Arrival into New Caledonia

6 days and 820 nautical miles later we arrived at Passe De Dumbea on a cool, cloudy day but who cares – we made it!
The Down Under Rally (DUR) had organised Biosecurity to clear us in at Ilot Maître and discounts and access to all the L’Escapade Resort facilities. Much nicer than anchoring out in front of Port Moselle, Noumea. The only problem was that Monday (our arrival day) was a public holiday, so we were preparing ourselves for a day stuck on the boat once there. The other boats who had arrived during the weekend hadn’t been processed either. However, Biosecurity worked through the boats on the Monday, and we were so close to being processed until a big downpour sent them home. We were given permission to go ashore though which was terrific.
Tuesday had the Skippers with ships papers and passports, all on a ferry organised by DUR, over to Noumea (20 mins) to clear us all in. Steve even managed a quick trip to the ‘Casino’ – a supermarket. Looking to spoil the girls, he managed to pick up the essentials of champagne and patisseries. He did also grab a few groceries and the ever-famous French baguette. Once back at Ilot Maître, the remaining boats were processed by biosecurity, which was easy. They cleared all our cryo vacced meat, fridge contents and pantry with no problems.
Wednesday, we had activities on the beach in the morning and then the afternoon was filled with various speakers and groups giving us some info on New Caledonia. Richard Chester of ‘Rocket Guides’ was there, and the New Cal Tourism board handed out sample bags in which was a free sim card for the phone with 2000xpf of credit on it. Bonus!
Then it was the final night of the Rally – Dinner with the Gilligan’s Island theme. A welcome show to start with, dinner and drinks with our fellow rally boats and crews. Fiona, despite Daz begging her not to before she left, dressed up as Ginger, Steve and I threw on our Vinnies gear to go as Mr and Mrs Howell III. Fiona took out first prize, a dinner for 2 at the resort buffet, which the 3 of us enjoyed on the Saturday night before Fi’s departure.
Thursday saw most of the boats head off in all different directions to do their own thing. As we only had a few days before Fiona’s departure, we stayed at Ilot Maître and explored Noumea. James and Steve took the tinny out past the yellow line (protected zone) to try a hand at the fishing but soon headed back due to rough water. Friday was Fi’s birthday, so we headed off to Noumea with James (SV Adelaide) for a nice lunch at a waterfront restaurant.
Sunday, we waved a sad farewell to Fiona who was catching the 8am ferry across to Noumea, then a flight home to Darwin via Sydney. We then up anchored and headed over to Noumea to get some washing done as it’s been too rainy to attempt sheets, towels etc. We tried to anchor in the bay outside Port Moselle but couldn’t find a spot with enough swing room without us hanging out into the channel. The Port Police are always on the lookout and will move you on if you are not within the markers in order to keep the channel clear. So, we moved around to Baie De L’Orphelinat and found a spot easily. Both bays had quite a few rally boats still there reprovisioning or getting repairs. Later that night we saw why the police are keen on moving boats on, when the Pacific Dawn cruised out only just squeezing past the boats anchored just behind us.
Wednesday, we finally left Noumea with another rally boat, John and Kat on SV Katfish. A beautiful downwind sail in glorious sunshine and even got the parasailer up and back down on our own for the first time. Yay!