Walking along a pristine white sand beach in New Caledonia, we came across this gorgeous green turtle washed up on shore – unfortunately dead. The locals speculated that the turtle mistook a plastic bag floating in the water as its favori…
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Dugong Encounter
(Stock photo from the internet)New Caledonia is known for its population of dugongs – which is a walrus-like animal that looks like the manatees of Florida. Since arriving a month ago, we’ve kept our eyes pealed for the elusive animal. Finally we…
New Caledonia
We arrived in Noumea, New Caledonia at 10 am on Saturday after a wonderful smooth 59 hr. passage from Luganville, Vanuatu. Even Ann thought it was smooth! Noumea calls itself the “Paris of the Pacific” and it certainly is VERY French.&…
Passage update
It is noon on Friday in this part of the world and we are having a great passage. We expect to arrive in Noumea, New Caledonia early tomorrow morning. The scale and power of big seas are always amazing and make for good stories,…
At sea ……
It is mid morning on Thursday and we are approximately 100 nm from Santo, Vanuatu on the way to New Caledonia. The forecast looks good and since we left Luganville last night at 2300 (11 pm for you Packer fans) we have had relatively smooth …
The Coolidge
In October of 1942 the Pacific War was in full swing and the U.S. was pouring men and equipment into the region. The Island of Espiritu Santo in northern Vanuatu (New Hebrides) became a major Navy staging area and airbase due to it’s p…
Big Nambas
Eric and Bear with Chief Jean-MarcThe men dancingThe woman and childrenThere are big namba villages and small nambas villages and I’m not sure what the difference is. Namba in Bislama seems to have a couple translations. Nambawan means number one s…
Millennium Cave Death March
Those of you who know Eric have probably heard stories about the “Death March” – hikes that he and his buddies have done throughout the years in the Utah deserts, canyons and mountains. I participated in one Death March where we hiked through a f…
John Frum
In addition to the Yasur Volcano, Tanna Island is home to the John Frum ‘cargo cult’. Legend has it that in the 1930s, an American named John befriended a traditional village and convinced them that the missionaries were wrong…
Tanna Yasur Volcano
Walking along the rim On the southern island of Tanna sits one of the world’s most accessible active volcanoes. From the anchorage at Port Resolution, Mount Yasur looms over the mountain just three miles away and spews clouds of ash into the sky. Fr…
