Fianl days in New Caledonia

We definitely needed a few days in port. One to get some business done and two to restock the galley. We washed all of the salt grime off of the boat. Yes, we know it will get dirty again. Compare this action to washing your car in winter, it just has to be done. Since we are preparing to leave to Australia on Oct 31 and Monday and Tuesday are holidays here, we have to clear customs and get our duty free fuel on Friday the 28th. Oso Blanco and Jackster came in to do the same. The three of us bid farewell to Noumea and headed to Island Maitre to anchor out and enjoy the now calming weather conditions. Our final three days in New Cal are going to be the finest we've had and help us to see why many boaters consider this country "a little slice of Heaven".

It is unbelievable how blue and smooth the water can be and how white and inviting the sandy beaches. We find a good dive site at Maitre, lots of large fish, two turtles, an octopus and more. The island itself is just a strip of sparkling sand with a many star resort perched on top. The boat gathering is on our boat tonight. We are all so excited about being able to get into the water again, we go for the big stretch and opt to head to the Amedee Light house for the next couple of days even though it is not classed as an overnight anchorage.

Amedee, another sand pile, but big enough to support a beautiful old light house from 1867 and a handful of "day use" buildings. It is a daytime destination for people coming by fast boats from Noumea and quite popular. There is a couple of wrecks to dive and an accessible reef wall dive. It's pretty and calm and we finish our final two days in New Cal playing in the water by day and gathering on Oso to eat and visit by night. We even have a Halloween night for Bear where we dress up and he gets treats. His Mom and Dad brought him "trick or treating" to our boat and to Jackster. Goofy, yes, but kids need some kid stuff (adults do too).

On the morning of October 31 we holler our final goodbyes to David and Jacqui on Jackster as we lift our anchor one last time from New Caledonia waters. They will head to New Zealand for cyclone season and Oso Blanco and us are headed for Australia. We have a four day run ahead of us. For the most part, the weather is favorable with a small bit of rough stuff at the mid way point. Here's hoping the weather guys can keep being wrong!

It is now 11:00 pm on the 31 st and I know, that you all know, that we must be on passage as I have finally gotten down to completing my blog entries. Sorry for the deluge. There was a 1/4 moon shining, but it is dark black now, there is a moderate swell so the ride is comfortable and there is only 6 knots of wind. Our position is lat. 22.37.784 S and long. 164.04.602 E.

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