(click on any of the photos for a larger view)

Amedee Island and Lighthouse - our first view of New Caledonia

View of Noumea and Port Moselle Marina

Traditional Kanak house and entrance doorway

Cultural Centre Tjibaou in Noumea, named after a Kanak priest who was instrumental in  the struggle of the native population for recognition and equal rights.

The beaches and anchorages on the islands in the Southern Lagoon were absolutely stunning. The different shades of blue and turquoise in the water against the brilliant white of the sand and the green of the coconut palms and Pencil Pines formed a spectacular range of colours. Especially during our many sunny and blue-skied days!

In some places the water had over time sculpted bizarre, mushroom-shaped outcrops out of the ancient coral boulders.

The anchorage at Kuto on the Isle of Pines with view to Mount N'Ga and after a hot and sweaty climb the view from the top back towards the anchorage.

These sea snakes (Banded Sea Kraits) were very common on the beaches - they are amphibious and spend as much time in the water as outside. Despite the fact that they are very venomous (and there is no anti-venom), they are not aggressive at all and generally stayed out of our way. We just had to watch where we stepped. While the snakes were crossing the beach, they were quite easy to spot, but once they reached the vegetation, they really blended in! (Spot the snakes on the pictures below)

Beach walking always provided many surprising finds: (from left to right) a multitude of Nautilus shells - most of them broken, a slightly dehydrated Unicorn Fish and a shipping container which had fallen off a ship - unfortunately quite a common occurrence and always a menace for yachts.

We were very lucky with the weather and found many stunning anchorages and also beautiful reefs to explore under water.

Fishing wasn't always successful, especially when this Mooray Eel decided to tangle itself around our lines.

We found this limestone cave on the Isle of Pines. It had only a small, hand painted sign showing the way to the entrance and after that it was a matter of 'Bring your own torch and start exploring'. The cave was quite extensive with a beautiful crystal clear pond at its bottom.

The Aquarium in Noumea was very well set up with large tanks accommodating everything from small coral fish over reef sharks to a huge Humpheaded Wrasse (about 1.5 m long and at least 50 kg in weight).  In a darkened room were also a number of tanks filled with Nautili. The Noumea aquarium runs a successful breeding program and we were lucky to see some juveniles at various stages of growth.

Dolphins escorting us back to Noumea

While we were waiting in Noumea for suitable weather for our crossing to Vanuatu, this P & O Cruise Liner ("Pacific Sky") came in. Its passengers had a very busy two days to explore the sights via organised bus and boat tours, before the ship left for the next destination - high-speed tourism in luxury.