Five Islands - Days 95 & 96 Noumea 22:16.9S 166:25.9E

Days 95 & 96 Noumea 22:16.9S 166:25.9E

Five Islands

John & Sue

Sun 26 Aug 2012 00:57

We left Ile Quen on Friday morning (24/08/12) and sailed through the passage between the mainland and the island. Half way through a large power cat ferry passed us and a group of tourists started waving and yelling - obviously Aussies as we have the flag flying on our stern. We travelled around the southern part of the mainland, entering Port Moselle (Noumea) at 1.30pm. We are anchored off the main marina with 30 or so other boats (mostly locals). The thing that has struck us about Noumea is the focus on water sports and the money available for people to have these toys. There are every type of water craft here, from surf ski's, kayaks, wind surfers & kite surfers to yachts and power boats. The harbour is quite pretty surrounded by the foreshore and city to the east and headlands to the west. We went to organise Immigration, customs & quarantine on Friday afternoon but after a $16 taxi ride (1600 Pacific Francs) found that they had all gone home for the weekend so we have to do this on Monday morning. Yesterday we headed to the marina cafe for a coffee (something that we really miss when we are at sea) and met Lola & Tony, Australians who are living in Noumea for 3 years to help look after their grandchild. Their daughter is the Australian Consul General here in Noumea. They invited us to dinner and to watch the Bledislow Cup at the Consulate residence. We then headed to the local markets for a brief look around. Lots of fresh fruit, veg & seafood and nik naks, jewellery etc (tourist stuff). Then armed with a map of the city we headed off for a look around, finding parks, a Kanak memorial park and a few shops. Most shops close at 12 with a few staying open till 3pm. We had lunch at a side street cafe then went looking for a bottle of wine to take to dinner only to discover that they cease selling alcohol at 12 noon (a local law). We did however discover a speciality chocolate shop and bought a box ($24.50 for 250gms and you select the chocolates). That was fun, especially with the French/English language barrier. The price of goods here is the most expensive we have encountered so far, being more expensive than at home and only a few people speak English but a really nice place. Tony picked us up for dinner and drove us around the adjoining bays. Really speccy although 'Anse Vata' is having sewerage problems and is closed to swimming for the next 3 months at least until they sort out the problem. The sewerage is an issue through out the city. We had a wonderful evening and we won't talk about the football result! Nigel & Miss Kitty spent the night in town watching the local Carnivale of floats and fireworks which was not as good as any in the Caribbean but still enjoyable. It is the most spectacular day today. The sun is shining, it is warm and as a consequence there has been a constant procession of boats heading out of the harbour to enjoy a great Sunday on the water.