Easy Tiger - Sailing Around Australia Adventures blog: November 2017

Thursday, 2 November 2017

Sailing New Caledonia - Peaks and Troughs

18/8/2017

Peaks and Troughs

As our New Caledonia adventures draw to a close, I was wondering how best to describe our range of experiences.

Those who have looked at our Easy Tiger Sailing around Australia blog site will see that our track over the past three months looks like a blob of Spaghetti dobbed on the southwest corner of New Caledonia.

While it doesn’t look like we have ventured very far, I must say that this is because the huge lagoon formed by the 2^nd largest barrier reef in the world is so full of life, colour and beauty that we just simply haven’t had time to venture too far out of this wonderland.

There are many islands in this lagoon. Most are small, flat and have a few metres of beach. So going for a long walk involves two or three laps around the island. The appeal of these small islands is that they all have extensive reefs surrounding them, that are truly beautiful to snorkel and dive in and around.

The bigger islands generally consist of steep hills. These are mostly topped with either a navigational light or a lighthouse.

Exploring these “peaks and troughs” of this place has been a delight. By that I mean that we have hiked to the top of a few of the step hills and we have snorkel dived the reefs of the islands.

Our first venture up to a peak, was during the time we were anchored in bay Carenage at the end of the Bay de Prony. After a wild dinghy ride down the bay, we trekked to Prony village. Luckily we started with the easiest trek as our boat legs hadn’t done much walking for a few months and were certainly burning after scaling the long hill.

The second hike up a hill was at the Isle Casy. We should have been lead on that adventure by the islands' sole inhabitant, a dog called Moose, but it seemed he was having a day off.

Marvellous views on offer on the tour of Isle Casy

A visit to Isle Mato when it was too windy to snorkel the reef there saw us tackle the very steep climb to the summit. I say it was a climb because we were on all fours at times getting up as well as coming down. Except for when Amanda saw a snake. Then there were no limbs at all touching the ground for a second or two.

Then when we were in Anse MAjic, some one suggested we go up to the Cape Ndua lighthouse and take in the view. While not as steep as isle Mato, it was considerably further, along the very red dirt tracks. The view from up there was absolutely spectacular. The bluest of ocean, dotted with dark green islands and light green submerged reef systems with a backdrop of dark red hillsides made every angle postcard material.

From the Cape Ndua Lighthouse every direction offers a postcard Vista

During our second visit to Isle de Pins, we tackled the walk to Pic Nga. That one had the steep sections like Isle MAto and was even further than The Cape Ndua Lighthouse “stroll”. We were all huffing and puffing and doubting we would make it to the top before we reached a quarter of the way up.

The crew were very happy to be at the top of Pic Nga...now for the trek down

Fortunately we all made it to the top albeit breathlessly. That didn’t help much because the views from Pic Nga over Kuto bay were breathtaking. A cruise ship in the bay, the fast ferry at the dock and our catamarans sitting in the turquoise water followed by the many pine trees standing tall on the rolling hills makes a vista worth the tired legs, blisters and sore joints.

On the other end of the altitude scale has been the snorkeling. Highlights of this activity include the coral around the drop offs and chasms at Gadji, the numerous colourful clown fish (or nemos) at Isle Uaa, the turtles and other creatures in abundance in the sanctuary of Signal Island and the big fish lazing under our boats at Amedee.

The fish and creatures at Signal island made great snorkelling

Great Snorkelling spot out front of the resort at Isle Maitre too.

There may not have been a circumnavigation of the main island Grand Terre. There wasn’t much time spent in the capital in Noumea and the East Coast remains unvisited by us, but what we have done is explore the lagoon area top to bottom.

All of us that have been here agree that it will remain on our bucket list to return to New Caledonia hopefully in a couple of years. Perhaps then we may venture further, but we all say that would need an extended visa. Till then we know that got the most out of our visits to the peaks and troughs of New Caledonia’s lagoon.

Sailing New Caledonia; Gorgeous Gadji

7th August 2017

Gadji, Isle De Pins New Caledonia

6^th August 2017

Gorgeous Gadji

Over the 4 years we have been sailing aboard Easy Tiger, we are often about the best place we have been.

Of course there are many variables that dictate how we rate the many places we have been. For instance, if the weather didn’t suit, or the anchorage was crowded, or we were unable to stay long enough to get the feel of a place are factors that may influence our “rating” opposed to others who may have been there at the perfect time.

