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| Coming into the islands around Ile Des Pins |
If you ever want to witness the most perfect isolated island with beaches to die for, well, you can find it with a visit to Ile Des Pins, New Caledonia. We are not talking about "spring break" type of beaches, but clean, white sand with a consistancy of powder. You barely leave a footprint in it as you stroll the beach. The warm water is as clear as can be, with the color of an aquamarine gemstone. There are no water sports, wave runners, banana boat rides, or the such. And just in case you need to know, there is no nude or topless sunbathing allowed.
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| A tender port |
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Our tender at the pier
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| Local greeting |
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Kids of the island
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| Building sand castles |
What you will see are the locals in outrigger canoes, or small boats to take you around the island. Snorkeling is the biggest activity, suitable for all ages. Between the two bays we could easily access from the tender landing, there were plenty of things to do and see. It's a photographer's paradise.
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| Great tree for shade |
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| Swaying palms |
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| The native kids |
For the first time ever on a world voyage, HAL offered tours here. They ranged in price from $65 to $135 for an island tour by minibus, a scenic boat ride, snorkeling, and a short day at Le Meridien Ile Des Pins with lunch, located on the opposite side of the island at Bay d'Oro. Since our stay was only from about 10am to 2:30 pm, we found it best to explore the island on our own. We knew the beaches well, since we were here not too long ago.
Not much had changed, except for a few more stands of the locals selling arts and crafts and food. Pricey is an understatement, but that is to be expected in such an isolated area of the "French" world. We would find out how expensive later on in the day.
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| The ladies selling food |
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| A neat souvenir |
Most folks wore their swimwear and aqua shoes knowing that the waters were too good to pass by. There is little in the way of public facilities, except for Kuto Beach, where there are bathrooms and showers for the restaurant's customers. Although many people were using it without patronizing the cafe.
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| Bay of Kanumera |
The first beach we walked was at the Bay de Kanumera, described as the Little Smiling Bay with a white sand beach perfect for snorkeling. Many locals were here with their little kids, setting up a BBQ for an afternoon of relaxing and eating. Sure looked good to us.
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| Look who's here......Amadea |
Did we mention that the Amadea ship pulled in right beside us around 9:30am? We had mistakenly thought they were on their way to New Zealand, but guess that was wrong. At least, this ship is small....it could have been the Carnival Spirit with tons of passengers.
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| Two ships anchored |
In this bay is a huge limestone rock formation where the ancient people carved totem poles in and among the caves eaten out from the surf. There is evidence that settlements in this area have dated back 4000 years, where people actually lived in these types of caves. It has become a sacred place, and it is strictly forbidden to climb the rock. The attraction here, however, are the numerous tropical fish that like to hide in the dark shallows.
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Limestone rock formations
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| A totem on the rock in the bay |
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Caves in the rock formation
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| Drainage to the bay |
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| A horse |
Did we mention that it was hot again today? Hot and sticky. We did bring a couple of sodas with us from the ship, and we knew well enough not to bring any food over to shore. Lots of people ignore that warning, and come over with sandwiches, fruit, and pastries from the Lido. So far, we have not seen any bags inspected in this part of the world, but when we get to Australia, that will change.
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| Little girl swimming |
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Two little ones
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And that leads us to the price of food and drinks on the island. Continuing on with our walk, we cut across the isthmus to the open Bay de Kuto, with a longer stretch of white sandy beach fringed with coconut palms and the island's famous towering Araucaria pines.
It is wonderful that these trees are here along the water's edge, because they serve as well needed shade.
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Seaside forest
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Kohu pines and palm trees
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Tropical setting
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| Distinctive kohu pines |
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| These trees are very large |
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| Island is named after these trees |
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| Enchanted forest |
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| Seaside jungle |
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| Neat-looking fence |
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| Unusual shoreline tree |
Many of our guests darted into the water, then headed back under the trees to cool off. If we had followed the road, we would have come across ruins of an old prison, the cemetery, a convent, a church, and a water tower.
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| White sandy beach |
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| Bill on the beach |
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| Hotel Kou Bugny |
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| Cooling off |
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| Not too busy |
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| Perfect place to stroll |
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| This beach was hot |
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Bay of Kuto
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| Kuto Beach |
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| Aquamarine waters |
Can you imagine that France actually sent some of their notorious prisoners to this piece of paradise? In fact, 3000 convicts were sent here in 1872. Would have been better than Devils Island, off the coast of French Guiana, where most everyone died from yellow fever and malaria.
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| Local natives......no, it's Bill & Marianne |
We did walk for a piece on the road, until we ran into Bill & Marianne, who had just come form the ruins. With their excellent description of the site, we figured we did not need to go there in this heat.
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| The restaurant at Kuto Bay |
It was time for something cold to drink, so we went to the only bar/restaurant on this stretch of beach. Luckily we had some Polynesian French Francs to spend, because when the cafe owners took US or Australian dollars, they tended to round up the amount a little too much. Therefore, a can of local Number 1 beer was $12 a can. Ouch. We did order two beers and a tray of crispy French fries for 2400 francs, which was bad enough. That would have cost $36 US.
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Number 1 beers and French fries
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| Bar at Kuto Bay |
So we figured it had been better to buy the money either on the ship or onshore, and not be gouged along the way. By the way, the beers tasted fine as did the fries.
Nearby the cafe, were a number of folks from the Amadea having a riproaring private party. An open bar had been set up under tents with copious food that was brought onshore from their ship. We would have liked to talk to some of these folks, but they mostly spoke German, and did not appear to welcome outsiders.
The time had evaporated, and we had to head back to the tenderboat. But not until we located the perfect t-shirt at an artist's boutique, no less. The rest of our coins were used to buy some nice postcards, since we will not be visiting any more French islands on this trip.
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| Walking back to the tender pier |
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| Taking a detour |
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| Checking out the Boutique |
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| Artist's creations |
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| Native design in the pareo |
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| Looking for any kind of shade |
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| What is with this guy? |
Oh yeah, while we were looking over many souvenirs in a few shops, the "priest" was paying a visit to each stall, continuing to beg for money. It was not working, as many of our fellow passengers warned the shop keepers to ignore the pleas. It has been more and more apparent that this person has mental issues. He was seen by our friends dropping to the floor and doing push-ups in the Crows Nest during the sailaway from Noumea the other night. Forgive us for saying it, but this is not normal behavior. Soon, he will be going home.
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| Time to leave |
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Both ships used the same tender landing
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Sailaway treats
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| More goodies |
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| Checking us out |
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| Even the birds wanted some |
The dinner menu offered a porterhouse steak, and we had to try it. Although it was not advertised as 22 ounces, it must have been because it covered the plate, with veggies and a baked potato hiding under it. The mastodon of steaks. As hard as we tried, it was impossible to finish the whole thing. We would have had to fast for two days prior. Perhaps they will offer this type of steak once each segment. If so, we will order it, ignoring the teasing remarks made by fellow diners. Hey guys, you got to live a little, you know?
