Cream Puff after just arriving at Port Moselle awaiting clearance
We are back in the land of fresh croissants and baguettes.
When we arrived, our agent, Clementine, asked about our stay in Australia. We told her how much we loved it there. As the conversation progressed, she told us how, in her earlier days, she lived there and worked for a year. A lot of younger people do this in Australia and New Zealand. It is how many restaurants and hotels get their staff. We asked her what she thought.
Clementine said she also loved Australia but really pined for her French breads. You know what, I can see why. We are dangerously close to a freakin’ awesome bakery. I mean, it’s just across the street. I can almost smell those baking baguettes in the morning.
Full disclosure: We’ve also been watching an awful lot of football. We use our unlimited data from Starlink to stream the World Cup from Australia (with a VPN). SBS streams the games live in HD and then archives them for later viewing, all with very limited commercials.
In addition, we were also watching a Netflix series called Hacks. Jean Smart from Designing Women stars in Hacks, where she plays legendary Las Vegas comedian Deborah Vance. It’s one of the most acclaimed comedy series of the past few years and has won multiple Emmy Awards. They just made the last season. Depending on where you live, it may or may not be on Netflix since their offerings outside of the USA are vastly different. We often bounce about the world on a VPN and look at alternate Netflix programming.
In the show, Jean is talking to a writer and takes her to Paris to eat French bread, confirming her statement that nobody makes bread like the French. You cannot understand this until you have a bakery across the street from your home. I know, I know. I am going on and on about bread.
Just what my diet needs
Even these birds appreciate a good baguette – enough to share!
The local market was our first destination for fresh veggies and fruit
I love the gates on this person’s home
A nice little cafe in the park
I’m always fascinated by the plants and trees we see that we are not used to.
Port Moselle is massive. There are over 100 boats on each pier
When we were in Australia, we both longed to go snorkeling over a reef. Yes, there are parts of Australia where this can be done. After all, they have that tiny area called the Great Barrier Reef. But, as you can see by our posts, we spent most of the time exploring inland. The first item after clearing in with Biosecurity, customs, and immigration was to go snorkeling.
We were talking to a local boater we met and asked about a couple of sites nearby. He pointed to a place not on our radar and said this was his favorite spot. We marked the spot on our electronic charts. In our travels, we’ve learned to listen to locals and not other cruising sailors. Once again, this instinct proved to be the way to go.
New Caledonia is a fabulous place to snorkel because its crystal-clear, “warm” tropical waters are protected by one of the world’s largest barrier reefs, creating calm conditions and exceptional visibility. The healthy coral gardens are teeming with colorful fish, turtles, rays, and countless other marine species. Many of the best snorkeling spots are just a short swim from the beach. With a boat, it is a short ride to incredible sites.
Notice the word warm being in quotations. Perhaps if you’re British or Swedish, you might find the water warm. It is wintertime here. The locals don’t swim in the wintertime. We don’t have the luxury of being here in the summer months due to cyclones and the need to keep the Puffster out of harm’s way.
So after getting some fresh food from the market, we wasted no time heading back out. We arrived at our snorkel spot and dropped the anchor. We spent the rest of the day getting things ready. We stow the dinghy and motor when making ocean passages. This meant having to launch the dinghy, put the motor on, get the dinghy anchor, seats, life vest, fuel tank, etc., all set up. After this, I have to admit we were pooped. But, everything is ready to jump in the water tomorrow.
I need to point out here, we anchored in a place I would have never thought to be. About 2 kilometers to the west is a lighthouse with lots of cruisers. We were the only boat in this spot. We fired up the BBQ and each enjoyed Wagyu beef rib-eye that we loaded our freezer with from Costco in Australia. We had fresh-from-the-market baked potatoes and sautéed mushrooms – life is good on Cream Puff.
The next day was so calm there was hardly a ripple on the water. Finding a spot to anchor the dinghy near the coral is easy since the water is so clear. Sporting fins and a mask, I jumped in. Remember what I said about it being winter here?
I double-check the anchor in the dinghy to make sure it is set and will keep the dinghy off the coral. It would be a bad day if we somehow finished our snorkel only to find the dinghy went walkabout. After doing this, I swim toward the reef. OMG! All I can say here is, wow!
Cindy was a little bit slower than me jumping in. I popped my head up to tell her to get excited. But, I missed her and saw her jump off the dinghy on the opposite side from me. Then, I heard a shriek. Yep. She discovered the water temperature.
It doesn’t take long for her to make her way toward me and then off we go, slowly drifting along some of the most vibrant coral we’ve ever seen. The fish are abundant. I spot a smallish reef shark in the distance. These are harmless. Well, sort of. We’ve been warned to watch out for sharks here. It doesn’t deter us.
Beautiful coral and colors
We love these blue fish. If you reach out the all quickly dart into the coral and disappear
The water is so clear and the coral is healthy
The variety of coral at this one spot was incredible
Cindy gets excited and tugs on my fin to get my attention. She found Nemo.
How cool is this pic. Cindy snaps a couple of good ones of a clownfish
Can you smile for the camera, please?
Sadly, our pictures of this site are limited since my camera was dead and Cindy’s was almost dead. In all of the prep, we forgot to put them on the charger. Oh well, memories are just as good as photos. We are back in our happy place.
