Closest Supermoon Since 1948 Comes Up

It is said that the closest supermoon since 1948 came up November 13 and 14.

I was not able to see it due to the bad weather on the day.

I took those pictures almost one year ago in  New Caledonia located in the southwest Pacific Ocean.

While walking along beach side, I coincidentally found a beautiful full moon.

I have not seen such a perfect full moon since then.

The hotel my wife and I stayed near the beach

Accommodations of the Hotel We Stay Are Good Enough

 The swimming pool was quiet and beautiful in a day and night. Whenever I came down to the swimming pool, nobody were there or a very few guests were chatting on pool-side-chairs.

 The concierge at the hotel front desk was kind and knew very well about tourist spots in the city and neighboring areas.

Tropical fruits and various bread served in the morning buffet at the hotel were delicious.

The room was quite large for its reasonable price charge. 

Artistic Graffiti in Numea

Seeing artistic graffiti in foreign countries is unscheduled fun moment while walking on a street.
We found several beautiful graffiti in downtown and hill top ocean viewing site.

We Go to a Morning Market "Marche"

We went to the Marche in the early morning.
They sold vegetables, fish, flowers, fruits, ..., you name it.
Seeing and buying goods at local markets were really fun.
Unexpectedly, there was a live concert at the corner of  the market. We could watch and enjoy the music, too.

Be careful, if you have a chance to go there, the market is open only on Sunday morning.

Flowers in a Port Town

Wherever you may go, you will find beautiful flowers every corner in the port town Numea.

I think that explanations are not necessary needed for flower pictures.

Please, just feel the sea breeze and floral fragrance through those photos.

 

It's Fun to Stay at 'Parc Hotel' in Numea

 The name of the hotel we stayed was Parc Hotel. We stayed there for about a week.
Night view from the balcony was so wonderful that we had dinner while seeing the sunset and changing ocean color

Swimming pool at the hotel was nice and quiet.

Ile aux Canards island / Ilot Canard

We went to a small island called Ilot Canard taking just five minutes from the beach in the main island of New Caledonia by glass-bottomed boat.

We could see coral reefs and fish swimming between them through the bottom glass of the boat.

We enjoyed seeing beautiful beach, the sea, birds, fish and a shellfish.

Unexpectedly, there was an art trail where many original artworks by sculptors and artists were on display.

It is said that at weekends, volunteers from the environmental information center would be there to answer visitors questions.

You Don't Have to Dive to See Coral Reef in Numea

'Le Roof' is a name of the restaurant built above the sea water in Numea.

When my wife and I took a walk along the beach, I found a pier which connected the beach and the restaurant.  

We walked through the pier just for taking a look at the menu of the restaurant.

Unfortunately, I couldn't see the menu because the restaurant was closed. 

But, instead of the menu, we could see live coral reef just under the pier bridge.

Yes, surprisingly you don't have to dive to see coral reef here in Numea!

Pacific Jewel Is a Name of the Cruise Ship

When I went to a pier in Numea, a huge cruise ship was docked there.

Since we can't see such a big ship in Tochigi, Japan, the size of her body was nothing short of amazing.

I looked up wiki. about the ship and it said;
Pacific Jewel was built in Monfalcone, Italy launched on 25 May 1989.

The vessel had a gross tonnage of 69,845.




She is about 245 m (804 ft) long, with a beam of 32 m (105 ft)  with a maximum speed of 19.5 knots (36.1 km/h; 22.4 mph).

The ship could carry 1,910 passengers (maximum). The cruise ship was built at a cost of US$276.8 million.

Wild Birds in New Caledonia

We were waken up by wild birds' singing every morning in Numea.
A day started by taking pictures of them from a balcony of the hotel we stayed.

Just a ten-meter walk from the hotel we stayed brought us to the beach where seagulls were living.

Looking carefully at their beaks and eyes, I found colors were different each other..
Does it mean just male or female, or they are different species?

A Driver and a Tour Guide in Numea

Cedric is a driver of the choo choo train and Lida is a English speaking tour guide.

Both of them were very kind and friendly.

They became a precious memory of our trip to New Caledonia.

I Go to New Caledonia in the Southern Hemisphere

The vehicle called Choo Choo Train took tourists to several sightseeing spots in the main city of Numea spending a couple hours with two tour guides, one of  whom spoke English and the other spoke French.

Since New Caledonia is an overseas territory of France, almost all people in the country speak French and few speak other languages.

English speaking tour guide accompanied with us was just for tourists.

My wife and I enjoyed the tour very much.  The view of the ocean from the top of a hill was really awesome, wasn't it?