We arrived at Isles des Pins at the southern end of New Caledonia surrounded by darkness and squalls.

As we sat in the saloon listening to the rain and drinking a beer we savoured our arrival and wondered what the shore looked like. It would be light in a couple of hours.

photo thanks to Hannah and Gunther on "Freyja"

We spent the next couple of days drying clothes, foul weather gear and tidying Kelebek as the southwest wind blasted into the anchorage and along the passage towards Grande Terre, the large island of New Caledonia.

With the wind easing but still southwest we sailed towards Isle Ouen in the company of our our friends on Freyja. One of the real delights of cruising is the meeting of friends again in another anchorage after the passing of miles and time.

Ever hopeful we trolled our trusty fishing line, old, scarred and occasionally successful.

We were rewarded with a tuna. Fresh fish for dinner.

Clearing in procedures have changed in New Caledonia.

The options at the moment are:

 - to spend a minimum of one night in the marina, pay the marina 500 CFP and they will organise the process

or

- anchor in the anchorage outside the maina and find the relevant authorities yourself.

In both cases the sanitation department come to the boat to confiscate fresh fruit and vegetables, meat, eggs, cheese. We had very little fresh food on board since we'd eaten it during the trip and while at Isles des Pins.

We chose to anchor and clear in ourselves. Thanks to Jocelyn on board Agena in the marina who drove us between departments, clearing in was a relatively painless, though perhaps time consuming ordeal.

Now we were free to explore and enjoy New Caledonia.

The first thing we did is buy fruit and vegetables from the market. I like markets: the mountains of colour, the pungent smells, the noise and jostling of people.

Fortunately we didn't break anything sailing to New Caledonia but there the first few days were spent on maintenance for both Kelebek and ourselves as we adjusted to being in the warmth, sunshine and culture of New Caledonia.

Cruiseships regularly enter the Noumea harbour. It is a little daunting to see them manoeuvre though the channel bordering the anchorage.

Like most harbours in major cities, the designated anchorage ourside Port Moselle Marina is filled with moorings. Visitors are forced to anchor outside, but squeezed close to, the yellox buoy and pole marks.  Ocassionally  the Pilot boat will order a yacht to move, to give space for the incoming cruiseship.

We had a few false starts at pitching the tents. We are sailors, not campers

but soon had a veritable "tent city."

Raymond has a couple of small planes and an airstrip.

As darkness fell a lone piper called

and the Brothers prepared for the ceremony and evening ahead

The Brotherhood of the Coast is a fraternity of men (brothers) and their partners (captivants) who have a love of the sea

and while there is often light hearted fun,

beneath this is a deep committment to behave honourably and help oneanother.

The evening ended with a tune to remember Brothers who have sailed on their final journey.

Noumea is a city of contrasts. As a visitor my impressions can only be superficial, I cannot really know of the situation that lies behind the tagging defacing buildings in the town or the reason homeless people hang around the market near the waterfront

We also see people who work long hours to make a living.

The "mother hubbard" dresses worn by most Melanesian woman derive from the missionaries who migrated to the South Pacific to spread Christianity beginning during the 1800's.

There are a number of small coral islands within the lagoon not far from Noumea, some are marine reserves. We've enjoyed snorkelling among the coral, the many different brightly coloured small reef fishes and the large grouper who have eyed us warily but not swum away.

I like being able to catch a fish for dinner but also enjoy the opportunity to swim with these large fish so close to a city.

Ilot aux Goelands is closed to people November to the end of February to allow terns to nest

The New Caledonia lagoon was added to the UNESCO World Heritage list on July 7th.

Everyone we met was both pleased and proud of this listing.

The lagoon is a wonderful place to sail - plenty of anchorages, waters protected by the outside reef, stunning colours and diverse life. Many times dolphins rode on Kelebek's bow wave and then surfaced next to the cockpit as if to say goodbye before  swimming away.

Mt Koghi looks down over Noumea, the coast and out to the reef.

Thanks to the kindness of a Brother, Marcel, and Annie who are caretaking the restaurant there we enjoyed superb views, company and a lunch that lasted until sunset.

Another way to see the view is to fly and thanks once again to a Brother, Raymond, Tanil enjoyed soaring in the air over New Caledonia.