Noumea - New Caledonia

23^rd February - Noumea – New Caledonia

Today we arrived at Noumea, the capital city of New Caledonia and one of the largest Ports in the South Pacific and again berthed in a container port overlooking the town.  We only had a half day in port so we were soon on our coach to start our excursion entitled Botanical Gardens, Bird and Forest Park.

Our coach drove to the top of the hill so that we could see the panoramic views over the town before driving on to the Botanical Park. 

The Botanical Park was not a disappointment it was full of exotic plants that we treat back home as house plants, but here they were growing happily out in the open, such as Frangipani, Hibiscus, Agave plus many others.  

Scattered around the park were various aviaries full of exotic birds, such as the Cagou, a flightless bird that is a symbol of New Caledonia, a large family of peacocks and hens and their babies, plus a yellow kingfisher and many others.  

After nearly two hours of walking around the beautiful park we had to climb back up the hill to our waiting coaches.  However, I had to drag Doreen away from the park to catch up with the group as the ship was leaving dead on 12.30pm.

Needless to say we arrived ten minutes late back to the ship and our coach passengers were the last ones to board the ship and no sooner we were on board, they pulled up the gangplank and within ten minutes she was pulling off the berth.

We sat on deck watching the sights of Noumea pass by and finally sailed through the coral reef that surrounds the island.  All too short a stay at a very nice island.

Fiji

21st February – Suva, Fiji

This morning we arrived at Suva, the capital of Fiji, and again we had booked an adventurous tour entitled A Walk in the Rainforest.  We boarded our less than luxurious coach, which was a school bus with plastic bench seats with air conditioning consisting of windows open or closed.  Not up to our usual standards.  However, after a half hours drive out of town, we reached the edge of the rainforest and the bus then preceded down a rough track for about a mile (reminiscent of our 4x4 drive in Bora Bora). 

After picking up our guide we set off into the rainforest in groups of eight for the sometimes treacherous climb down following the stream deep into the forest.  En route Doreen needed the help of our guide to overcome some of the obstacles, including streams, narrow bridges, stepping stones and very steep steps.

After an hours climb we eventually reached the lower pool, where some of our party jumped in for a swim but Geoffrey contented himself with paddling in the cold water.

Again, remembering what goes down must go back up, and with the help of our guide we took a different route out of the forest.  Doreen thanked the guide for all his help, without which we don’t think Doreen would have managed the walk.

Our coach then took us to a very nice hotel, where we had refreshments of fruits, juices, tea and coffee, and were entertained by the local Fijian girls dancing the Hula Hula.

The coach driver asked if anyone wanted to be dropped off in town for shopping , so needless to say Doreen said yes, although she was covered in mud, and Geoffrey made friends with a Fijian warrior outside one of the shops.

We then went back to the ship via a very nice market selling fresh fruit and vegetables and Doreen bought some exotic flowers for our cabin.  A successful day in Fiji.