Somewhere in the South Pacific - New Caledonia

Pictures-New Caledonia

Ile des Pins and Easo, Lifou, New Caledonia

Once again we are having trouble sending photos so will do when able.  Ile des Pins was a lovely tropical paradise with little but beach to do.  The one side was snorkel friendly if you had your own to use and the other a beautiful soft sand beach.  Dale climbed the height and reported it challenging but a,  wonderful view.  G and I walked the first beach, found a boutique, then enjoyed the second for a few hours.  Absolutely lovely and quiet except for we cruisers.

 

Today we were off early to hike up to the point of Lifou.  A bit of rough going but not like yesterday.  Through the rain forest and overlooking the sea.  Beautiful vistas.  We then found the snorkel bay and D&D went in to see the fish.  G and I walked on to the beach and then up to the other church.  This island had coral beaches with rough footing.  Water shoes were a must.  The wind also blew swiftly on the beach.  Much less than Iles des Pins.

 

We all tendered back to the ship early and had some lunch on Lido deck and enjoyed the live music when it started.  We seemed to leave a bit later than planned.  Seems there was an earthquake not too far away that they are monitoring.  Tsunami would not be fun to experience although we have decided that a ship is the place to be.  The captain made an announcement about "passenger safety being more important than schedule" but we couldn't hear exactly what he said.   We think he is just watching and waiting to see what might change.  At this point we have a sea day tomorrow and will be in Suva, Fiji the following day.

 

Quiet evening as they are repeating the show we saw earlier.  G & I have cd of HBO Rome we are enjoying when we have time in the evenings.

 

Miss our family...M

Ile des Pins

We are anchored off this small island today and are being tendered in to walk the beautiful beach and visit settlements.  Dale planes to climb the 800ft peak this morning while the rest of us take our time leaving the ship.  G & I will walk to the village and explore a bit then settle on the beach to enjoy.  I will take my sketching materials and see what inspires me.  This island is hilly with tall araucaria or norfalk pines dotting the landscape.  They add interest to the otherwise tropical rain forest.  Land was once part of New Zealand..pre dinosaur of course!

 

Deck party was nice..lovely evening and smaller venue made it look busy.  Nicely done.  Barbeque on deck this evening entices us to eat there rather than formal dining.  Love to try all the new dishes though, some successful and some not!!  I love the pumpkin soups.

 

We are off to a late breakfast then off to Ile des Pins.  French here too...oh boy..or mon dieu!!  M

New Caledonia wi fi cafe!

Here we are in an open air cafe trying to get the wi fi to work for us.  Everything on the blog is in french now.  boy, I should have studied it before leaving!!  We visited a cultural center today and ran into a group of school children who were thrilled to meet us.  My bad french and everything made them laugh.

We are still trying to post more photos of Sydney and hope to get them through eventually.  This place is beautiful and no one knows much about it at all.  The US troops defended it during the WWII but it remains French.  Lovely island country..hope to send photos.  Tomorrow and next day we are at Essau and Ile de Pines for mostly beach days.   A little walking up hills and some snorkeling if equipment is available.  Very low key days.  Then to Fiji and Fanning Islands and some sea days in between.

It is lovely on the verandas now with the warmer weather. Tonight is a deck party on Lido deck hope the clouds above do not mean rain!!

Love to all....M&G

Sydney Photos

Sydney

After another nice sea day we awoke to this view from our balcony!!  A beautiful day in Sydney and after breakfast three of us set out to see the sights, leaving G with the icks.  Decided to take the Hop on Hop off Tour bus around the city to see it all.  Right outside the terminal we spoke with a information guide and then were interviewed and photographed for a brochure on Sydney..we will all be stars I am sure!!  The double decker bus turned out to be a great way to see everything and get our bearings for the day.  Dennis and I spent most of the tour on top deck, cold, windy but great views if you watched out for the tree branches!!

 

Coming around to Darling Harbor we saw the Chinese Garden and Hard Rock Café so decided to get off.  After a quick pit stop at Star Bucks..of course!! ..we walked to Hard Rock Café to buy pins. Walking thru the promenade, we took many photos of the Chinese gardens, a gift to Australia from the Chinese people. It was an oasis of serenity in the middle of a big city.

 

We picked up the bus again and rode to The Rocks. We enjoyed the shops housed in the old buildings of Sydney, as well as the view of the harbor and bridge. After a power snack, we climbed up and walked half way across the bridge. Back at ground level once again, we enjoyed a draught at a pub.  I boarded the ship for cocktails and watched the lights come on in the city, as nighttime fell.

 

As the ship prepared to set sail, fireworks exploded over the opera theater.