Most cruisers have to sail past the Loyalty Islands directly for Noumea to clear into the country. We joined the Loyalty Rally so that we could do our inward clearance there and be able to enjoy the islands before heading to Noumea. Twenty four other boats chose to do the same thing, so we also got a taste of what it is like to be part of a Rally (cruising with a large number of other boats).

The Rally organizers flew the Customs Officials to the island of Lifou, where they cleared us in. Since we were all cruisers, it was no surprise that 1) their plane was delayed, arriving to the anchorage around 11:00AM rather than 9:00AM as scheduled and 2) at noon after clearing in 3 boats, they (being French) promptly stopped and took a 3 hr lunch! Upon their return the Rally organizers quickly did the math with the Officials and by 4:30PM they were off to catch their return flight having cleared all the other boats. Let’s just say everything went quickly!

There are three primary islands in the Loyalty group. We spent time on two of them - Lifou and Ouvea. We did not make it to Mare. These islands are lovely atolls with long stretches of sandy beaches, and the water color and clarity is like nothing you have ever seen.

What a contrast these islands are to Vanuatu and Fiji. While those islands have their independence, New Caledonia has the French Government to invest in their infrastructure. The difference is dramatic. The locals (Kanaks) truly want their independence and a vote is coming November 4. The French government has made it clear that if the vote is for independence, then the subsidies paid to the Kanaks go away, as does all other investment in the islands. One of the sights we visited on the Island of Ouvea was a memorial to a group of Kanaks protesting for independence that were killed by the French Police.

The Rally organizers had made arrangements for vans to haul us to the town of We so that we could replenish our stores or fresh meats, vegetables, eggs and fruits - all items that had to go overboard before we came into New Caledonia territorial waters. They also took people to the OPT (French Post and Communications Office) to get SIM cards for internet access.

We got to spend 2 days on Lifou visiting with our good friends from SV Q, who were on their way to Vanuatu. They handed off their SIM card to us for New Caledonia and we gave them ours for Vanuatu. It was nice to have French-speaking support with us the first couple of days as we eased into the challenges of trying to communicate in a foreign language. We had a great tour around the island of Lifou seeing a number of sites, including a vanilla processing facility and a great lunch spot.

We had a great half-day sail from Lifou to Ouvea. We didn’t think the water could get any bluer and the sand any whiter - but it did! We anchored off a resort, which gave us access to a nice restaurant and made it easy to arrange tours around the island. We got a car and did a self-guided tour of the island (no English speaking tour guides available) with SV Whisper HR, seeing churches, Chieferies, blue holes, a copra processing facility, and a great lunch stop at a family restaurant. We also did a fabulous guided walking tour of the Lekiny Cliffs with SV Whisper HR and SV Eagles Wings. The tour is a MUST SEE for the area, and has to be arranged through the local village (the area is Tabu) and timed with low tide.

The clock was ticking and we felt the need to move towards the mainland so that we could get a chance to spend time in the Southern Lagoon and Baie de Prony before continuing on to Noumea. While the winds were not ideal for crossing to the mainland, they appeared to be the best we were going to see for a while, so we (and SV Whisper HR) made the long day-sail to the east coast of Grande Terre.