South Pacific: New Caledonia

Nothing made want to re-learn French faster then going to the French speaking islands of New Caledonia. My Spanish was NOT coming in handy here at all and well I kind of need to get around.

New Caledonia is somewhat culturally and geographically similar to Vanuatu.  We visited several islands including the water snake infested Isle of Pines, Lifou, Mare and the capital Noumea. 

Noumea was the only place where we had a hospital and an airport along our itinerary but the immigration laws made it tough for us to deal with restricted nationalities.  It was also the only place that had stores but I have to tell you that it was tough to buy anything. I remember that one day I was desperately searching for deodorant (not something I ever want to be left without again) and I paid a whopping $20 USD for it. As soon as I got back to Sydney I bought four deodorants!  New Caledonia operates in Pacific Francs which I then had to convert to Aussie dollars and then to US dollars for it to make any sense to me.  There was a supermarket there and I can tell you that the only thing that was reasonably affordable was the wine and cheese (my two favorite food groups).  Lets just say that wine and cheese nights became a regular thing for my friends and I. 

Casino supermarket's wine section :)

Wine and Cheese Tour

Innocently hiking not knowing it's
snake infested

Isle of Pines is full of....well you guessed it; Pines.  Apparently the dinosaurs didn't survive but the pines did. Oh and the island is also full of water snakes and later I learned also land snakes.  I am incredibly afraid of snakes to the point that it will cause a full out panic/anxiety attack.  I try not to let it stop me from doing things I love like hiking and swimming and so far not thinking about it has worked.  Thank you baby Jesus and adult Jesus that I have not seen a snake in the wild in years because I do NOT need to have a public meltdown.

My first week onboard I hiked the main hill on the island. I thought that after four days onboard I had mastered the jet lag induced by the 24 hour flight and the 16 hour time change but oh, I was wrong. Two-thirds of the way up I got very dizzy and nauseous and I let my friends continue without me as I sat on a rock to regain my sanity. Little did I know that the hill was crawling with snakes,  I only found out six months later when the Ship Physician said 'never hike that hill alone, it's full of venomous snakes'...lovely!  

For months I didn't go into the sea as I heard stories of sea snakes. One of my friends even told me one got caught in the propeller of one of our tender boats and became sushi real fast. About four months in we did a fun island tour and after hours int he heat, I finally jumped in the turquoise sea. Mind you I kept my eyes peeled all around me, the water was super clear so if anything came my way I would see it. Lucky me, no creature made any sudden appearances.

Most of these islands don't have much on them (except for Noumea). There was one restaurant with amazing (not so reasonably priced) food at a pristine location. It quickly became a crew favorite. The service sucked, wait you have to get service for it to actually suck.  You had to sit yourself, get your own cutlery and own menu, place the order at the bar and pay for it but they did eventually deliver the food at a snail's pace. Lucky for them it was the only restaurant near the port. Nevertheless the food was amazing and the view incredible which made up for the shitty service.

We stopped at Lifou only a few times but I did get a chance to explore. The island is known for a cave which hosts a small yet very deep lake.  There's also a church at the top of the hill which has an incredible vista of the port area.  There's also some gorgeous beaches and incredible flora and fauna. On our way to the church we saw a little makeshift drink stand and commented 'your dog looks like a little goat' to the owner and it turned out to be a....you guessed it,  a little cute goat. 

Mare is a gorgeous beach laden island. The population is less than 8 000 people and there isn't much on the island but the beach is breathtaking! I discovered the beach because another friend of mine was doing a world cruise and took a stunning beach photo and I just had to know where it was, turns out it was Mare. This island is the island that made me realize I have to revive my French.  We took a private taxi and I was trying to negotiate a pick up time with the driver in my broken French. Well, he never came back.  Was feeling a bit deflated with my French skills but when I told the port agent in Noumea that my French sucks he said "Your french doesn't suck, there are no taxis in Mare that's why he didn't come back". Oh. Haha.

Well I think the photos speak for themselves, New Caledonia is just amazing!