Isle of Pines, New Caledonia

 

Although it  is called ------

“the Isle of Pines”

It has other beautiful trees as well!

This Blog posting is really for those who have never been to the Isle of Pines – because those who have been there don’t need any comment or imagery from me to remind them of it. Its’ beauty has been burnt into their memory forever. It is just one of those unforgettable places.

We were here once before a number of years ago – and all I wanted to do again was some snorkelling in the two bays that are close to the landing wharf. These are stunning – and I understand that there are even more distant beautiful places on the island, but these will have to wait for some later opportunity. As you leave the wharf, you are forced to make a decision as to whether to go to the Bay of Kuto (a curved bay with pure white very soft sand, clear calm water over the sand, lined with coconut trees and grass, and with a bar of the Hotel Kou-Bugny conveniently located on the beach with breathtaking views) OR to the Bay of Kanumera with it’s sacred rock and many species of tropical fish just waiting to be viewed by you as fast as you can get on your snorkelling gear and get into the water. We decided upon the latter first – mainly because the hotel bar wasn’t open when we first arrived!

The ship had a slight technical problem as we were leaving at the end of the day – and delayed departure for a short while. I was secretly hoping that whatever it was could not be fixed and that the ship would be forced to stay anchored in Kuto Bay for a few days, waiting for necessary repairs – but alas, it was not to be!

The beautiful Kuto Bay	Part of the welcoming committee	Kanumera Bay (snorkelling area)
Restaurant/bar of Hotel Kou-Bugny	View from the deck of the bar	The sacred rock (do not climb! Tabu!)
Fish are here!		Crew and younger passengers at beach volleyball