SERENITY NOW

Day 1. 10 Oct '23 Like two excited children on Christmas Day morning, we jumped from our bed as the sun came up. There’s an unfamiliar tingle fluttering in my stomach.. an air of anticipation.. What’s the reason for all this excitement? Has Santa been? Did it snow? No… Better than that: We’re going to Australia! We’d prepped the boat yesterday, checked out and provisioned. All that was needed to do this morning was slip the dock lines and glide out of the marina. This was a task made significantly easier as a couple of days ago Capt. Chez had decided to turn the boat around to be facing bow out. We’re away from the marina before 6am and on our way to Bundaberg. Within the first ten minutes, we had a visit from two dolphins - surely a good omen for our last passage (… again I must stress: I’m not one for omens and portents… I do however seem to keep mentioning them. Funny that). The dolphins sedately circled the boat then headed on their merry way. We made our way through the pass

  Having spent an interesting week on the water getting here, we were very glad to grab a mooring buoy next to a small island resort (Ilot Maître) and flop on our flat calm bed for a good 12 hours of solid sleep. Having recovered somewhat, the next morning we raised the yellow flag and headed across to the marina at Noumea. The usual frantic marina entry ensued: confusing radio comms, angst over getting into the berth, rising wind, tight turns.. it’s still not my preferred method to stay somewhere: far too many hard surfaces - I’d much rather drop the anchor. That said, there’s a lot to like about plugging in to ‘free’ electricity, water and wifi. Immigration was a short walk away, a couple of forms and stamp stamp we’re in. Next up, the biosecurity team visit the boat. Two young guys, who inspect our food stores, and take away various bits: corn kernels, and egg shells out of the bin amongst other things. The local supermarket (Johnstons) had us gawking like slack jawed yokels at the

  I’m writing this with a belly full of excellent Mexican food. After checking out of Fiji at Denarau, we splashed out on a chilli infused goodbye feast at a nice dockside restaurant. Now back on the boat with lips still burning, we’re saying a very fond farewell to somewhere we’ve been repeatedly delighted by over the last few weeks. I feel like I’ve been saying ‘The people here are lovely’ at every stop along the way since we left the Caribbean - the Fijians however trump all previously mentioned lovely people! Never before have I met such honestly friendly and welcoming souls: a truly happy smile and a ‘Bula’ from everyone you meet. Be that from rough looking randoms at a rundown bus station, to… well.. to literally everyone here! Anyone Fijian reading this (unlikely I know) you are a credit to the island paradise you are lucky enough to call home. Day 1. Weds 27 Sept 2023 We left there this morning, upping anchor as soon as we were both awake. Our destination; Noumea in New Caledon