Snorkel heaven

We had the best day of our trip so far, on the Ile des Pins (Isle of Pines). It’s a small island off the southern tip of New Caledonia’s mainland, named for the many pine trees spread over it. We had to take a 20 minute flight to get there.

After checking into our hotel, we grabbed snorkel gear and took a bus to the other side of the island to explore the Oro Bay (I’ll use the English names). There we walked through a shallow lagoon, and then a stretch of forest to a gorgeous swimming “hole.” This place is known to be a jewel of the Pacific, teeming with fish and other sea life! There were very few tourists in this remote place; everyone was exploring the clear water, swimming alongside the residents which inhabit the reef of coral that lies beneath the surface.

As we were standing there enjoying the spectacle of fish swimming around our legs, I felt a distinct bite on the back of my ankle! I kind of ignored it, thinking it might be a twig or piece of coral brushing against me, but a moment passed and it got me again, even harder. Needless to say, I jumped about 3 feet and screamed like a crazy blonde (which I am). We looked down, and there was nothing really there but a rock, so I thought the attacker was probably a crab who got freaked out and scuttled off, but then I spotted him: he was a little fish, about 6 inches long with some black and white markings, swimming around and under the rock. He lunged at me and I screamed again, and then Alan watched him snap at another fish going by. It was pretty hilarious but clearly he was protecting his home, so we moved to another spot for the sake of our ankles.

After oohing and aahing for awhile, we left the pool and walked around part of the island to a restaurant that sits on a beach, tables and chairs in the sand, palm trees rustling overhead shading diners from the intense sun. The restaurant is called Kou-gny, and it is famous throughout the country for being the best for lobster. It was a lobster feast like I’ve never had before. It was the most tender, most flavorful and delicious. And there were three different kinds on the plate… One was a bit smaller than the main lobster and had very sharp thorns all over it’s legs, and we’re guessing it was some kind of giant crawfish. Then there was a third which had a totally flat head. Okay, my mouth is watering right now at the memory of it! And it was cheap: $50 per person with wine, salad and desert!

Stuffed and content, we walked back to the swimming hole to snorkel among the many fish, eels, hermit crabs, coral and giant clams. It was magical because the water was so clear and the fish were swimming so close you could almost touch them. We found my arch nemesis and terrorized him a little with my flipper. He kept nipping at it, and then when he got really mad he did this crazy dance where he backed his tail up to me, and wiggled it along with his flippers, kicking up sand and clouding the water. I plan to figure out what this fish is and find out more about his behavior.

After 2 hours we were pretty pooped and it was time to catch our taxi back to the hotel, so we made the long trek through the lagoon and the woods.

Along the way we picked up more trash on the beach than we should have had to. It’s truly a shame to see so little respect for beauty and nature as I’m traveling. We’d also collected bags of trash on beaches in Fiji, Henderson Bay, and the mainland here. It’s tragic how much plastic is discarded or washes up onto these pristine and beautiful places. I can only imagine, in addition to ruining the scenery, what it’s doing to the wildlife and water. If you are reading this, remember to always pick up your trash, and place it in a recycling bin if possible! In addition, if you see trash, help out by picking it up. Maybe you didn’t leave it there, but protecting our environment is more important than ever; It’s in all of our hands and a few moments does make a difference.

Okay off the soapbox. This trip is already turning me into a treehugger! We got back to our hotel, which is actually small free-standing dwellings on a beach. It’s pretty cool, although a bit rundown. We ordered escargot de la mer, in the spirit of adventure in food, but it was pretty scary. Alan got a big slimy squirt in his mouth after biting into one, and that was the end of dinner!