Lifou - Loyalty Islands

It's been a good day.

The ship anchored in a bay off the Island of Lifou, another part of the French colony of New Caledonia and the Loyalty Islands. We braved the scrum to catch the tender to shore. The crew really is very organised. It was certainly a little bit of remote Pacific Island life, although I suspect that there was a village thereabouts with some mod-cons, notably the fact that I got a mobile phone signal an hour after we put back out to sea.

The Island of Lifou was great although the weather could have cooperated a little better. There were squally showers interspersed with sunshine. Jo and I walked around to a bay known for its snorkeling. I donned my gear and jumped straight in. The water was a little cooler than I thought it would be but not bad at all really. The fish and coral below the surface were amazing. I did a whole lot of video and still pictures with my GoPro. They all turned out slightly out of focus which must be something to do with the water rather than the camera. So all of the beautiful footage of coral and tropical fish (and there was plenty of it!) was a bit disappointing.

Late this arvo Jo and I bought ourselves a cocktail each went to the rear of the ship and watched Lifou slip behind us. Tomorrow Port Vila, Vanautu.

Now, I might have another one of those cocktails.