[password] NZL9424A27ZMU3791
[position] 22 19.852S 166 24.484E
[status] The Isle of Pines is the most stunning Island. We are anchored in the main bay called Bay de Kuto. We have enjoyed walking around the local village and resorts. Old ruins of a prison that dated back to 1881 were fascinating and we could imagine how they must of looked and felt for the people that were incarcerated there. We frequented the local shops a few times for the most amazing bread. Wow the French know how to make bread!! There a lot of turtles hanging around in the bay eating the sea grass that is on the bottom here. They are a bit scared of people and you have to be quick to see one. They stick there heads up for air, but can often stay under water for 10 minutes or more. Very frustrating when you are poised with the camera waiting for that perfect shot, not knowing where they will surface. From Kuto we went to a smaller island within the Isle of Pines called Ilot Brosse. When we were in Musket Cove in Fiji we had a visit from a sea snake that crawled up the
back stairs of Malakite, well the same snakes are in New Caledonia!! We haven't seen them in the water but on the land. Along the high tide mark there are markings on the sand where they have slithered up into the lightly wooded area of the island where they rest and nest. The snakes themselves are reasonably small by snake standards but more poisonous that a python. If you are bitten by one there is no antidote. A most beautiful island but we felt like we had to be vigilant on the land. Anyway on a much lighter note we have enjoyed watching whales breaching not close by but close enough. They are such amazingly large animals and how they can get themselves out of the water is a miracle really. They whacked there tails and tossed themselves about like rag dolls. At the time of the whale show we were in a new place called Gadji. You need to look this place up on Google Earth. It is stunning with shallows and mushroom rocks surrounded by the clearest blue water. From here we
headed back to the main land and to Bay De Prony. This is a large harbour with a Nickle Mine and processing plant. There is a small island in the middle of the harbour called Isle Casey. We had been told that a dog lives here that was abandoned by the resort there when it closed down some years ago. This dog meets visitors on the wharf and leads them around the trails of the island. We meet him and he showed us around. John husked a coconut and gave him the water and some of the flesh that he devoured. He is fed human food from visitors and we have been told he jumps of the wharf and catches his own fish. This island is visited by the locals as well and they keep an eye open for him. He has a good supply of rain water caught in a bucket on the wharf. We did think that he was in really good condition. From here we went into Noumea as we had to farewell John the next day and wanted to sort out transport. We have spent 5 nights on a marina at Port Moselle. This is the first tim
e we have been tied to land since leaving Opua. It was a treat to be able to step of and go for a walk. We enjoyed life that Noumea had to offer as well as some good restaurants and large supermarkets. We visited Tjibaou Cultural Centre which is an amazing place of architecture as well as being very informative about the local Kanak people and there struggles for independence. We have also enjoyed a visit to the aquarium. We now have our friends Russell and Angela from Melbourne on board with us and are currently at a island called Ilot Maitre, which is only 4nm from Noumea. A very popular weekend place for the local boaties to stay on moorings and day visitors. The outskirts of the island yesterday were littered with kite boarders all enjoying 20-30 knots of wind. The weather here has been very windy for the last week so it is giving us less available anchorages, but we will continue to look around the best as we can. Glen is already looking at the weather for his passage h
ome and will continue to look with others in our rally. We welcome back Ben this weekend to help take Malakite home and a new crew member, Graeme Templeton who joins us next Monday. Our adventure is coming to an end![END]