We have concluded our whirlwind tour of the three main islands of the Loyalties – Maré, Lifou, and Ouvea – where we did a lot of scuba diving (next post); then sailed a few days ago across the approximately 80 miles of ocean separating the Loyalties from the northwest coast of Grande Terre (I just discovered that this is the official name for New Caledonia’s main island. Also that it is the third largest island in the Pacific after New Zealand and Papua New Guinea). The east coast of the big island is the wet side, with steep lush mountainsides, raging waterfalls, limestone spires near Hienghene, and an enormous river. As we rounded the northern tip of New Caledonia the mountains became more barren and dry; not too different from some of the landscapes we see in the desert southwest and Mexico!
The weather has turned gray and rainy on us – with some distant lightning and thunder and drenching rain squalls. Gives us a good opportunity for a bit of housecleaning and laundry!
Here’s a few landscapes from the last week.
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