After we picked Lauren and Eli up from the airport we had to stay in Noumea for 2 days so Lauren could get her day 2 Covid test. We had hired a car to go to the airport so we went for a drive to explore the West coast. It was a lovely drive, though being sunday we found not a lot was open including public toilets!
Luckily we had packed a picnic lunch so we ate that at a park then drove to Poe Beach. It only had gentle waves washing in, as it was protected by a fringing reef. It was also very shallow for a long way out so perfect for Eli to play. Late in the afternoon the beach suddenly came alive with different forms of watercraft. Some people hired sailing dinghy’s, kayaks and floating pushbikes. There were also windsurfers and sea kayaks complete with sails.
It is a long way to the Isle of Pines so after we left the marina we travelled south and got in a good sail down to Canal Woodin for the night. Then we got an early start for Isle of Pines on Tuesday. The wind was not so kind and we ended up motor sailing all of the way. There was a swell as we approached our destination but Baie de Kuto was protected by a small island and it was perfectly calm in our anchorage.
Eli has been amazingly good on the boat spending most of his time on the cockpit floor playing nicely as we sailed but the poor fellow needed to have a run, and also as it was my birthday we headed straight to the beach for a sunset cocktail. Well actually I was the only one who had a cocktail. Lauren being pregnant can’t drink alcohol, Eli is too little, and Dean had a beer. But object achieved, with Eli suitably exhausted after a swim and a good run around.
The Isle of Pines is 15x13km so reasonably large. The pure white sand of Kuto beach is so fine you cannot feel the grains, it is more like baby powder. And the crystal clear water is a beautiful turquiose blue and dolphins and turtles can regularly be spotted feeding. The island is nicknamed l’île la plus proche du paradis, which translates to “the closest island to paradise”. It was not always so though. In 1875 the French established a penal colony. However this history has been incorporated into the narrative of the Isle of Pines along with customs of the Melanesians, Tongans, sandalwood traders and missionaries who have lived here along the line of time.
Dean and Eli spent Wednesday morning exploring the jetty and beach before we all went ashore to have lunch at the local resort. Thank you mum for shouting us all to lunch for mine and Deans birthday, it was a lovely treat.
After lunch we then decided to walk what was described as an “easy” walk, up to the peak of N’ Ga, the highest point of the mountain. We began along the beach past Taboo Rock. This is sacred and you aren’t allowed to climb it, however there is amazing snorkelling all around it, and it is located just metres off the beach.
There were also reminders of the dangers that can occur here in paradise.
Our walk continued through the forest. There were some muddy spots that we had to negotiate and Eli got a ride on mum and grandads back for some of it and although we were consistantly on a gentle incline it was very easy. However I knew eventually we would need to go up steeply if we were to get to the peak and when we emerged from the forest our challenge was apparent in the form of a steep scree. Eli got a lift up part of it but managed most of it himself, which was a great effort for those little legs. He also got to add his own rocks to the cairns along the way as he achieved each point.
Finally we reached the lookout, all of us hot and tired. A toddler and pregnant woman had reached the top, but I would not describe the walk as easy! The view across both sides of the island of course was undoubtedly worth it. To one side, we could see the outer reefs, where the next point of land out there would be NZ. To the otherside we could see across to our anchorage and see RTP still safely anchored in Kuto Bay.
After a snack and drink we made our descent. Dean carried Eli over some of the tricky parts down the scree, then once we were on reasonably stable footing again he got a long piggy back from his mum.
We had a late afternoon dip before heading back to the boat in time for a magnificent sunset, a light dinner and an early night. We were all so exhausted, Dean was the only one who felt the supply barge arrive during the night and rocked our boat with waves as it performed its turn to come into the jetty.
Run to Paradise 