Buying Alcohol in Noumea

Liquor rules are crazy here! On Monday to Wednesday you can by wine, beer and spirits from grocery stores between 7:30 am to 7pm. On Thursday, Friday, Saturday and Sunday you can only buy wine, beer, and spirits up until 12 noon. After that, you cannot buy beer or spirits ANYWHERE in New Caledonia. HOWEVER...there are wine stores everywhere so Friday, Saturday and Sunday you can buy between 8 or 9 am until 8 pm at night...though on Sunday, the wine stores tend to close at noon; only a few stay open until 5 or so. However, no beer or spirits can be sold by the wine boutiques after noon on Friday, Saturday or Sunday.




Armed with this knowledge it was time to hit Casino Johnson mid morning for a significant re-stock. After 2 months our stocks were severely depleted. Casino and Carrefor are supermarkets in Noumea, and are similar to Coles and Woolies in Australia. Tic, tic, tic. After discovering tinned tomatoes in three locations and returning my 8 cans twice and humming and hahhing over different beers, totally unknown wines French wines, and selecting cheeses out of an inventory of hundreds, I was alarmed to notice that it was already 11:40. Getting to the checkout was urgent if I was to avoid handing back all the alcohol in my trolly and try again tomorrow. Tic, tic, tic.
I selected a queue which didn't seem too long or contain too many large trolly loads like mine. I spotted Julianna had just got through. An organised one I thought, wishing I'd not been so distracted and allowed at least 30 minutes at the check-out instead of merely 20. There was an 'Alcohol-Only' line but without an operator. I gathered together all the alcohol (2dozen beers, a bottle of gin and 3 Cotes du Rhone) figuring that if it came to 12:00 I'd have to surrender them. Two ladies ahead of me kept checking their phones for the precise time. They chatted nervously and gesticulated at the checkout labelled 'Alcohol Only' still without an attendant. The Security personnel kept circulating and pointing at our alcohol purchase ambitions. 10 minutes to go. The ladies included me in their conversation. I could only contribute a "Bon chance" in my halting french and a throat slitting sign with a giggle. We were bonded in distress. Tic, tic, tic.
The older fellow at the head of our queue got his shopping through at last. Only 3 little hand baskets to go. Perhaps I'd just make it; get my alcohol paid before the noon deadline then get the balance of my shop processed? Could be a workable strategy I thought.




Tic, tic, tic. But hold E V E R Y T H I N G ..... an elderly lady appearing from nowhere, and calling out to nobody in particular, "Excusez-moi", pushed past to the head of the queue pointing at the "Prioritaire" sign up above. You could almost hear 3 hearts plummet to the floor. No way would we make our purchases before noon! Damn, damn, double damn, 3 hells and a bugger!! The security guys circled again. My fellow shoppers ranted. Suddenly a lady dressed in a shop uniform Mother Hubbard dress came over to me indicating we three should bring just our alcohol items to the special checkout. Yesssssss! We din't need to be asked a 2nd time. Tic, tic, tic. Dutifull to our newly found solidarity, no one fumbled with their payments. All 3 of us were paid up ahead of the deadline. Yesssss!
I'd abandoned my big trolly guessing that someone would ask me what my intentions were regarding such a full load. Julianna was patiently waiting for me at a bench seat and watchng the show with fascination. I thrust my alcohol into a bag I'd had the presence of mind to bring with me and took my trophy to Julianna for her safekeeping. It's not enough to get to the queue before noon, your alcohol must be paid for AND concealed (and preferably be out of the shop) by noon!



By the time my trolly was processed, all the checkouts were eerily empty. The panic 12 noon deadline had passed. This pantomime is a daily occurrence from Thursday through Sunday.

Job done,a Security chap asked if we had a car seeing as we both had an eye popping volume of shopping. This immediately resolved the 'how to find a taxi' poser facing us. A taxi was requested for us. We had the feeling this performance had been enacted before. An 800XPF taxi ride delivered us back at the marina with the prospect of spending an afternoon 'stowing' our bounty. Cheers to that!




PS The women in Ile Des Pins had alcohol sales of any kind banned there. Some cruiser friends did manage to buy some beer and wine at the resort at Kunemara Bay but it's best not to consider Ile Des Pins as a restocking option.

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Lunch is Booked at La Cabane

We had heard that you needed to book 24 hours in advance but it turned out to be 48! The tide will be perfect for us in 2 days time too so you might say that the stars and moon are aligning. We ideally needed a high tide to navigate up the Blue River in our dinghy to get there. All quite intriguing.



We set off on this quest with Hugh and Julianna from Sans Souci and Paul and Sjarny from Skellum. On the way we had to zigzag from one riverbank to the other to select the navigable channel and avoid rocks beneath the water level. Sighting a mooring buoy close to the riverbank confirmed we were on track.



Once ashore, this little shrine in the rock had us wondering if we were in search of some holy grail.

We rambled parallel to the river for a short time and noted some deliberately planted juvenile palms - an entry statement of sorts? Next we were greeted by a dog. Then another. Clues to our destination and some habitation were coming thick and fast.

A brutal reminder of the erosion caused in these hillsides by past mining activity.

A water hole, the size of an olympic swimming pool looks green in the photo but in real life has quite a blue appearance.

Jackpot! It looked like we'd found it.

