Calm morning in the marina
Our hopes of making a trip south to Ile de Pins looked like they could eventuate, so after a morning spent topping up on food, beverages and water, we cast off to make the short hop down to Ile Uere, a terrifically cute little anchorage we'd visited before. We thought it would offer our new crew a bit of an orientation. As the afternoon progressed, misty rain began falling but we barely noticed as we had much catching up to do. The more we sampled the wines, the less we noticed.
After a good overnight drenching we departed for Baie de Prony, about 20nm south of Noumea. The misting rain persisted for some time with small islands popping into view through the mist with thin pines poking out at weird angles. We've spared you pictures of rain. There has actually been lots of rain but it does serve to make one appreciate the good days so much more. With many days of SE trades it had looked likely that a southbound itinerary would be unlikely, but Plan A looked like a possibility after all.
Although we had planned on anchoring at Ile Casy where a dog called Mousse lives alone and gives visitors a tour of his island, the wind made neither anchorage look good. We'd like to experience a guided tour from Mousse but on a better day. We soon learned that other Go East Rally boats were nearby and in an anchorage more suitable for the conditions, so we pealed off to Baie Carenage. We hadn't long got the anchor down before a fleet of dinghies raced over. Crews of Sans Souci, Bossa Nova, Easy Tiger all piled on board to say "Hi" and "BTW 5ers is going to be on Sans Souci tonight!". Cruising Kitty was around the corner too and by the time La Jorja rocked up and added yet another 3 heads, our host's boat was dipping noticeably at the stern.
The welcoming committee
Having spent a few days in this anchorage already, the others were full of advice of what we could experience ashore. With the exception of 3 encounters with sea snakes, as told by team Bossa Nova, it seemed that some nice sightseeing might be ahead.
The Bloke opted out of the tour which was up to the head of this branch of the river and beyond some mud banks and mangroves.
A popular spot judging by the nice jetty with stainless steel steps leading up to the hot spring.
Here's SpAnna!
Here's Geoffers in the Hot Spring, except that it was luke warm
A roofed area with benches makes for a popular spot with an open air fire nearby too
A trail led up the hill behind the spring to some waterfalls. It was slippery in places so it's lucky we hadn't attempted this the day before when it would have been treacherous.
Clear, clear water about the same temperature as the 'hot spring'.
This little tree stood alone like an up sized bonsai plant in the midst of some rapids
Technically, we hadn't anchored in one of the two noted anchoring spots. Up against a tallish hill in 18m of water we enjoyed a couple of very still nights - which is just as well following the sundowners and some birthday celebrations with the other rally boats. Luckily, we found better internet in this spot than was reported upstream (lucky for you Mum!). Plans for tomorrow include an early start and the dinghy needs to come up also. Then it's 30nm down to Ile de Pins in waters which are supposedly very beautiful but are shallow and full of reefs. The Bloke will be glad of a 2nd attentive Skipper on board; so long that is, as neither has a sore head from all the merrymaking....oh dear, drinkers with a sailing problem!
- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone
No comments:
Post a Comment