Beautiful Isle of Pines

October 2018: We have been to Isle of Pines many times - we love the snorkeling there - read about the history on one of our other blog entries. Named by Captain Cook in 1774, and became a French penal colony in 1872 for French political prisoners. Walking down the jetty - Isle of Pines is a tender port - one can hear the singing of some locals.  That is always welcoming on these Pacific Islands. The tender jetty is located in Kuto Bay. We have walked around this area of the island and visited the markets and looked at ruins of some of the prison - the barred widows and stone walls, this time we decided to do a bus tour.

The ship had tours of the island, however, we knew that the locals provided tours also, and at a cheaper price, so we decided to do that. Local currency is French Pacific Francs, and Australian Dollars and US Dollars are also accepted. There were three or four our operators ranging in price from $30 to $20.

As we walked along the lovely beach to the left of the jetty we came across a tour that was $20 Australian, AND the bus was a big air-conditioned coach - BONUS. The island is 14km wide and 18kms long.

It was to be  90 min tour with 8 stops, including a cave and two lookouts. The driver explained "in his English" that everything was open and that there would be 8 stops and that the cave would have an entrance fee (250CFP = about $3.40) and a number of steep steps down to the swimming hole. All tour companies had this entrance fee. He then asked if anyone wanted to go to the cave - well no one was particularly interested in swimming in the water hole and no-one said anything. The driver checked that no one wanted to go and said we will spend extra time at the stops. Well, the tour ended up being over 2 hours and was well worth it, especially with the air-conditioned bus - most of the other tour buses we saw were open windows, and it was very humid (even in October).
First stop was the prison ruins. The French prisoners were sent to one of five different areas on the island. One is situated right at the jetty, a second is about 5 minutes along one of the main roads.

One can walk around the ruins and into cells. The vegetation is slowly taking over the prison. We stopped about 10 minutes. A passenger told us a story of a friend who was mauled by a bull here at the ruins, and we did see a couple of bulls roaming around, one inside and one outside. We were very wary.

Second stop was the beautiful Corbeille Bay. Only a tiny beach lined with palm trees, it was fairly secluded, except for a couple of dogs. This was a five minute stop.

Third stop was a lookout up the top of the island near the airport. It was an ok lookout, but not worth getting off the bus for. Forth stop was to be the cave, that we all decided we didn't need to see. So onto stop five and Saint Joseph Bay. This bay is famous for the large number of outriggers along the bay. It certainly was beautiful. Locals had set up a stall selling fruit, drinks, and cakes. 

A few of us chose to stay on the bus as it had to continue down the road to turn around. The views were beautiful, glad I stayed on the bus.

 We continued on to the Roman Catholic Church near Vao. Built in 1860 by Roman Catholic Marist missionaries and catholic convicts, many from the near by island of Mare. The Marist misionaries came to the island in 1848. The church, Notre Dame de l'Assomption, is located on top of a slight rise next to a school. This was stop six.

It almost appears to be a small village by itself. The church is large and is the only Roman Catholic church on the island. Regular services are still held here. The large wooden benches and beautiful decorations made this a perfect '5 minute' stop. Look at the roof! I was mesmerised by the roof, but forgot to take a photo.

We continued a drive through the main town of Vao to St Maurice Bay, stop seven.. The bay is famous for the totems that represent each family on the island. The totems are around the statue of Saint Maurice and a memorial to the local who have died in World Wars. The statue commemorates the first Roman Catholic service to take place on the island on 15 August 1848, just three days after the missionaries arrived. It is almost like the totems are protecting the statue and the totems along the water are providing a barrier from the water.

Some of the totems are so intricate and I'm sure they tell a story. We spent about 15 minutes here on out '5 minute' stop.

Our last stop - eight - or so we thought was a view. This one was pretty overlooking other islands though the trees. Bonus stop nine was another beach - it is an island and has so many pretty beaches.

The tour was well worth the $20 each and the air-conditioned coach was a bonus.

We still had a few hours before the last tender, and snorkeling at Kanumera Bay.

An interesting fact we found out was that Isle of Pines is only a 20 minute flight from Noumea, and only a 2 and 1/2hour boat ride. Cruise ships take overnight. Guess there are a number of 'wheelies' in the ocean!