Cylone Vania.......

Well we have just sat out our 1st cyclone here in Noumea. There has been many promising to come over the last 4 years but none ever actually made it across the mountain ranges that lays down the centre of this island. Vania obviously was very persistant and wnated to show us what she was made off. We spent Thursday waiting to see if anything was going to come of the tropical depression the was moving over Vanuatu then 5pm that afternoon everything & everybody was preparing for the lockdown that comes with the code red warning. From Thursday evening the winds started howling and the rain was coming in sheets. We watched this from the safety of our home or should I say heard for the next 36 hours. It is a very weird feeling to be in the middle of such a storm. It was eerily grey and you feel all closed in, to look out the window you see a haze over the landscape which is just the rain falling but it makes everything all blurry. There were no cars moving around and no lights on anywhere. It felt very much like a ghost town. Only now as I write this has the sun come out a bit but the winds are still fierce. Everytime I go to open the front door I need to becareful it doesn't get pulled out of my hands.

We are happy to say it is all over but we are kinda happy to say we have finally seen one too but I don't think I would like to encounter another one for a while.

Ilot Tenia.

 Ilot Tenis ia a little island about an hour and 20 minutes drive and 1/2 hrs boat ride north of Noumea. You drive to a little boat ramp in Bourake and you catch a boat to this uninhabited ilot. You can camp or go for a day trip. This time we chose camp which we have done one other time a few years ago when we first arrived in New Caledonia.

This time we were also lucky enough to get the use of a little ramshackled hut which has some makeshift furniture and offers a bit of relief from the sun. We spent our evening sitting around the table with our friends nattering, drinking and eating fine camping food.

My husband and I love this kind of stuff but I think the kids love it more. They love the freedom of roaming around the bush and the length of the beach discovering all sorts of weird and wonderful things. They love swimming all day and digging giant holes. I love seeing in the kids the exhaustion that comes from spending a whole day on the beach........there is something about the tiredness that comes from the sun, sand and sea.

When we do things like this it confirms why we are spending some time living in this wonderful country. It is truly a beautiful place.

A day in paradise.

Yesterday we went for a day trip to one of our most favourite spots. Ile des Pins. We haven't been down there in such a long time and even though the weather wasn't that great it is still a magical place. The waters are always a fabulous colour of blue and the sand so soft between your toes. We were all very disappointed that it was only a day trip. At the end of the day we all wanted to be going back to a bungalow so we could get up in the morning and head straight to the beach again.

A weekend outing

On the weekend I went to a concert. I haven't been to see a live show for such a long time that I can't even remember the last. I think it was Queens of the Stoneage back in 2002 at the Palais in St.Kilda. I was asked to go and see Alpha Blondy-a very well known french reggae singer. Me I knew nothing about him but the girls who I went with filled me in on all the finer details. Anyway aside from not knowing anything it was fabulous. It was outside at the Tjibaou cultural centre which is one fantastic venue in the daylight and at night. There was a local outfit that stared the evening with their brand of ska/reggae kind of music. They got everybody up dancing but I think that was in anticipation of the headline act. When I got home I vowed to my husband that we needed to do more of these kinds of things. For a little place there is always something going on, we just need to get up off the couch and get out the door.

The water.

It's a nice time of the year to come to New Caledonia. It's hot, there isn't alot of wind, could be a little humid for some but the water is a balmy 28 degrees. I'm not sure what else could be more perfect.

Thio.

I haven't written here in over a year and I think it is time to get back to it. I will start back with what we have been up to this last few days. We have been camping on the east coast in a little mining town called Thio. The site we camped at this time we have visited for day trips many times before but never stayed. We have always stayed at another site north of Thio because we thought it had better toilet facilities but having been there now and actually looking the place over properly the toilet's are perfectly good. I probably wouldn't want to be here when the place is over flowing because there really is only two toilets but for us and the other two tents that were there this time it was fine.
This little sheltered beach is about 10 kilometre's south of the township of Thio. It has all the things we love to do like lazing under coconut palm trees(watch out for the falling ones though), a bit of snorkeling on the little reef and swimming in some wonderfully clear water. As you can see there is also lots of space for a bit of bike riding.

When you get to the township of Thio there isn't much else to do other than the above mentioned things I think that is why we like it so much. It's quiet and greener(wetter) than what you will find on the west coast. It feels like you are in another world but really we are only 2 hours from the hubbub of Noumea.

Neglect.

If you are visiting after searching New Caledonia on the internet and turned up here. I am sorry if you are feeling disappointed. I have neglected this blog for over 12 months but am determined to get back to it. So please come back and visit in a week or so and I will have something new and exciting.