Isle of Pines, Kuto Bay... Clear blue water!

Dropped anchor next to Kuto Bay and we tendered in to this island known for its white beaches and clear blue waters.  All these islands were discovered by Captain Cook and this one he named Isle of Pines cuz of all the Caledonia Pines here.  He also nicknamed it “The Jewel of the South Pacific” while people today say it’s “The Closest Island to Paradise”. I must say, it really was beautiful.  We only traveled about 80 miles from yesterday’s destination and spent the whole day here on our own.

Jerry and I walked the beach (about 3 miles) and let the water lap on our legs.  The temp and light breeze were perfect.  Clouds would drift by and give relief from the heat of the sun.  No bugs, so I was happy! Oh yes, we also found a geocache!!!  

Walked across the gravel road and there was another beach on the other side.  A different pretty, but pretty just the same!  There was one driftwood stump that was quite artistic.  I could even see a face in it!

So… enjoy the pics.  Tomorrow is a sea day… which means a day with our noses in our books!  Can you see our boat in between us in the pic... look real hard!

See the pines greeting us as we motored into the area!

 This is the beach that greeted us!

 A cutie on the beach... her mom said I could take the pic!

 The pumic rock here was worn away by the water years ago!

 Unique Sculpture on the beach!

 Awesome trees here

 Beach on the other side!

 Looking back at the beach we walked... 

New Caldonia - Part of the French Commonwealth

After almost 48 hours at sea, we arrived in New Caldonia about 3 in the afternoon. (Earlier in the day, bright and early, I was able to catch the sunrise!  The views are just getting better!)  We arrived later than anticipated, so some of the shore excursions had to be cancelled. As the ship was tied to the pier, we had some 'native' dancers welcome us.  Did really well, but it was weird being in this industrial area and then the dancers... Oh well, still a fun welcome!

Language here mostly French, the native folks are part of the Melanesian gene pool.  Darker skin, but lighter hair colors sometimes... even blonde.  And no, it wasn't from the GI's that were here during WW2.  Also, the island is not too far east from Australia... A pic shows it... I never realized that... Geez... where was I in class during the geography lessons... I'm sure I was sitting there... 

We opted  to go to the WW2 Relic Museum. Caldonia played an extremely important role in the war, yet no battles were fought on the island.  It proved to be a most effective home base and hospital for the US and other allied countries.  The population on the island went from 17000 to triple that in just a couple days.  All in all, over a million soldiers touched foot on the island.  They even had a ‘Pentagon’ located here.

As for the museum… well, this is part of the French Loyalty Islands, belonging to France, the main language is French… hence, museum, mostly in French.  Note to self, check that out in advance!  Still, had some English interspersed and we could sorta get the idea of what they were talking about.  The Museum was located in an old Quanset (spell check won’t give me the correct spelling!) Hut left over from that time.  It had been refurbished with air conditioning, etc for today’s use!  Here in New Caldonia, they also interned the Japanese and even sent the men of the families back to Japan.  Families were separated and it, here, was a sad action.

 

Went for a bit of a drive to a point where the Ouemo Canons (which were never used, just for viewing) that was gonna offer views.  And, it didn’t disappoint.  One of the folks offered to take our pic!

Headed back to the boat.  We had every intention when we left earlier, to go back into town.  Sun had set by now, so we opted to get a nice meal on the boat in the “Red Ginger” and it did not disappoint.  As a matter of fact, I tried to type this last night, and feel asleep during the process

…

Good Morning Sunrise!

At Sea.... ALL DAY!!!!

So, what can I say about today… very smooth ride, cruising in the ocean all day, sun shining brightly, a wine tasting early afternoon (I know, ANOTHER wine tasting!), a snooze while reading our books and then, a gorgeous sunset.  Yup, just another day at sea!!!

Bay of Islands and Glow Worms? You know, like in the song "Shine little glow worm, glimmer, glimmer!

