Rock lobster (Nouméa)

The balcony looking north ish

This morning was beautiful and cloudless. Down to the buffet breakfast to sample the wares and then head off along the beach to justify the champagne I know will be coming later in the day (call me Nostradamus). The pastries were OK, not really up to French standard, but better than home. Although not as good as the patisserie in Osaka, Burdigala. It's in Herbis Plaza. Totally recommend that place.

There is a pool behind those palm fronds

West, straight out to the lagoon

As promised my loyal reader I snapped some shots from the balcony. Despite using the camera, they seem a little over exposed. Our suite is at the very end of the block on the top (4th) floor looking west. From different vantage points we have views of the garden, the pool or the lagoon. Hoping for some sunset shots tonight.

There was plenty of action in the water this morning. Aqua aerobics in the pool. People running circuits while the instructor, a sun-tanned prune, provided directions from pool-side safety. I'm not sure what was happening in the lagoon. There were a number of people swimming laps, a lone snorkeler and a bunch of, ahem, more mature people floating around on noodles making a lot of noise. At least they appeared to be having fun.

The walk along the lagoon can be achieved on the sand or the footpath above. Reef shoes are recommended if you stay on the sand as there are plenty of rocks and shells that make the walk difficult in bare feet. Not to mention broken glass, although most of this has been polished by sand and wave action. We walked down to the aquarium and sat on a bench and enjoyed the view and the morning before trekking back to the hotel. We didn't quite get to 10,000 steps. 

One peculiarity of this area is the vast number of people who sit in their cars. As we walked along the lagoon promenade this morning, most cars had a least one person inside. Smoking, sitting, on the phone, air conditioning on. Bizarre. It was a beautiful day outside. Mind you, the number of people who were baking themselves in the sun was also an unusual sight for an Australian. We have long learnt to cover up and stay out of the sun as much as possible. In Nouméa the practice seems to be to bake yourself. There were people who still glowed pink from yesterday's tanning session out again today. Rock lobster is the skin colour of choice - hence today's title. And a nod to the B52s from way back in 1979. I know. It's been around for ever, just like me.

One of the nice touches at Le Méridien is a free coffee every day. We needed to check a few things out with the Concierge but detoured to sample the espresso. A coffee shot served with dark chocolate and a glass of water. Oh yeah. It was good and nice end to our walk.

A quick change of footwear and it was down to the foyer to catch a cab into the down town area.  The cab driver was a pedant and for a moment I was transported to Paris with one of those arrogant drivers who believe doing their job and transporting you somewhere in a cab is beneath their station in life. He wanted to be difficult about pronunciation and abbreviated street names.  Local knowledge. Crétin. 

They have a Latin Quarter and an Asian Quarter in Nouméa and we saw them both. In minutes. You could tell the Asian Quarter because it had a sign and some red Chinese lanterns hanging in the street. Yes, street. One street in fact, well, part of one street. Let's call it China Street because it's certainly not China Town or the Asian Quarter ... unless it's a quarter of a street.

The Latin Quarter was harder to identify, even with a map. I'm not sure how it earned its name, I saw nothing in particular that would make me think, "ah, yes. I'm in the Latin Quarter." It, like much of down town Nouméa was a series of dodgy shops. It was dirty and depending on what area you were in, smelled strongly of sewer. Our expedition did not last long before we headed for Coconut Park and the taxi stand to make the trip back to the hotel for some quality time on the balcony.

Nouméa is often criticised as not being a holiday destination and people pass it by for nearby islands. That said, I'd happily sit on the balcony here and listen to the world happen around me. The food is fine, the view is gorgeous and the champagne chilled, like me. Room service can be a little slow, first world problems, but we enjoyed a cheese platter with our duty free Perrier Jouet and respective books. Heads up Gin Austen Bookclub, Jayne is reading Damascus by Tsiolkas and I'm onto the other Booker winner.

I can't see any ducks from here

Just off the coast is the île du canard. A party nightspot. We drifted to sleep last night to the sounds of drums and electronic beats, complete with a search light climbing into the night sky. We are intending to take a water taxi out there in the next day or so because it is a protected underwater haven and the best snorkelling near the main island. They actually have five marker buoys delineating the area, each with under water information. Looking forward to this.

In the meantime as the sun sets and revellers rise form their beds to party again, we are preparing for dinner at Shogun the Japanese restaurant on the hotel premise.

Speaking of sunset, here are a couple of the sun setting on the sea today. Just like Broome, it brings the people out. Still not sure what is the fascination, we get some more spectacular sunsets over land at Redfern.

Redfern, May 2019.

The Japanese restaurant was crowded and inefficient - very unJapanese. To be fair the only Japanese in the place were the two chefs and some customers. Inefficiency explained. The sushi was excellent and the tempura was pretty good too. We thought we'd grab a nightcap and dropped into the bar for a liqueur and coffee to find a three piece jazz ensemble.

Back in our suite and Duck Island is quiet tonight. A great finish to our first full day.

à demain