Wednesday, August 13, 2014

DAY 3 OF OUR CRUISE - MONDAY 4TH AUGUST - NOUMEA



This morning we woke to calm weather.  We knew we had to be much closer to land as the first thing we saw when we looked out our porthole was a couple of birds.  They looked like giant seagulls and we thought that perhaps they might have been guarnetts.
We had a relatively relaxed morning.  We went down to the Waterfront Restaurant for breakfast, all very nice and once again we sat with a lovely couple called John and Marianne from Brisbane.  One of the things I am enjoying about this cruise is the lovely people that we meet at meal times…
My breakfast this morning
After breakfast we went up to Deck 14 to the walking track and we did a couple of laps around the track to walk off our breakfast. 

We had a lovely stroll around the walking track on Deck 14

  After breakfast we spent some time in the Atrium at the Markets.  We spent quite a bit of time watching one of the cooks as he showed us how he did fruit sculptures.  He did an amazing job carving a cow, an own, a couple of birds.. Of course I had to photograph them all.
Showing us how he carves fruit and vegetables... Quite amazing...
A little owl made out of Pineapple, oranges, grapes and carrots...
Cow out of watermelon and turnips
Little birds out of Oranges, apples, radish and grapes..
 He is really very talented....
Just had to include this one again because I love him....
  The markets had all sorts of things to see.  There was even a demonstation on serviette folding which was really interesting to see. 
All different ways they fold their serviettes....
The markets in the Atrium
  By this stage it was close to 11.30am,  must be time for a cuppa,  we walked along the walking track to the stern, where we enjoyed the views…. Watching the wake of the boat as it ploughed through the water.  We met up with Marianne from Breakfast and enjoyed a chat together again. 
Enjoying the view with Kathy and Marianne
From here we went up and sat in the Dome, to enjoy the cruice at the front of the boat, and we played cards for an hour or so.
By this stage it was after 12 noon, so thought we would grab some lunch as we wanted to be back up on Deck 12 to watch the ship arrive in Noumea. 
We headed up on deck as we started to see a few reefs.... this meant we were getting close to land again.  Something we were looking forward to seeing after two days at sea... 

Seeing the reef - first sign that land is close by....
Steve and I on deck checking out the reefs that we were seeing at last. 

  After lunch it was a quick trip back to our cabin, to get ready to head onto the land and get our tickets for our tour this afternoon. 
This surprise greeted us when we got into our cabin.  Our new towels were folded as these cute little elephants.  How could you use them....when they look this cute...
our towels were folded as elephants.
This cute little elephant... Wish I knew how to fold them like this....
 We reached Noumea around 3pm, but by the time security was put in place and we were allowed to disembark, it was closer to 3pm.  Everyone was on the top deck as we were sailing into Noumea...
On Deck as we sail into Noumea
 It wasn't long before the tug came alongside us to guide us into the harbour...
Tug coming to guide us in....
Alongside the ship and giving us a shove....
 Our first views and impressions of Noumea....
First thing we noticed was that there were lots and lots of cars, and they all looked pretty new....
Lots and lots of new cars in Noumea
Quite a modern city
coming in to dock.....
 There was a welcoming party to greet us as we pulled into the dock...
Our welcoming party...
Cultural dances....
 One of the things we noticed at the terminal were the choo choo trains.  These are a wonderful way to sightsee around Noumea....
Checking out the Choo Choo train....

We had booked a tour through the ship to do a three hour tour of Noumea called “Noumea in a Nutshell”  this departed from the car park next to the boat terminal at approximately 3.05pm.  This tour was comprehensive tour of the picturesque  peninsula which gave us an easy paced guided view of Noumea’s city, hills, bays. Beaches and countryside.  Our first stop was the FOL lookout.  This gave us a great view of Noumea, and our ship.   And the beautiful rolling hills that came down to meet the bays.  Our first impressions of Noumea  were that there we tthousands and thousands of cars and they weren’t old.  They all seemed o be pretty new.  Our guide informs us that everyone in Noumea have cars.  The car population equalled the people population, and that they all loved to have new cars.  That is where a lot of their money is spent.  Secondly we noticed they  loved graffiti . it was on buildings everywhere.  Some of it was very good and some was pretty bad. 

