New Caladonia, Loyalty Island, Fiji

[Travel 25]

We are planning a cruise that will go to Noumea and Isle of Pines in New Caledonia, Lifou, at Loyalty Island and Lautoka and Suva in Fiji. If anyone has any information on these places we would appreciate it. Thanks for any input.

[newbie60]

We have a tour booked with "ToursbyLocals" in New Caledonia. They have options for many ports and the tour is priced by the tour, not by the person. Our 4 person, all day tour is $345 US, split four ways so quite reasonable. Website: http://www.toursbylocals.com

[HappyTvlr]

First of all, I am a keen snorkeler so most of my input is about snorkeling. The Amadee Island tour that was offered by Celebrity was amazing. The snorkeling was amazing, and they did a glass bottom boat ride if you are not a keen snorkeler. They put on an amazing lunch with bottomless bottles of average but decent wine. You will read about sea snakes, and they are there but harmless and actually quite beautiful. Isle of Pines has two sides to visit if you just walk around. One is for just swimming, and the other for snorkeling. The snorkeling is not great, but the island is one of the most beautiful I have ever seen. I am headed back in October and excited to visit the "natural aquarium" for snorkeling. As for Lifou, go to Jinek bay for some amazing snorkeling. You have to pay something like $15US to some guy "selling" wristbands to enter the water. A bit suspect, but we paid up and were glad we did. We take our own gear, but you can rent snorkels at any of these spots. Fins were available as well except at I. of Pines, and this is where they were needed most. As for the Fiji ports, we did not do any tours and just walked around. What a huge disappointment at both. They are small cities at industrial ports. We spent little over a couple hours at both and got back on the boat. Hope this helps!

[aussielozzie18]

I agree 100% with HappyTvlr. Amedee Island is a great day tour. It's pricey but its a full day in a beautiful location with lots to do. Loved it.

 

Lifou - Jinek Bay - yep great for snorkelling. You do have to pay $15ppAUD to the local before you enter the water to snorkel but it is well worth it. Lots of coral and fish.

You can also walk up to the little church on top of the hill for great views.

Edited April 24, 2014 by aussielozzie18

[Tara Jane]

Noumea - we took a bus tour from one of the people at the wharf. I think it was something like AUD 30 each and it took us on the hop on hop off bus route without getting off and then up into the countryside, think it was something like 2 and a half to 3 hours total. The bus was a full size well kept bus and there was a tour guide, a Canadian lady as well as the driver. I would highly recommend doing this, we have done it twice and going again next week so will probably do it again.

 

Lifou - lots of tours available from a tent on shore but extremely disorganised. My sister went on one of the ships tours and had a good time.

 

Isle of Pines - lovely island, beautiful spots on both sides to swim/snorkel. There are a few stalls selling food and clothes, a bit of a show put on by the locals. I took a mini bus tour about an hour or so from the side of the road, maybe something like 15AUD each. Sister did a tour from the ship but she saw no more than me, just had the security of being on a ship based tour.

 

These smaller islands are very compact, we don't spend more than 3 or 4 hours on land, then return to the ship for a light arvo tea.

 

Can't help you on the Fiji ports sorry.

[Yillup]

In Noumea we went on the green train from the passenger terminal. It was a good overview of the town and being in the train all the locals were waving and calling out to us. Noumea is a mining town, so it's not particularly "pretty", but it has a fascinating history. The area around the passenger terminal is rather run down with plenty of graffiti. Not the best part of town. The pastry and chocolate shops are apparently very good (if a little expensive). There are exchange machines around the town which will exchange Australian dollars into local currency. Anse Vata beach is pretty much the best place to swim around Noumea. We didn't go, but when we went past it it was rather grey looking, only a couple of metres of sand, and not particularly appealing.

 

We didn't get off the ship in Lifou. The water was a bit rough, we were enjoying the ship and were going to go in the afternoon. People started coming back with coral cuts in their feet having to visit the ship's medical centre. Wear reef shoes on the beaches! My favourite memory from that port is a church with a white rounded steeple that looked rather, um, phallic to us!

 

Isle of Pines we took the kids snorkelling near the religious rock (which you can't touch). Someone near us was feeding the fish, so we got a great look at them. If you go snorkelling but don't do it regularly, it might be a good idea to take a "noodle", one of those foam pool noodles, makes the snorkelling above pointy coral much easier. The coral is all brown, so don't expect the bright colours of the Barrier Reef. We also went to the pub hoping to have a plate of chips and a drink. It was busy, and the beers cost $11 each! We ended up leaving and walking through some of the markets. One of the stalls was offering a "taste" of bougna. We thought it'd be a mouthful like you'd get at a supermarket taste, but it was half a bowl full each. We enjoyed it, and it was a great light lunch. Grabbed some orange watermelon for after and we were set! The locals weave headbands and hats for the visitors, but they can't be taken back on the ship. There was a pile of dozens at the tenders!

 

Hope that helps a little!

 

 

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[Travel 25]

Thanks for all the input. We love to snorkel but are not strong swimmers and do best when we start from a beach rather than being dropped off from a boat in deeper water. Will we be able to see much in water that is not very deep and be able to rent equipment on the beach? Thanks again. Steve

[Yillup]

I didn't see anywhere hiring out snorkel gear at any of the ports (as an aside... Eeewww! Can't imagine putting my mouth over a snorkel someone else has slobbered on!). The ships usually have snorkel gear for sale if luggage space is a big problem. They're not very cheap though...

 

 

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[HappyTvlr]

Thanks for all the input. We love to snorkel but are not strong swimmers and do best when we start from a beach rather than being dropped off from a boat in deeper water. Will we be able to see much in water that is not very deep and be able to rent equipment on the beach? Thanks again. Steve

 

All the locations listed above have snorkeling just off the beach. You can rent snorkels and fins at all but I. of Pines where they do not have fins which you will really need in my opinion. I agree with the suggestion of buying your own because you can get a reasonable set for the cost you will pay in total rental. Add in the factor that they are yours and clean, and you will likely see that it is worth the extra luggage.

[aussielozzie18]

I didnt see anywhere to rent snorkel gear at Lifou. We bought ours before the cruise.

 

Re: Jinek Bay You access the water from a couple of steps that lead into the water. It start off shallow - you can stand and adjust your snorkel gear - then gets deeper (where the coral is). On the day we were at Jinek Bay there was a bit of a swell - you needed to be a confident swimmer on the day imo. My teen son loved the snorkelling and was in the water for ages. My teen daughter who is not a confident swimmer only lasted a few minutes and came back out. One of the locals who was collecting the money helped people in and out of the water on the steps and later went out on an surf ski to keep on eye on everyone.

 

If you decide to just swim at the beachfront at Lifou (next to wharf where you get off the tender) you might see turtles. We saw turtles whilst waiting on the wharf for the return tender. You must wear reef shoes if you go in water on the beachfront.

 

Amedee Island (Noumea) - you just walk in from the beach and its shallow. You can hire snorkel gear on the island but I believe you must pay a deposit as well as the hire cost. Lots of fish (not much coral)

Edited April 26, 2014 by aussielozzie18