4 km only through Prony Village to an old wharf.

Prony Village was the site of a penal settlement from 1867 to 1912, set up to supply timber to the ever-growing Noumea. The convicts felled and moved large logs manually on timber tracks to the bay where they were loaded on ships. 

A few stone buildings remain but the forest has started to reclaim some.

This timber felling and the more recent mining has led to the erosion that is evident as red scars all around the Baie de Prony.

On Sunday, we sailed 13nm to Port Boise, a good launching point for our next leg to the Loyalty Islands. This was another protected and beautiful bay, with a walking trail right around the edge. On Monday we decided to launch the kayaks however and investigate the creeks and rivers leading into the bay. 

We paddled for 3 hours, around half of the bay and up 4 small creeks as far as we could get.

There is plenty of fresh water running into all these bays via small creeks and rivers. I am not sure I would want to drink it though because of the heavy metal content.

Tired after a long day, it was early to bed as we have a long sail next day.

Noumea and Surrounds

Monday, 21 May to Wednesday, 30 May, 2018

After a good night’s sleep, we waited for Quarantine to come and check the boat. Until this happens, all crew must stay on board, so we scrambled the last of our eggs for breakfast and gave the boat a good tidy. Salt spray manages to find its way all through the boat during a passage so it needed a good wipe down.  Luckily, we had some rain overnight that washed the decks. It was about 3pm before it was our turn to face quarantine and we were pleased there were no problems. We gave the officer a small bag of organic waste and they ticked us off the list.

Talisker at Ilot Maitre

On Tuesday, Warren and the other skippers took the early ferry into Noumea (4nm away) to clear customs and immigration. Crew could go ashore on Ilot Maitre, but could not go further afield until their passports were stamped. John and Leanne, organisers of the Go East Rally had worked hard to get the yachts processed from here – 30 boats in Noumea harbour trying to clear in would have been difficult to manage.

The last few yachts arrived on Tuesday, so by Wednesday we were relaxing and playing games on the beach organised by Leanne.  

Me filming you filming me!

In the afternoon, John had organised a few speakers to give everyone an introduction to New Caledonia. Richard Chester, author of the Rocket Guides imparted some of his knowledge of the area. The government tourism body also attended and provided free local SIM cards with 3000 Francs credit to each yacht. That night there was a Gilligans Island party - a local kanak welcome, great smorgasbord and a good band to get people up dancing. It was a big day!

Crew of Songlines enjoying the party

Quite a few yachts left Thursday morning to go to Noumea to provision but we took advantage of the fine weather to go for a snorkel and paddle before going to Noumea on Friday. We spent the next 5 nights anchored in Noumea harbour as the marinas were all full - unfortunately the weather was not the best, wet and windy. We went to the markets, shops and walked around the town when the weather cleared and were glad to see the sun on Tuesday. 

La place de Cocoteirs (Coconut Square) 

We visited the Musee de la Ville (City Museum) which had a bit of the history of Noumea and an exhibition about how New Caledonian soldiers supported France in the first world war. At 100 Francs it is well worth a visit if you are in Noumea.

On Wednesday, we topped up the fuel tanks and water before heading south to Ilot Amedee in a moderate easterly. We sailed past this many times last trip but never managed a stop here. We were surprised to be the only cruising boat there. 

We went ashore after lunch and walked around the island. Highlight was a walk to the top of the lighthouse, 247 steps, where we took some great pictures. As we approached the top, we could feel it swaying in the wind (or so we thought!) 

The lighthouse is metal and building started in Paris in 1862 by one of the engineers who worked on the Eiffel Tower. For 2 years it stood 56m above Paris before being dismantled into 1265 pieces and transported to Noumea. It took 10 months to reassemble it on Ilot Amedee and was opened on 15 November 1865.  It has a lead light on the reef that guides ships through Boulari Pass, one of the main passages through the barrier reef of New Caledonia.

Lead light lining up Boulari Pass

We had a quiet night on the mooring and a great view of the moon rising over the lighthouse.