Swan BradshawDay 1
All day at sea!
We attended a seminar today to get educated on the different Holland American cruises, types of vessels, and details of places to cruise.
Dinner was great in the dining room today. I had chilled carrot and orange soup, interesting but pretty tasty, chili prawns with black rice and pre-ordered pavlova.
Day 2
New Cadelonia
We arrived in New Caledonia in the South Pacific about 1200 miles north east of Sydney! We disembarked the boat at around 8am this morning. We took the shuttle bus to the port, and boarded a high speed ferry boat headed to Amedee Island.
Amedee Island Marine Reserve
Amedee Lighthouse, a cast iron tower located on the Grande Terra, about 24km from Noumea, was constructed in 1865. No, we didn’t climb the 247 steps to reach the top of the lighthouse. New Caledonia was actually a French colony, the lighthouse was constructed in Paris and over 100 pieces and transported piece by piece and reassembled in New Caledonia. Today the only person who lives on the island and stays overnight is the lighthouse keeper.
“Bonjour” is commonly used to greet passersby as New Caledonia is a French territory in the island of Grande Terra. French is the native language here and christianity is the main religion in this area.
Bougna, which is considered a symbol of New Caledonian cuisine and is best experienced in tribal stays or local restaurants. It is an iconic Kanak dish, basically a stew made with a combination of root vegetables like yam, sweet potato, taro, and then, including some other protein, like fish, chicken, pork or even fruit bat. These ingredients are arranged within banana leaves, soaked in coconut milk, and slow-cooked beneath hot stones.
Amedee Island is absolutely beautiful with pristine sandy beaches and beautiful turquoise waters, turning to light blue and then darker blue as the water got deeper outside of the inner reef. The sound of the waves pounding on the shore combined with the ruffling leaves provided such a natural soothing melody all around us.
Our guide told us that the coral reef in New Caledonia is the second largest in the world, only behind the Great Barrier Reef. This reef is 1600 km long while the barrier reef is over 2400 km long. This reef supports over 2600 species of fish.
We went on a ride on a glass bottom boat where we saw different species of fish and turtles.
There were other activities such as coconut shredding and braiding but we opted out since we had done that at the Polynesian cultural center (PCC) next to BYU in Hawaii.
Our buffet lunch on the island was pretty good with grilled tuna, roast pork, long rice, and all sorts of salad and fruits.
After lunch, we were entertained with some local dance performances, it was okay, but certainly nothing in comparison with those at PCC (Polynesian Cultural Center).
We were also visited by a friendly slithering friend!
The weather is getting hotter as the sun continue to scorch above us, though the little breeze that came our way provide a little cooling mechanism. Actually, the weather here is more manageable than the Great Barrier Reef in Australia, the humidity is a little less, there is much more of an ocean breeze, and we didn’t get as much rain which helped to ease the humid heat.
I tried to find a cooler spot on the beach but my chair sunk into the sand flipping me backwards and I had to call for help. The gentleman sitting two seats down from me was quite entertained.
Another 2 hours before we boarded the boat that would take us back to the cruise ship but this time, I wish I could fast forward the time …
We had burgers at the Dive-In restaurant on board the Wester Dam, one of the restaurants that is included in the fare, so effectively free, of course, unless you order a milkshake, which will cost you more! After that, I enjoyed an hour of a nice facial. Felt really rejuvenated and beautiful!
Day 3
Easo, Lifou
We docked at Easo, Lifou, New Caledonia this morning. Easo is the capital of Lifou which is also the largest and most populated of the Loyalty Islands with about 10,000 Kanak residents. The islands of the South Pacific are known for their beautiful sandy beaches. The temperature and humidity though are off the charts, so we decided to relax on board and take our pictures from here.
Breakfast was good! Bland enough to soothe my acidic stomach.
Views from the ship…
Jokin Cliffs
Jokin Cliffs have been formed from ancient compressed coral rocks over millions of years. Swimming is not encouraged around the cliffs as potential sea swells can be dangerous for swimmers, although I doubt that’s much of an issue because you would either have to swim a long ways to get there or jump off the cliffs, which is a long way down.
There’s a beautiful old catholic church (1898) called Notre Dame de Lourdes Church, sitting on top of the cliffs overlooking the Pacific Ocean.
St. Francis Xavier Church
Standing on top of the hill, about 1km off the seashore, is the old Christian church of St. Francis Xavier, built in around 1858 around when catholic missionaries first arrived.
At dinner, Kevan ordered salmon which was really good and I ordered sweet and sour Tofu, not a fan!
We enjoyed a walk on the deck after dinner and was able to enjoy a glimpse of sunset!
Day 4
Today we visited Mystery Island, known locally as Inyeug. It is a tiny, uninhabited islet in Vanuatu’s Tafea Province, located at the southernmost tip of the Vanuatu archipelago in the southwestern Pacific Ocean.
Mystery Island is only about 200 meters wide and a kilometer long. No permanent residents due to local cultural beliefs that consider it taboo to live there. But locals from the adjacent island called Aneityum come set up stalls when cruise ships arrive.
We were greeted by the local residents with welcoming songs. Beautiful and melodious!
The beaches are perfect for swimming and snorkeling, we hiked all around the shoreline in less than half an hour.
Tons of fish swimming around pristine coral reefs, including clownfish, parrotfish, barracuda, and sea turtles.
Great stop for sure, raw island beauty – turquoise waters, vibrant reefs, golden sands – a low-key day with no schedule pressure, perfect for swimming, snorkeling, relaxing on the beach with a fresh lobster lunch. Simply beautiful!
The dense jungle foliage was amazing, including a very interesting palm tree called a Pandanus, or screw pine, which is very common in tropical areas like Vanuatu. It has long, spiky leaves but the stilt-like above-ground roots were very distinctive.
These trees have roots like this to provide stability in sandy soil along the coast and also to protect the tree against wind and erosion (also allowing oxygen access in saline conditions), helping them to survive in places like this.
This southernmost Vanuatu island is called Aneityum, an inhabited island in Tafea Province, right across from Mystery Island. The villagers rely largely on tourism brought in from cruise ships and sometimes logging on pine plantations to support their living. The settlement of this island dated way back about 3000 years ago with approximately 6000 residents at the time. Due to disease, the number of people living in this island dropped to 182 in 1932. Today, there are about 1000 people living there, mainly in Anelcauhat village. Living conditions are very basic, no roads, no electricity, no running water, and definitely no internet. It’s very humbling to see how primitively people still live on such a beautiful island with pristine beaches and turquoise water.