Oh gosh!  We had to get up early today!  Going to see some Glow Worms!  Ship dropped anchor in the Bay of Islands and we tendered in about 8:30 in the morning.  Still in New Zealand, still enjoying the lush green… I guess I failed to mention, they too have been inundated with rain… but, boy, sure makes the countryside beautiful.

Hopped in the this new looking bus on the outside (well, they assigned us there) and after we were on the road, we realized, it was really more of a lipstick on a pig sorta bus.  Absolutelly no shock absorbers and boy, sitting in the back, we were being tossed in our seats, bouncing in our seats, and thinking, “Are we gonna make it?”  Obviously, we did make it, but rumor has it, that bus is not going to be here in a year.  It will be worn out before then.

The Glow Worm Cave was pretty cool.  You walk in this cave… proceed along with just a few lights, and then, when you 2/3^’s of the way in, all lights go out, you look at the ceiling of the cave, and see, what I can only describe, is like a Milky Way Star pattern.  It was pretty cool.  Our guide explained how the glow worms live/survive and how, after about a year, they’re toast!  The little lights we see are the glow worm’s way of attracting their next meal… Mosquitos and the like.  No photos were allowed, so you will just have to trust me on this !

Made our way back to the town of Kawakawa (remember I said how all these cities in NZ sound like they belong in Hawaii?).  Anyway, our driver wanted us to check out a bathroom in the town…WHAT?  Like good little kids, we did and discovered the whole town was where the artist/designer Hundertwasser lived and created many artistic buildings throughout the world.  He died in 2000 and the town built many tributes to him mimicking the restrooms he designed. 

Also, checked out some more rainforest further on – the Manginangina Kauri Walk with its Gum trees were there.  And they were huge!  The walkway we took throughout the area was built of the same wood.  It seems indestructible. 

Okay… I’m getting sleepy, so gonna cut this short.  Hope you’re having a great day!  Oh yes, another bridge pic... The one below isn't the real one... but was fun taking it!!! 

 Glow Worm Cave entrance... left the guys head in the pic for some perspective of the size!

 Rock formation further in the field near the cave!

The artistic restroom and surroundings in Kawakawa

 ahhhh, the rainforest!!!

 just a little church I saw

 Sailing away... tomorrow we will be sailing all day... where will we land next?

The Bay of Plenty and Rotorua... yup, we're still in New Zealand!

Nope, we haven’t left New Zealand yet, but have travelled further south east seeing more of the area.  We had plans that we would have NO PLANS for this first full day of the cruise.  I mean, we’d been going, going, going before now and would just veg out today.  Guess what? That didn’t happen!  We decided to go for a walk which ended up in a bit of a hike

We headed out and could see Mount Maunganui’s mountain, Mauao.  Actually, not a mountain like we think of mountains, but the natives called it a mountain.  You can see it for miles around.  Anyway, we started walking towards it and found there was a trail up to the summit.  Okay, we can do that.  It was definitely not a walk for a casual stroll.  But, it was worth it. Views were spectacular and the as hard as the trip up was, the trip down was more stairs and pathways than I could count.

Got back to the boat about lunchtime… and that’s where we headed after we cooled down, the cafe!  Heck, all that walking makes one feel less guilty about the food on this trip!!!!  Oh, and how far did we walk… Thanks to fitbits, we can tell you… 13,177 steps, 75 stories and 5 ¼ miles… 

Starting off showing our success....

Sheep with million dollar views they probably don't even appreciate!

 Here's that statue, in the middle of nowhere, zoomed in!  Maori Fisherman!

 Just starting our walk up the mount.... looking back at our ship!

Now we were starting to circumnavigate the Mount;  

 Starting to see the great Pacific Ocean!

 Got to here, thought we were at the top.... NOOOOOO, we weren't!

 Climbing on and on

 and on

 Are we there yet?   NOPE!!! but time for a selfie!

 Someone saw us struggling, so, they took one

 Now we are at the top... looking down on the small town!

 The top!

 We went down a different way... soooooooo many steps!

 We did it!