Sitting at a sidewalk cafe in Anse Vata, we look out at the lagoon

After the last post, I think I need to make sure this one is slightly more upbeat. We happily put Fiji in the rearview mirror and made our way to New Caledonia. This is a French Island. Lately, there has been a lot of civil unrest here due to a minor group pushing for independence. More on this later.

Our sail from Fiji was pretty rough. Leaving Denarau is very misleading. It is located on the leeward side of Viti Levu and the wind hardly blows if the trades are being true to their normal direction. As soon as we transited the cut through the reef, we knew the winds were a tad over the forecast. It was rather lively.

The swells opposed the waves and made for the dreaded washing machine churning effect that makes sailing miserable. We knew things would get better. Or, at least hoped the forecast was right and conditions would improve. Thankfully, the forecast was right and by day two we averaged 7.5 knots with reefs in all sails and calmer seas.

We planned on this trip taking about 5 days. On day three, the wind died to 10-15 knots and we thought it might take an extra day. No worries. We have lots of food, water, and things to keep us busy along the way.

Our original plan was to stay in Denarau for about two weeks. We had a long list of minor things Cream Puff was asking for. After this, our plan was to start looking for a window westward. However, looking ahead at the long-range forecast, we didn’t see a window to sail. And, frankly speaking, we just couldn’t shake the experiences with the government officials and wanted to go even though we enjoyed being in Denarau. So, we shelved our “to-do” list and jumped at the chance for this short window to sail.

I say this was a short window since the day after our planned arrival date, a squall line was due to pass over New Caledonia packing some big winds. Do you remember the part I just wrote about the winds dying and it possibly taking an extra day? Well, it turns out we needed to worry – a little bit.

On our third night, we got hammered by sustained 35-knot winds with gust to 45-50 knots. We had moved slower than planned and the squall line moved faster. I need to emphasize here we consider ourselves “fair-weather” sailors and try to avoid these sorts of conditions. Thankfully, the brunt of the squall line passed considerably south of us as forecasted.

What is it like to sail in these conditions? My answer might surprise you. It’s actually pretty comfortable. First of all, we took the weather on the tail and managed to maintain about a 9-knot speed. We battened down all the hatches and made sure we were running our AIS and radar. These technologies are our eyes and ears. There is no point in staying up top in the cockpit to look out. With the heavy rain and spray over the boat, visibility is just about down to nothing.

We position ourselves on the sofa wedged in with pillows so we can monitor AIS and radar at the nav station’s big monitor. Both technologies have alarms should we come close to another vessel. Also on our monitor, we have all of the wind information so we can keep an eye on the weather. I made a cup of tea for us both. Yes, hot tea. You’d think in these conditions the boat would roll about. But, it doesn’t since the weather is on our tail. We are nestling the vessel between waves and the occasional wave going under the stern lifts us without discomfort. It is a surprisingly smooth sail. The autopilot system manages the wind and swells remarkably well. Outside the wind is howling through the rigging and deafening rain is hitting our cabin top. Cindy fell asleep.

To be perfectly honest here, we were both tired from the first couple of nights when the swells and waves opposed. These are the type of conditions we find ourselves sliding around on the bed. Although the wind was much lighter then, the ride was rougher and made sleep challenging. Now, we have a nice comfortable ride. I am playing a game on my tablet keeping an eye on the monitor. I even fired up our Starlink system because I was curious about how long it would take to connect in zero-visibility weather.

Over the next few hours, we both got some quality sleep and stay dry inside the boat. The squall is fast-moving and passes over us in about 15 hours. It’s amazing when the wind goes back to 25 knots how calm it feels. It’s not really calm, it just feels this way after what we have just had. As the sun rises on day four, we get closer to New Caledonia. I awake from my turn napping and go up the companionway into the cockpit where Cindy has now moved for her watch and she points: Land!

We do the quick math and realize our time to arrival puts us there a couple of hours after dark. We have ample time to make it through the reefs and into the bay but the marinas are located on the other side of the island some 45 nautical miles beyond the reef cut. So, we decide to contact our agent in New Caledonia. Apparently, Starlink booted up at some point. I have no idea when since we were taking turns napping.

The marina where we check in is huge. Boating here is a popular pastime with the locals. This is about 1/2 of the marina.

