subject: Islands of the South Pacific [print this page] Islands of the South Pacific Islands of the South Pacific
So you are still thinking about that cruise and wondering what sort of tours are available at your ports of call? The first place to start would be your cruise ship's website which will have all the details there but I'd like to share our experiences on our South Pacific cruise.
As it was a short cruise we only visited three islands. It is up to the individual whether they choose to pay for a tour, go ashore and look around by hiring cars or bikes or simply walk, or just stay aboard. Activities on board during the day are limited because most passengers choose to go ashore for at least part of the day. And be warned, on our cruise two passengers were late back. Cruise ships have schedules and tides to deal with and so must leave on time. In this case their belongings in the room were packed and placed on the shore and the gangplanks were just being lifted when they arrived. They were allowed on board but were subsequently fined $25,000.00. And that would put a damper on a cruise holiday.
There are two ways of disembarking. The best of course is when the ship can tie up at the wharf and you just walk down the gangplank. The other is to be taken ashore by tender. The crew will always have the safety of the passenger in mind and will not allow anyone to disembark if the weather is too harsh. There is usually an assortment of tours to choose from and the popular ones are booked early, so plan ahead.
Lifou Island
Lifou Island is the largest and most important island of the Loyalty Islands and we were taken ashore by tender. Passengers are boarded utilising a ticketing system that ensures everyone is ashore in an orderly fashion by the allotted tour time. There were a number of 10 seater buses waiting for us and off we went across the almost deserted island. Our first stop was a vanilla plantation. Our guide made the trip interesting for if the truth be told what happened was: we saw a vanilla bean, we saw a spot where a kava plant was yesterday and we had a cold cup of coffee and they had forgotten the vanilla. But it was done with great hilarity. Our next stop was the Jonkin Cliffs and it was a spectacular piece of scenery, 200 steps down and if you wanted to swim there was a climb up a rope ladder but it was all lovely. Before we went down we had a taste of coconut milk and the lovely lady chopped up our coconuts for us. We were all given grass hats and they stayed on our heads for the rest of the day. The tour was finished with a visit to the chief's hut and a number one beer on the beach, a walk around the markets and a relaxing massage. On all islands the locals never miss an opportunity to show their wares so souvenirs are always available.
Isle of Pines
Another tender disembarkation and this time we never chose a tour but simply went ashore. Take your passport to get it stamped for $2.00 and take plenty of water. This is an absolutely stunning piece of the world. The weather was perfect and it was a jaw dropping experience walking the beaches and swimming around in the crystal clear water. Hire a snorkel and glasses for a breathtaking swim around the rocks. Make this place a must if you are wondering which cruise to choose. We bought our lunch on the island although we could have gone back to the ship. The lunch was barbequed chicken with rice and banana for about $7.00, more than enough for two and we shared it with the wandering dogs. Passengers are of course warned that the food ashore may not be perfect but as the chicken was cooked over an open fire, we couldn't see a concern.
Noumea
Plenty of tours to choose from here and there is a wharf so it's an easy walk ashore. The most popular is the Yellow Tchou Tchou Train but it was fully booked so we went on a 3 hour bus trip. This took in a church were many miracles had taken place, a lookout over the city to the islands, a drive along Lemon Beach where the white pointers (bare breasts) were on display and a visit to the aquarium to see the great variety of fish and corals. An interesting experience because by then we had our sea legs so standing up on dry land was a swaying experience. We had lunch back on the ship and then went ashore again to walk around the main city. A very pleasant way to spend a day.
