roxi really went amazingly fast on our trip north from nz, we had a wonderful moon all the way, so bright we could read by it - actually the kindle paperwhites were amazing - almost the best thing on the boat, the other great thing was having made meals and frozen them, cooking would have been interestingly challenging during some of our hectic trip - heating was no problem at all. high dark hills materialised on the horizon as dawn on the sixth day lightened, there were no waves to help find the pass - you avoid the waves and look for the smooth areas, but for us it all looked smooth. we found the pass, sailed through and by lunch time customs had cleared us in.
new caledonia has a reputation for being expensive, and it's true a trip to the supermarket is scary, even the local market is expensive, but whilst in the city we did the cultural things; museums, botanical gardens, the tjibaou cultural centre (stunning) - all really interesting and the bus fares and entrance fees were cheap. the lagoon surrounding new caledonia has unesco heritage status and many areas are a marine reserve, so we're looking forward to exploring under the water.
it's been grey, chilly and wet since last we arrived and i wore my merino for the first five days and we still need the duvet but yesterday we managed to leave the marina under a veil of drizzle and grey and headed to a marine reserve on the outer reef which was lit from above by bright blue. wonderful to arrive, anchor in the sun and eat a perfect baguette for lunch. if proof were needed that we were in a marine reserve; we threw over a floating thermometer to test the sea temp, it was instantly assaulted by two large ramora and several snapper type fish - so glad i hadn't jumped in. then a loud exhalation announced the appearance of a huge turtle - we're still discussing which species - it had large protruding eyeballs. we sailed over the flat seas inside the reef, keeping an eye on the depth as it's not possible to see through the sea surface and spot the coral reefs when it's overcast - until we found shelter behind a tiny island which is another marine reserve. we thought it would be peaceful here out of the city, but the noise of the fish all night were enough to wake you up. another day sail across flat blue seas where we could see through to the reefs, this time surrounded by hills showing deep red mining scars amidst the green foliage and past chimneys of a processing plant adding their clouds to the sky. tonights stop is just 40nm from isle de pins, our intended destination and an idyllic spot with good walking and snorkelling.
thought we were in the middle of nowhere, but i've just been hand feeding a duck that turned up.