When available, we use agents to help clear us into countries. This is a person who is familiar with all the bio-security, customs, and immigration rules. The benefits of doing this usually far outweigh the cost. This proved true once again. We asked about our options for arriving at the marina at night. We were told that wouldn’t be advisable and were given alternative options. The option we chose was presented in a way that sounded good to us but might not be entirely within the rules.

At sunset, we found a nice bay and nosed our way in dropping the anchor as the last ounce of sunlight yielded to the stars. We kept our Q flag up to indicate we had not cleared customs and immigration, ate a nice dinner (spaghetti Bolognese), and crashed for the night.

The next morning we ate breakfast and did dishes all before sunrise and at first light pulled up the anchor. Cindy dubbed the inlet the Bay of Flies. We were inundated with flies. While I’m not really sure what that was about, we managed to lose them once out in the open water.

Our agent had watched us stop by using an app to monitor our AIS transmissions. She sent us a text saying as soon as we entered port, she would take care of all the formalities. Customs and Immigration close at 11:00. I wonder how they function working half-days. Bio-security was aboard very quickly and gave us a green light with very little disturbance. No pork, no fresh veggies, and no eggs are the main concerns. No problem.

Happily, we found some friends in the marina. They are trying to get to New Zealand and the weather has been extremely uncooperative. It reminds me of us trying to leave New Zealand and having to wait over three weeks for a decent window. We enjoyed a good meal out with them and had some great laughs. They gave us the lowdown on the area and we are all set to explore. Well, almost all set.

Le Bout Du Monde (the end of the world) at the marina has pretty good pizza.

The fish market. Very clean and very busy in the mornings. Located within a few steps of the marina.

The veggie market next door

Our plan in Denarau was to work on a few things aboard the boat while enjoying the area. But because we left early, we still had this “to-do” list pending. Our plan is to check off as many items as possible but to also enjoy our time here. One of the biggest items on the list is getting our long-stay visa (LSV) completed.

Cindy did the first part of the LSV when in New Zealand. Our initial plan was to come here and not Fiji. Thanks to some translation help from our agent we’ve managed to get the LSV sorted and are awaiting paperwork. This means that next year after cyclone season we can return and not have to worry about visas and stay limits. We really hope the civil unrest continues to improve.

One of the very first things we have to do upon arrival is hit an ATM. The ATMs at French post offices are free.

Exploring downtown

Another first stop is the grocery store to buy all the food we’re not allowed to bring in on the boat. This store is a short walk and is awesome.

It’s nice to be in a land of bright colors again. New Zealand has the most bland clothes.

A shopping mall near the cruise ship terminal has lots of cafes

The mall opens to the inner bay and offers dining options – we found a great breakfast place with the best croissants ever

So, what is the civil unrest about? There is a group of people who consider themselves native heritage. They want independence from France. The vast majority of the people living here do not want this. But, the minority is making a lot of noise. This escalated into some riots and caused France to send in troops. Stores and businesses of non-native heritage were set ablaze. Many French nationals packed up and left. Needless to say, warnings were issued to people wishing to visit.

On a personal note, I think the people who seek independence should go and live in an independent place like Fiji for a short time. It will not take them long to see the shit roads, terrible healthcare, a corrupt government that took power as a result of a coup, and a serious lack of jobs or meaningful employment opportunities.

Because of the unrest, we are limiting our exploration to the popular areas. We hope the issues continue to work out and would like to return next year after cyclone season to really hunt out the hidden gems of New Caledonia.

Walking the waterfront at Anse Vata

In our short time in New Caledonia, we have seen the benefits of being a French island. The middle class is strong. Government services such as healthcare and education are better than in many other countries. Infrastructure is solid and residents have the ability to live anywhere in the EU as French citizens. In addition, they can shop at local supermarkets selling large varieties of fresh foods that are not one day away from being rotten. New Caledonia has about one-third of the population of Fiji but the standard of living here is considerably higher.

Enough about the politics. The one thing that has made us very happy here is the weather. It is awesome. The humidity is low – typically below 60%. Average temperatures right now are in the 22°C during the night and 30°C in the day (72/85 °F). We are able to walk about the town without drowning in sweat.

