We were being picked up for our day trip sailing the coral reefs of Noumea at a bright and early 8am so all of us dragged our asses back down to Le Café Terrasse for our complimentary buffet breakfast at 7.30.
It was clear Simon and I were not used to having to get up so early after a night of drinking and we were un-characteristically quiet as we hoed into our chocolate croissants and coffee.
Our guide for the day was Ani, a lovely (and deeply tanned) French woman with little English who thought it was hilarious when I tried to hop in the driver’s seat after forgetting where I was. Seems odd that on an island only three hours by plane from Sydney, they drive on the opposite side of the road like in Europe.
The drive (thank god) didn’t take long at all and before we knew it we were popping our shoes in a bucket and hopping on board the ‘Black Mamba’- the catamaran chartered by Dal’Ocean and our friendly captain for the day, Seb.
First and foremost I was in disbelief that we had our very own catamaran for the day and weren’t being scuffled onboard some tourist trap with 20 of our closest bum-bag wearing travelling buddies.
The four of us instantly dumped our bags and made our way to the front of the boat to stake our claim on the best sun tanning positions (more on this later).
The sarongs given to us by Tourism New Caledonia came in handy and it really didn’t take long for the four city slickers to melt into a state of holiday relaxation.
Seb gave us a rough run down of the day- 1.5 to the reef where we’d do some snorkeling, then return back on board for some lunch before another hour trip to another tiny island where we could relax, read our books and take some photos.
Tough life right?
***
Captain Smyth.
The water as we approached Abore Reef was literally out of this world. None of us had ever seen anything like it and between us, we’d travelled to quite a few different exotic locations.
Azure is the best way to describe it but it really doesn’t do it justice. Crystal clear and the brightest of blues, we couldn’t wait to jump in.
After a quick Q and A from me about the likelihood of coming face to face with a sea snake (I am beyond petrified of snakes) with Seb, a relaxed “I’ll take the kayak out in case any of you get tired but you can do whatever you want” and finally a rummage to find snorkels and flippers to fit us all and we were off and away.
The vastness of the ocean really doesn’t hit you until you’re able to look down and out and see exactly how much space there is around you. For some (Simon)- this proved a little scary at first.
I was just keen to see some fish.
The current was quite strong and there was quite a bit of kicking required to get out to the reef but holy hell was it worth it.
The reef was only an arms length away from us, so everything we saw was extremely clear and at reaching distance. This also meant we were able to stand and catch our breath, re-adjust our snorkels etc when needed (obviously being very careful not to break or damage any coral or living ecosystems).
The brightly coloured fish and coral were my favourite….something you only see in aquariums and it was right in front of me, in the middle of nowhere somewhere in the Pacific! Rainbow fish, bright purple sponge-like coral, clown fish…they were everywhere and it was an amazing sight, something I’ll never forget.
My highlight from the snorkeling was swimming with a stingray. Seb had grabbed my flipper and pointed just ahead of us where this huge silver stingray was just chilling, gliding through the water. We all stopped kicking and it became dead silent as we watched this magnificent creature share his home with us.
Now I know what you’re thinking because I’m 99.9% sure it flashed through all our minds too but there was absolutely nothing threatening or frightening about it.
Stingrays are such graceful, beautiful animals and what happened to poor Steve Irwin was exactly what everybody claimed it was- a freak accident.
By far the number one highlight from my trip.
Next up was lunch, which was a selection of cold meats, couscous and salad with some sort of vanilla mousse/cheesecakey thing for dessert.
After another swim, we decided it was time to head to our next destination, Goeland Island which had only just re-opened after being closed for bird migration.
All tired out from our hour long snorkel, we opted to take the rubber duck to the island- mainly so we were able to pack our towels, books and cameras.
It was a gorgeous tiny island; with diamond white sand and a completely different colour water- it was more aqua/green than cyan but equally beautiful and warm.
We did some exploring, discovering beautiful shells and pieces of washed up coral along the way before setting up camp for some more sun baking and relaxation.
An hour later and Seb had returned to take us back to the boat. He informed us that as Goeland Island was a reserve, it was prohibited to take anything back to the boat with us, including sand. We couldn’t believe how pedantic he was about this, but found it extremely interesting and were obviously very respectful of the culture.
