The trip back to Noumea was as good as the one north, although with fewer stops. The highlight for us was Ile Ndukue with its beautiful circular bay, its rocky hill that we climbed and its unexpectedly beautiful snorkeling beside the rocky northern beach. We followed the advice of the guide book which promised walks through the island with lovely views at the top, and while the view was indeed lovely, the walk was a case of trailblazing. The intrepid Steve led the way through the spider webs and made enough noise to warn off any snakes that may have been snoozing in the long grass. At the top we found a navigation mark lying on the ground so we were very pleased to have been following our Garmin plotter rather than navigating by sight. Although all of the islands we visited were stunning, we usually had to share them, but we stayed at this one for a couple of days and saw no sign of civilization at all. No lights. No planes. No sound at all except for small waves breaking on the rocky wall as the tide came in; and the thousands of birds that lived there.

We were looking forward to our stay in Anse Kuendu on Nou Island, close to Noumea. The anchorage was as beautiful as we expected but very small with reef and shallow water all around. Coming into anchor was totally nerve wracking and we almost left rather than risk staying. In the end we anchored slightly out from the other boat already there, a steel boat called Ui with a German family of four who were very encouraging as we tried to find enough space and depth to drop our anchor. A resort sits at the end of the bay looking beautiful with bungalows perched on stilts over the water but when we looked closer they were very dilapidated and beginning to collapse. There went our hopes of watching the sunset on their deck with a Margarita each, so Plan B was put into action - Geoff makes a mean Margarita... We attempted another walk and this time eventually found not one but numerous tracks, but somehow found our way to the top of the hill and Fort Tereka with its cannon that have guarded the entrance to Noumea since the 1800's.

Our last stop before returning to Nourmea was Baie des Citrons, another pretty sandy beach, but this one has cafes, restaurants and bars all along so we finally found our bar on the waterfront that made cocktails and then treated ourselves to dinner out.

We've left our poor boat alone at Port Moselle Marina in Noumea and are back on the Sunshine Coast now for first birthday parties for our grandchildren, Amber and Alexander, as well as to welcome Austrian visitors. A holiday from our holiday no less, but we'll be back to explore the lagoon south of Noumea on 14th June.