There are a few spots though that are really nice in spite of the weather conditions and where it doesn’t matter how many other boats are there. Gadji, at the northeast end of Ilse of Pines in New Caledonia, would be one of these.

The two anchorages of Gadji are simply gorgeous. One is the outer, where you don’t have to go across the reef, the other is the inner anchorage where you enter at high tide into a huge pool of crystal water that ranges from only a metre to around 3 metres deep. This clarity of the water with it’s bright blue tinge gives you the impression that you are anchoring in a swimming pool.

The inner anchorage is surrounded by islands. These islands create a pond like area with a diameter of maybe three or four hundred metres. Most of these islands range in size from a suburban front yard to a few hectares on the largest. Many are just large volcanic rocks with that have been undercut over years by the seawater eating away underneath, creating a “mushroom” shape.

Curiously, most of these islands, big and small, have dense bush growing out the top. How such a variety of shrubs, bushes and even tall straight pine trees exist on these lumps of rock is amazing.

In the water, there are many “clumps” of coral. In the “swimming pool” inside anchorage there are spots of branch like coral that ranges in colour from bright blue to deep purple. Then in the passes between the islands there is fawn coloured brain coral, and lime green fuzzy coral. On the ocean side of the passes between the islands there is plate coral. This seems to grow laterally and as flat as a plate giving great opportunities to the fish to find protection underneath.

The fish life around these corals is spectacular. From small bright green or electric blue damsel fish, various clown fish (nemos) to yellow and black striped angel fish. Added to this are bright green or maroon coloured parrot fish, plus turtles and sting rays all together are an absolute delight to watch while floating among them.

Perhaps one of the best bits about Gadji is that you can really only get here by boat. There is no accommodation here, no resort, no swim up bar. The entry and exit points are pretty shallow, so there are no big boats carrying hundreds of people, its just us cruising sailors and couple of local dive boats that get to enjoy it in all it’s glory.

Several of the larger islands have small beaches. So the norm for us is to have a bonfire on one of these beaches every other night, where all the sailors get together to swap stories. Inevitably the conversation seems to come around to how gorgeous Gadji is.

One of the "undercut" islands at Gadji

Windsurfing in the "swimming pool"

Parked in the swimming pool

Dinghy waiting for action.

Sailing New Caledonia - Fruit Salad

Noumea

Sailing New Caledonia; Fruit Salad

Fruit Salad

A group of people gathered at the Gold Coast in Australia with the common aim of setting off on a sailing adventure to New Caledonia and Vanuatu. They had been gathered together by one man who had sailed this path quite a few times before, and wanted to share his knowledge and love of the South Pacific with others.

In the middle of May 2017, 40 people had assembled aboard their various vessels. Quite like all the ingredients put together to make a really good fruit salad.

While these folk all had one thing in common (they were looking for an overseas sailing adventure), that is pretty much where the common thread ended and the differences began.

The first thing that set the apples apart from the banana's was the group itself. There was the "senior" brigade (people in their seventies) and then a mixture of age groups right down to gen y's in their 20's.

Into this rally salad there were passionfruit who had a wealth of sailing experience including crossing the South Pacific several times, to the pineapples for whom this would be their first time more than a few miles from the coast of Australia.

The peaches and grapes were defined by the various types of vessels that the people participating in the rally were preparing to sail the 800nm journey. There were 10 catamarans, 9 yachts (monohulls) and a trimaran.

Probably the greatest mix of all, was the differing backgrounds of the fruits. From Farmers to Engineers, Teachers to Computer Programmers, Business Owners to Retired Public Servants, this group is a huge cross section of the general population.

After five, six or in some cases seven days at sea, the rally salad was thoroughly mixed together by the sense of achievement, having arrived in Noumea. Nowhere was this more evident than at the "arrival party" where the whole rally salad was served up, with the help of a French rock n roll band who cranked their amps right up as forty or so sailors with a huge sense of achievement let their hair right down.

Since then the salad has got off in many different pieces. Some headed north to explore, others went south to see what they could see. But each time their paths cross, we can hear or see the genuine camaraderie between apples, passion fruit, bananas and strawberries. Wether its helping out with a technical boat problem, recommending a marvellous anchorage or even just bragging about seeing a whale, the feeling of belonging to the group is evident.

It was also very apparent when 8 boats and their crews came together, (most went out of their way), to help celebrate Leanne's birthday.

Like the master chef's say, it's is the blend and the mixing of the distinct flavours the make this salad work and for that my friends I am going to give you a 10.