The rest of the afternoon was spent napping on the catamaran net, finishing off my book and trying to stay in the shade. By this point, it had become apparent that at least a few of us would be paying for a whole day spent in the harsh Noumea sun without a splash of SPF. Naughty naughty.
After arriving back at port, we all thanked and hugged our friendly host Seb for his expertise but not before enquiring as to somewhere we could buy alcohol for some pre-dinner drinks in our hotel room.
Ani was more than happy to direct us to the local supermarket that sold alcohol, however the sale of alcohol after 4pm is prohibited in Noumea and alas, we were too late.
Arriving back at La Promenade, we bid our farewells to Ani who by this point was somewhat of a friendly, French mother figure and Joel and Rechelle went souvenir shopping whilst Simon and I ran upstairs to check our various social media networks.
Hey, you’re talking to an events/marketing manager and a social media manager here- we’re hooked up to the internet and social media like an IV drip.
WHICH, funnily enough, is something we could have done with that night.
After all our hot showers it had become clear that Rechelle wasn’t the only one suffering sunburn.
ALL of us, bar Joel who had been slip-slop-and slapping were a violent shade of red.
Not lightly bronzed and beautiful as Simon and I had been planning, but bright, shiny red. Everywhere. Face, back, arms, legs…nose.
We did our best to make ourselves presentable before heading back down to reception to meet Nellie, our Tourism New Caledonia (North) representative and dinner host for this evening.
We hopped in her car for the short trip to (name of restaurant) where we promptly ordered cocktails and wine.
A similar deal with the set menu, we had the option of a pate or prawn entrée, beef or fish main and chocolate mousse or crème brulee.
I opted for the prawns, beef and mousse and was not disappointed. Another thing worth noting about Noumea is whilst the portions are generous and delicious, food is quite expensive as most of it has to be imported.
Another quick stop off at a late-night souvenir store we convinced our host to stay for one last cocktail…that ended up being several cocktails and about ten rum shots, 5 tequila shots, stage dancing at Noumea’s version of ‘theclub’ and a messy end to a large night.
Lets just say the Noumea locals are very friendly. VERY.
Simon stayed out a little later but rocked up at my hotel room an hour or so later to debrief, before taking off his pants and rolling around in my dooner yelling “SLEEPOVERS” in his very best teenage girl voice.
Needless to say we all slept like a tonne of bricks and packing the next morning before our 8.30am airport transfer was a challenge not unlike something you see on The Amazing Race.
So much so, that I was THIS close to walking out of the room without my passport, which I had (ingeniously or idiotically, take your pick) hidden in the microwave the night before.
Breakfast was a sorry affair, with all of us nursing hangovers and laughing about the events from the night before.
The laughing however was short lived, as we made the journey to three or so different hotels picking up other passengers in a hot and stuff un-air-conditioned bus.
By the time we arrived at the aiport we were all a little delirious, tired, sunburnt and hungry.
After killing time at the ‘bar’ (read: tiny canteen with one server and some alcohol) we boarded our Qantas flight home bound.
A couple (x2) bottles of mini white wines and a (surprisingly enjoyable but still 100% cringe worthy) viewing of in-flight entertainment, Burlesque the movie and it was time to land.
Eager to get off to Mardi Gras preparations or Duty Free shopping- none of us managed to say goodbye to each other and instead lost each other at Sydney airport.
That being said, Travelscene American Express, you could not have picked a better group of people to go away with on a mini vacation to a slice of heaven.
From different backgrounds, with different stories, we got along almost like siblings, with cutesy nick names and inside jokes acting as a testimate to the amazing people Joel, Rechelle and of course, Simon are.
We’ve since caught up over Facebook, laughing at tagged photos and sharing stories about how horrendous our sunburn/peeling is looking even now- three days after landing back on home soil.
Whilst the sunburn will eventually heal and disappear, the memories from my Travelscene American Express Facebook Fan Trip to Noumea surely won’t and I honestly can’t thank them enough for the opportunity.
So!
To Travelscene American Express, all the staff at La Promenade and Le Café Terrasse, Ani and Seb at Dal’Ocean Charters, Nellie at Tourism New Caledonia North, all the guys onboard Air Calin flight SB141 and Qantas flight QF 49 and finally, Simon, Rechelle and Joel- thank you for an amazing three days in the tropical paradise that is Noumea, New Caledonia.
Bonsoir! xxx