We have both taken advantage of the awesome French medical system and had our check-ups. I’m not going to tell you how little we have to pay for this or how easy it is to get an appointment with a doctor or specialist. You’ll just get upset. We also haven’t had any issues finding English-speaking doctors.

Medical facilities are clean and modern.

The laboratory is a short walk from the marina. Our doctors ordered a complete blood workup for us. Sometimes we do struggle a little bit in places like this because of the language. But in this instance, they paired us up with English-speaking technicians. We were poked in the morning and by the same afternoon, our results were emailed to us and our doctors. Again, I am not going to tell you how little we paid for this, you’ll just get upset.

French is the official language here. However, the country gets most of its tourism from Australia and New Zealand. English is quite common in the tourist areas where we are limiting ourselves this time around. We also find the local vendors are very patient with us and our limited understanding of French.

We were told by our agent to be sure to let people know we are not French. This way we will not be harassed by the independence faction. I laugh because all we have to do is say “bonjour” and they know we are not French.

Park art

The entire Poke Shack restaurant is shaded by two massive trees

We made a trip to Anse Vata. We took a taxi that cost us about US$9 (including a small tip) for the 15-minute ride from the Marina. This is a burb of Nouméa and touts a stunning white sand beach. Yes, it is a hotspot for both tourists and locals. This area is truly a picturesque tropical setting.

Besides Anse Vata being known as a beautiful spot for sunbathing; it offers a variety of water sports, including snorkeling, windsurfing, and jet skiing. Being on the leeward side of the island in its own bay, gentle waves make it an ideal place for these activities.

The area also features a lively promenade filled with cafes, restaurants, and shops, making it a great spot for dining and entertainment. We found a Mexican food restaurant. If you are a regular reader of this blog, you know we love Mexican food. Cindy being a Texan, grew up with it. I have shirts that read Peace, Love, Tacos. We decided to eat there and understandably are a little bit skittish about doing so.

Hmm. Mexican food. do we try it?

So let’s recap; we are on a French island about as far away from Mexico as a person can be on this planet. And, we are entrusting a little café in a tourist trap to serve us “authentic” tacos. Keep in mind there isn’t a single person of Mexican heritage to be seen. In fact, the cook looked Asian. Our waiter, who spoke fluent English, was French. How do you think this went?

Surprisingly good is the answer. I had chicken tacos and Cindy enjoyed chicken quesadillas. The pico de gallo was as good as any Tex-Mex restaurant we’ve visited, as was the rice. There were one or two surprises. The guacamole had peas in it. Yes, you read that correctly. Peas. To be honest, it tasted pretty good.

To return to the marina, we decided to take the bus to save some money. French islands have awesome bus services. The buses are newish and air-conditioned. At the bus stop, looking at the route map we could see the #3 bus from the stop we were standing would drop us at the marina. This turned out to be a bit of a mistake. We thought it’d be like the buses in French Polynesia where you pay as you get on. It wasn’t.

The buses here work on a pass system. The passes need to be purchased ahead of time and can be recharged electronically. Not knowing this, we had to buy “emergency” passes from the driver. We were helped through this process by a nice young lady behind us who spoke English and translated what the bus driver was saying. In this lifestyle, we often rely on and truly appreciate the kindness of strangers willing to help. The passes we purchased were about US$4.50 each. Since there were two of us, this turned out to be the same price as a taxi. Oh well. We are going to have to figure out how to work this system when we return next year.

When was the last time you went to a neighborhood butcher? We found an awesome one here. Imagine being able to have meat cut to size and not forced to buy prepackaged meat. This has been our go-to place since we arrived. My favorite is their streaky bacon. It is lightly smoked and has a great flavor. On this day, I purchased 500g and had it sliced thick. Yum! Looking forward to bacon and eggs for breakfast.

On the walk back from Auchan’s grocery store, Cindy spotted a butcher shop.

Bonbons! A real honest-to-goodness sweet shop.

Over the next few weeks, we plan to get our long-stay visa and finish with our medical check-ups before heading out for cyclone season. Our hope is to still take some time to explore some of the outer little islands. Many offer free moorings and we’ve heard from friends the underwater scene is awesome. We’ll keep you posted.

Enjoying sunset from the Puffster