It’s Saturday night and the smoke from the food stalls is overwhelming. There’s a string band playing on the stage – they are dressed in cowboy hats and Indian type poncho’s. We’re not sure if the 30 or so brightly dressed women in front of the stage are in a beauty pageant or a fashion parade. They shyly walk to the front, do a bit of a flutter or spin and then slink back to the group. The DJ has a lot to say, in French.
It’s their Pahatr Festival and it’s for locals, not tourists, so it’s fabulous. They have these every year in the French Loyalty Islands – each year is at a different island. It’s Ouvea’s turn this year.
Guillaume Waminya started the festival and says, “I launched the process, initiated this event, in order to get the tribal village known and bring people together. I shook up habits a bit, energies had to be mobilised, but today everyone gets involved, the festival is known and people are beginning to find their feet.”
Now there’s a dozen young women dancing, shakin’ their hips and telling stories with their hands. One is big. She’s very big and having a great time.
We go to find food – big dishes of root veges and coconut, plus baguettes with chips in, and ginormous mud crabs. Everything is foreign and we don’t speak French so no one knows what the hell we are saying – it’s funny and awkward and connecting.
We’re in Ouvea, the most northern of the French Loyalty islands. It’s so French. We weren’t expecting that. It’s like their culture has been misplaced. There’s huge political unrest, with the Kanaks being oppressed for so long. They’re working on it.
The sail here from Lifou was very lumpy. Dean loved it. I spewed. I’m still screaming to get the sails bought in. But we get over things quicker. Progress!
And I finally feel the absence of stress. That’s taken five months. I’m yet to have the deep relaxation that comes from isolation but soon we’ll head to the woop woops again, hopefully.
I’ve just marked this in our calendar – the first All Blacks game on he 21st, NZ time. How very exciting.
Back to turtles, white sand and adventure.
Yip.
Run crabs run!
Dean bought my birthday present here, a cute little egg basket. I love it. It holds 14 eggs and my mission is to make sure that none of them smashes in 30 knots.
Peter and Kim from Take Two and the awesome adventure family from Nika.
The wee town of St Josephs, northern Ouvea, is gorgeous. We wandered around and a local asked us in for coffee. We went into his Mum’s house, a traditional one. She then showed us her little garden. We have no idea what she said but we all smiled and laughed. She had very soft hands.
This is the first time I’ve seen Dean in a church. In 10 years.
Our local guides around the town – one had three legs.
Every building was fascinating.
Notice board outside the shop. Half these notices are for Bingo.
After cyclone-torn Vanuatu, we’re enjoying pretty things.
Che Guevara is often seen with the indigenous Kanak flag.
This is where the chief lives.
Postcard.
We went on a shark tour next to a tabu island. It was a gorgeous walk, snorkel and local fishing demonstration, all in French. One lovely French guy did some translation for us: In the estuary was a shark nursery. Once the eggs are hatched they swim to the sea but get eaten by barracuda. Sharks are like gods to the Kanaks and they’ve asked authorities if they can kill the barracuda. Not allowed.
Antoine, our local guide. That’s me in full snorkelling gear. We don’t have a photo of the two metre lemon shark we saw while snorkelling. I took one look and swam the other way. Dean went in for a closer look.
A turtle hole. We jumped in and swam in it. Apparently the chief puts the turtles in so he can then eat them. Hearing that kind of ruined it for me.
These French students have just been volunteering in Fiji on a school project. They were doing health checks in the villages and were told that in five years, 50% of Fijians will have diabetes. These girls “paid much money” to volunteer there.
After we’d all jumped in, Dean went looking for a higher place to jump.
That’s Pebbles and Take Two in the distance.
Sailing is Not Scary 
Sophie and I are enjoying your travels vicariously! You write very well! Arohanui James
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YOUR PHOTOS TAKEN ON OUVEA ISLAND ARE JUST FABULOUS. DOESN’T IT MAKE YOU REALISE JUST WHAT A DIFFERENT LIFE STYLE WE HAVE IN NZ AND AUSTRALIA!!
I LEARNT FRENCH AT COLLEGE BUT IT DIDN’T HELP ME ONE LITTLE BIT WHILE I WAS IN THAT PART OF THE WORLD.
KEEP THE FUN HAPPENING.
LOVE – COLLEEN AND DAD.
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Hi Jannie
Man it looks great .. and you writing with soooo much less anixity in your words … awesome .. its cold and miserable here .. soo much rain .. and we are truing to build barns … lucky we have a digger as we have just been scraping the mud off.. we now have 4 large piles of mud…. but we are winning … we head north again in October .. but I am off to india for a couple od weeks so will not ne back to our boat until the end of November…. looking forward to the 6 months of totally inknown… I am enjoying reading your posts.. so keep it up … and take care .. safe travels
Gail Kahurangi…..
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