Cold but pretty

For the first time since nearly two years the temperatures dropped below 20 deg C! Freezing for us as we are so used to tropical weather! Jerseys and duvets reappeared on board as well as some rooibos tea the evening. We are in a cyclone hole for two days and it is very peaceful. No ripples on the water, no wind, beautiful mangrove all around and so many singing birds (and nobody else).

We went yesterday to swim in some very energesing water falls and pools – but hey, it was fresh water and very enjoyable.

We went back today for a picnic as this spot was just a perfect playground for the kids who swam and made little boats sailing down the river.

Tranquille

Les oiseaux nous offrent des symphonies inedites qui se rajoutent au chant du vent. Nous sommes tres bien proteges dans notre minuscule baie.

Hier apres midi, nous sommes alles decouvrir le « phare » du pic Ndoau. Le rouge du sol, la vegetation et le vent etaient pour Victor typiques de l’ambiance de Rooiels. Souvenirs d’Afrique ! Belle grimpette pour arriver jusqu’au sommet et bien recompensee par la superbe vue sur le lagon, l’ile des Pins (qui restera inaccessible), et l’entree du canal de Woodin.

  On profite du temps de libre pour s’attaque a la cambuse en cuisinant internationnal (pizza, pets de none, « Roigabrageldi », curry, ...).

..."Miam miam les beignets de Maman"

Guess who enjoyed it?

We left Noumea Saturday morning, early enough to try to enjoy a windless morning and hoping we could reach Ile des Pins (“only” 60nm away). However, the weather decided for us and after 6 miles we pulled away in a sheltered little bay.

The wind picked up quickly and we were doing only 6 knt against it, bouncing up and down. The kids took Miaou for a sail and were happy to go pretty fast.

On Sunday, we tried again. We motored for 3 hours before putting the sails up. Greg had lots of fun tacking endlessly in the Woodin Channel as, off course, we had the wind on our nose again. We had up to 30knt of wind and we were the only sailing boat with some sails up! It took us 5 hours to do 20nm. Heavy rain and thunderstorm were also with us making this trip a little more “exciting” comparing to our last down wind sailing in sunny weather.

We are now tacked in a pretty tiny bay in  Bay of Prony (there is just enough room to swing around). To warm up the atmosphere on board, as it is still raining, the oven is on and a cake is baking

Droles d’oiseaux

Aujourd’hui, visite au parc forestier et animalier de Noumea ou nous avons fait la connaissance du fameux cagou, oiseau endemique d’ici, qui d’ailleurs ne vole pas.

 Belle ballade dans le parc et decouverte d’animaux connus ou inconnus. Ici un magnifique pelican, tres doux et qui, d’apres les enfants, devrait se “brosser les dents » plus souvent (cf l’odeur de poisson lorsqu’il faisait des exploits avec son bec).

Bon bol d’air sur les hauteurs de la ville encore plus ventees que le mouillage et decouverte des multiples baies environnantes.  

Exploring around

We spent a busy week trying to sort out admin issues, customs (to enter New Caledonia, be able to sell Merlin), immigration (for Greg to be able to have a work permit in case we decide to stay here), recruitment agencies (to try to find something which convinces us to stay here).

So today we went to discover the city some more. We visited the Noumea Municipal Museum which retraces the history of the town and the various establishments of the town. Then we visited a real toy shop: the kids were ballistic!

And our last visit was for the library, another hit for our sailing bookworms.