We met Gil the owner, who was most relaxed in a T-Shirt and sarong and chatting to various ramblers passing through. We could book for as many as 6 persons but Paul and Sjarny were not prepared to stay around for 2 more days. All our ravings about Gadji were spurring them southwards. Gil explained the meal format. Beatrice, one of his chickens would be prepared for our enjoyment. We were a bit startled about this revelation but Gil is a subsistence kind of guy. All the food is sourced on his property. Even his cabin/restaurant is built by his own hand. It's as rustic as it's eccentric.
Staying put for an additional 2 days for this 'experience' shouldn't be a problem as there are many interesting trails to explore in the Baie du Prony to help build an appetite. Winner, winner, a chicken dinner - and we're booked!

Upper reach of the river exposing iron ore boulders

    Winter is clearly not a good time for blossoms but these caught my eye.

Visiting Prony Village

Having anchored deep into Baie du Carenage to shelter from predicted SE'ers with gusts to 25-30kn a visit to Prony village was on the menu. On the way we could drop off our rubbish at the jetty where we could commence our day's expedition. Tying up to the jetty at the boat ramp would save the trouble of dragging Marylin up the beach and getting our feet dirty too. The soil around here is bright red and muddy. Everything it touches gets stained. The Bloke was very anxious to avoid any such thing.



Luckily there was a well marked trail to Prony Village since it is something of a historic site in the same manner as Port Arthur is in Tasmania. It too began as a penal colony.


The Bloke barely noticed he was on boot camp again. Being able to chat to Hugh and Julianna took his mind off the exertion of climbing the hills. We brought the walking poles along in case it was slippery.

An example of a sled for moving tree logs down the steep slope ready for transportation by ship.

Initially the penitents, let's call them slaves, were set to work to cut timber for the spawning colony of New Caledonia which needed building materials. In time, quarrying to build the facilities and later mining all took place here too.


Harsh conditions led to escape attempts which were punished most severely. These solitary confinement boxes demonstrated one of several punishments. The others described on signboards were tortures a bit too nasty to mention!

   

Some jail walls still stand and the profile reveals their construction materials

   

The Bloke, who hasn't eaten any bread for a week, checked out the bread ovens

The village was established in 1867 and after it's initial use as a penal settlement was them used to house mine workers and their families. Cobalt, chrome and iron ore was extracted from the hills around this location, and it shows.



In time many of the scars will heal. There is 100+ year old banyan tree which has encased one of the masonry walls of the the Superintendent's house for example. Nature hates a vacuum.

The sturdily constructed magazine where explosives were stored for quarrying and mining operations.

The Chapel

We were expecting something bigger but no time was wasted on anything more substantial

Popeye the sailorman - A bit of humour on the door of one of the cottages. A few are still occupied, perhaps in a caretaker capacity. The village was officially closed in 1911 with a 44 year history containing a great deal of misery.

   
The vegetation is very lush and included a tree that at first glance I mistook for a bottlebrush but the foliage and formation of the flowers was very different. One can only hope that the poor souls who laboured here could appreciate the beauty of nature surrounding them.

Jetty Sunset with Mousse

Our sundowner venue last night was the Jetty at Ile Casy. Getting together off the boat is generally preferable and here we had the perfect platform with a westerly aspect plus a special guest - Mousse the dog. He turned out to be a party dawg!

Mousse was pretty content to sit alongside

Shared fishing stories. The Bloke and I are spectacular failures in that department. Our last attempt resulting in something big snapping off the line and taking the stainless steel trace and fancy 'Qantas' lure with it!

   

 Mousse knows a good sunset when he sees one

On Tour With Mousse

Introducing Mousse of Ile Casy in the Baie du Prony. This unassuming fellow is about 12 years old and is a legend. In an age when nobody wants to stay in a resort any longer and cruising on an ocean liner has become such a favorite with holidaymakers it's not a shock to know that the tiny resort on Ile Casy closed down. What is a surprise is that the family that ran the place were unable to take their pet dog Mousse with them. Mousse refused to leave and hid. Eventually a family pet was left to live his own life on an island.

Mousse just chillin' out under the jetty.

It may seem that Mousse was abandoned but the world has not abandoned him. He is visited daily by a procession of yachties and tour operators who leave him food and water plus give him lots of pats and rubs. A Vet from Noumea routinely checks on him and as required, various pills and jabs are administered. He's very attentive and walks out on the jetty to observe each newly arrived boat. When people come ashore he leads them on a walk around his terrain. If you look like taking the wrong fork in a track Mousse just waits and looks around to check if you'll decide instead to follow his lead. He takes his guests for a walk instead of the other way round.


On our first 2 days at Ile Casy, Mousse was too busy with other boat crews and we walked most of the island alone. Deciding that there was a part we'd not yet explored, we went ashore again and this time got the "Long Island Tour" from Mousse for 1 1/2 hours right around the Island; up hill and down dale! Of course he knew all the short cuts and when satisfied we were on track he'd slip away through the trees and reappear to keep us going.

He took us to a favourite beach spot and noticed a boat motoring past. Was he thinking about what treats they might be delivering?

Although Mousse is probably a bit blind, he was definitely keen on something in the sand. 

We felt immensely privileged  to be escorted by this lovely dog. Along the way we got to enjoy some lovely vistas as well as some less so, around the old mine. There were some nice flora to catch our attention too.

Not loveable but good looking in an arachnid sort of way 

View over Baie Prony

Grevilia 

Dracaena Marginata?

     An orchid perhaps

Brightly coloured regrowth

A pitcher plant in it's natural environment

Thanks Mousse for a very unique Island Tour!