Some of the graffiti at the FOL Lookout...
Some good graffiti and some bad - FOL Lookout
 From the FOL Lookout we had an awesome view of the city of Noumea and also our ship...

View of our ship...
Noumea is a pretty wealthy place... Lots of lots of yachts in the Harbour...
Standing in front of more graffiti up at the FOL Lookout...
 Even our tourist buses were covered in artwork...
This was one of the tourist buses we did the city tour in...
From here we went to visit a little Catholic church called the little church of La Conception.  This little church was built by missionaries in 1874.  This church and its cemetery remain a popular destination for hundreds or pilgrims who gather every year to celebrate the Assumption on August 15th
Kathy and I outside the Little Church of La Conception in Noumea
Beautiful stained glass windows in this church
Some of the stain glassed windows...
Inside the Little church of La Conception...
From here we headed out towards the beaches, and along the picturesque Promenade Vernier and  past the Meridien Hotel to visit the Quen Toro Lookout.  This lookout is also home to two large WW2 memorial guns from the Aussies.  This lookout gave us some stunning views of the bays and beaches, across the lagoon to the small reserve islands and fringing coral reefs.
Views from the Quen Toro Lookout...
Views from the Quen Toro Lookout...
More views from the Quen Toro Lookout.
Part of the War Memorial at the Quen Toro Lookout...
Choo Choo train full of tourists at the lookout. 
Our final stop was to a  Local restaurant at the Complexe Nouvata Parc Resort for afternoon tea which consisted on a cup of tea and a piece of cake.  We were given approximately 45 minutes to wander around and enjoy this little part of the island.   We walked across the road to the beach and tooks some photos of a restaurant which was built out into the water.   Although we still had more to see, before our tour ended, it was getting dark and I am sure you could not appreciate it like you would have if you could have seen it in daylight hours. 
Foyer of the Complexe Nouvata Parc Resort
Some of the carvings in the grounds at the Resort
Part of our tour included afternoon tea at the Complexe Nouvata Parc Resort
Tea and Cake was part of the deal with our tour..
It was nice to sit down and stop for a bit.
 We did have some spare time for to wander around the beach area.  It was almost sunset, so we wandered down to the beach...
Restaurant out into the water...
Le Roof Restaurant out on the water...
On the beachfront...
Standing out the front of the Resort where we had our afternoon tea...
Grounds of the Resort.
Around the pool area...
We arrived back at our terminal at approximately 6pm.  We felt it was still too early to head back to the ship, so we decided to go for a walk through Noumea to the Coconut Square which is situated right in the might of the main business area in Noumea.  This was a really pretty little park and we wandered around it for an hour or more, before heading back to the ship. 

A walk through Coconut Square
One of the monuments in Coconut Square
Rotunda in Coconut Square in Noumea
 There were these large like bowling balls all through the square.  Square spent time jumping over them... Had to do something to get a bit of physical exercise after all the food we had been consuming.
These large bowling balls were everywhere
 The trees were beautifully lit up too. 
Lit up trees in Coconut Square.
  I must say the ship looked really impressive at the docks all lit up and we did try to get a couple of shots of it, all lit up.
Our ship all lit up at night
The Pacific Dawn with all her lights ablazing....


We reboarded the ship around 7.30pm, just in time to go down to the Waterfront Restaurant to have our dinner. 
Reboarding the ship in Noumea
 We had another interesting couple sit with us for dinner tonight.  In face they were such good company that we were still sitting their chatting almost two hours later….

The ship was due to depart at 9.30pm so we decided that we would like to head up to Deck 14 to watch our departure from Noumea….   It was sad to pull out and leave all the lights behind. 

Up on the top deck as we get ready to leave Noumea
The lights of Noumea...
Kathy and I fare-welling Noumea
Goodbye Noumea.... I hope to visit you again another year...
As we pulled out of Noumea, we  joined in with  the “Dancing through the Decades” Party that was being held on Deck 12.  It was a great night of music and fun, and we didn’t end up retiring back to our cabins until after 11pm.
Partying on the Deck as we sailed out of Noumea.
The Dancing through the Decades Party
party time
 Elvis competition... on deck

This guy was really good. 

It has been a great day.  Loving life on the water. 

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