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| Leaving Sydney again |
Frances and I are spending 3 days in Noumea, New Caledonia, catching up with our friends Tamar and John who are staying for about 6 weeks. We were held up on the tarmac after waiting nearly an hour at Sydney airport for 2 missing passengers.
The airline had just found and unloaded their luggage when the were finally found and escorted aboard – a mother and her young son.We finally arrived at Noumea airport after a crowded, but thankfully short flight.
Breakfast on the plane was substantial, with an omelette (French for a cooked egg), sausage, ham and potatoes in a spinach sauce. That was accompanied by yogurt with crunchy muesli and a small muffin.
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| This looks good! |
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| It looks so big in the photo |
As you’d expect, the Noumea airport was relatively small, and processing by customs fairly rudimentary.
Fortunately John & Tamar were there already to pick us up in their tiny aqua blue Citroen.
It’s about a 40 minute drive along a very good road south to the capital Noumea.
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| Hotel Nouvata |
We drove through the 'city', past Bay Citron to our hotel, the Nouvata in Anse Vata.
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| Rimba Juice Café |
The hotel's glory is a little faded and we have a crap view into the central courtyard with glimpses of the garden and pool – but it’s otherwise fine.
We explored the Anse Vata seaside which is south of Bay Citron, which is just south of Noumea itself. It's mainly a tourist area with a number of hotels and restaurants along the waterfront, including Le Roof, a restaurant built out over the water.
It was now early afternoon and Tamar and John hadn't had lunch, so we at the nearby Rimba Juice Café - a glorified burger bar but more expensive.
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| View from Anse Vata looking south |
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| View from Anse Vata looking north |
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| La Gavotte Bretagne restaurant |
After an afternoon rest (we’d woken at 4:45 that morning to catch the plane) we reconvened with John & Tamar in the early evening and went looking for somewhere to eat.
After a fair bit of discussion, we settled on La Gavotte, specialising in food from Brittany and featuring Savoury Buckwheat Galettes which are a type of pancake, folded in and topped with savoury fillings. The charming waiter was really helpful in explaining and suggesting which dishes we’d like.
I had the Galette Croisicaise, prawns in a cream sauce with a home-made ratatouille containing finely diced vegetables – delicious.
Frances had the Salad Duo, home-made pickled tuna served on toast with chive cream, coconut prawn fritters and green salad – interesting and delicious. Tamar and John had equally interesting meals. The prices for eating out anywhere are fairly high, and there is no BYO, so a meal like this with a glass of wine each cost around AUS$100.
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| La Gavotte |
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| Galette Croisicaise |
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| Salad Duo |
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| MulataSon at La Barca |
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| La Barca bar |
On our way back to the car we happened across the most amazing music.
The MulataSon, a seven-piece band female from Cuba were playing in La Barca (The Boat) Bar. The high-energy Cuban rhythms stopped us in our tracks and we stayed to listen and be overwhelmed by the sounds. A fantastic way to end the evening.
Below is a short video of the MulataSon band.
