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| Kids fishing at Tribu Drueulu, Lifou Island |
With no significant light pollution from the village (tribu)
of Drueulu on Lifou
Island and no moon, the display
of stars was amazing. Pulling out the
Field Guide to Stars and Planets, we learnt that the dark spot near the Southern
Cross was caused by cosmic dust blocking out the brighter Milky Way and is
called the Coal Sack. Armed with that
piece of information we’ll be ready for more star gazing on the way to Vanuatu.
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| Crystal clear water at the anchorage in Lifou |
The trip to Lifou had a quiet start as we motor sailed
east from Noumea.
We’d rather that than pounding into a strong SE trade wind that kicks up a
nasty short chop in the lagoon. In Woodin Canal
a breaching humpback displayed for us. It must be one of the first up here from
Antarctica this season. Havannah Pass
was ebbing slowly when we thought it should be flooding so we were gently
flushed out to sea. Some playful dolphins joined us for a while, some log
rolling twice around in the air which was quite spectacular. The wind filled
with a dousing of rain and we ran overnight up to Lifou. The water is very
clear; Heidi started picking out the bottom at 20m on the way into
Drueulu. The anchorage is a mix of sand
and hard flat coral with a few bommies and well protected from the SE trades.
We paid our respects to the Petit Chiefs son as the Grande and Petit Chiefs
were away. The son (a father of 5 and one day will be the Chief) welcomed us to
the village and took our small gift to pass on.
All this was done semi-formerly in his round house. Heidi’s French was
stretched a little, but it was a pleasant exchange followed by coffee in his
house. The village itself was very neat and tidy. The thatched round houses
were very common, usually along side another simple building which seemed to be
the one lived in. We hitched across the island to Wé, walked around the many
roads in the Drueulu area for some good birding, snorkeled off the white sand
beaches and limestone cliffs and crags and watched a round house being
re-thatched. We were surprised to hear only about 20 yachts a year come
through. We added to both fish and bird species and turtles abound – a
beautiful place.
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| Traditional Round House |
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| Re-thatching underway |
