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THANK YOU!!

Many thanks for all birthday wishes!! 

So very many of them,

it makes "Birgitta-fish" incredibly happy!! ;)
  
The day was indeed spent among the waves

and with a great wind speed

I got a super fun day together with kite and board!

Looking forward to more adventures both above and below surface.

Each day has its opportunity... :)

 And with the adventures, more blog posts and pictures!

Many thanks to all of you!!

 

Cheers /Birgitta 

 

......   :)   ......

Life beneath the kite surfers' paradise

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Pouembout, New Caledonia, South Pacific 28/1-2014

S21°07.990´
E164°55.174´

Poé beach, on the west coast of New Caledonia, is a paradise for many, and has particularly become a popular spot for kite surfers.

The long coral reef just off the coast gives the lagoon great protection even in strong winds, which contributes to the perfect conditions for many wind surfing sports.

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This place was indeed one of the two places where I started to learn the basics of kite surfing.

While spending my time with the kite and board in this clear, turquoise-blue water, my curiosity starts to grow within me...

... how does it look beneath the surface in this kite surfers´ paradise??

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Hereby, the result of my curiosity...

As the lagoon is shallow, only mask, snorkel and fins are needed to start explore the marine life living here.

The coral reef is located further out from the beach and a good distance of swimming is needed to reach the first corals...

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So much life in all kind of sizes, colours and shapes...

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Each time I am going into the water to snorkel out to the reef, I meet the reef sharks...

Usually, it is the whitetip reef shark I see where it rests beneath the coral formations.

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I also get a new companion in the lagoon, a zebra shark! :-)

The zebra shark is often also called leopard shark and is a species that attains a length of 2,5 meters.

This shark species are night active and spend most of the day resting motionless on the sea floor. During night time, they actively hunt for molluscs, crustaceans and smaller fish.

What a wonderful sight to see this beautiful shark!! :-)

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It is incredible how much beauty there is hidden barely two meters beneath the waves...

I know I have said it before, but no matter how much time I may spend underwater, I really do not get enough of this amazing world!

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Poé beach turns out to be not only a paradise for kite surfers and wind surfing enthusiasts...

... there is a paradise hidden just beneath the surfboard as well... ;-)

Kitesurfing - having fun above surface!

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Pouembout, New Caledonia, South Pacific 18/1-2014

S21°07.990´
E164°55.174´

Finally, time for some kitesurf-pics! :-)

As there have been lots of wind, we have had great kitesurf conditions for many days lately. Here are some photos from nice kitesurf sessions at Pindai, in north-west New Caledonia.

Indeed, it looks fun when the kitesurfers playfully are enjoying the pure power of nature!

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Well, it does not only look fun, it truly is fun! Oki, better to get into the water and on the board myself as well... :-)

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Kitesurfing is a new sport for me...

... and well, hehe... as an underwater loving person you just need to make a visit beneath surface at times... ;-)

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The more time spent on the board, the better it goes, and for each session, this speedy sport gets even more enjoyable and addicting!

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Many thanks to Christian for great teaching and patience while watching me abusing his kites and board...

For each time spent with the gear I am improving, but most important:

I really have lots of fun and am fully enjoying the sessions spent in both wind and waves...

... and that is what kitesurfing is all about! :-)

More shark friends! :-)

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Pouembout, New Caledonia, South Pacific 14/1-2014

S21°07.990´
E164°55.174´

After many windy days, the weather forecast promised a few of days with only lighter winds. Perfect weather for boating and free diving!

After a couple of hours on the road, and another hour boating, we finally reach our final destination.

A small deserted island with nothing more but sand and plenty birds.

Our aim is not to go on land, just to have this little island as shelter from the swell during our day in the water.

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As we do not want to disturb the birds we anchor the boat a good distance from shore.

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With such rich life above water, what can we then expect beneath surface?

Already before entering the water we see a shadow slowly swimming next to the boat. A shadow with both shape and movements of a shark.

We slowly get in the water to have a good look around, but no... the shadow is gone...

There are plenty fisk in the area and like us they prefer to keep close to the coral reef where they can find shelter and protect themselves if there would come a bigger visit.

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When diving down to the bottom the fishes seems to become a little more curious about their new guest...

... and it does not take long before a whitetip reef shark passes by to also have a look on this non-breathing creature lying at the bottom ;-)

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Happy about my succesful bottom time and after getting some air at the surface, I am ready to go for another try.

At the bottom again and the fishes starts to get a little closer when I start to get the feeling that there is something bigger close by.

And there it is, the same shadow we saw from the boat, but now it is just above me...

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Our new company is a blacktip reef shark.

Like the whitetip reef shark the blacktip also belongs to the requiem shark family.

This robustly built species has a streamlined "typical shark" shape, but do normally not get longer than 1.6 meters.

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Unlike the whitetip, this species needs to be on the move and swim all the time... and so it does with graceful and elegant movements.

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Our new friend seems to be curious about us and comes for a closer look before it finally decides to disappear into its blue infinite surrounding.

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Happy for this wonderful day at sea with awesome underwater encounters, it is getting time to head back to the main land of "Grande Terre" (New Caledonia).

The wind has already been starting to increase again and a bumpy boat ride back is ahead...

Many thanks to all fishes, sharks and birds for a great day! We look forward to see you soon again! :)

"La Brousse" -pics ;-)

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 Pouembout, New Caledonia, South Pacific 6/1-2014

S21°07.990´
E164°55.174´

Time to share some pics from my New Caledonian neighbourhood.

For each day passing by I often find myself in great admiration of all the beauty surrounded. I see so much charm in differnet forms where ever I look. With this growing amazement for the place, I thought I better share the beauty... :-)

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The vast spaces, mountains and fields are often called "La Brousse" (the bush) and here in the northern part of the island those places are plenty.

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Hot and sunny days are perfect for taking a bath even for a horse, while the cows mostly seem to be interested in just watching the activity...

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The bushes and trees do not only offer shade... With colourful flowers and elegant leaves they decorate the scenery in the most delightful way.

The result after someone celebrating the New Year. Fireworks and a dry forested area is not a good combination...

From being a green forest, Pindai Nature Reserve sudden change into the opposite...

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Lately, I have been spending lots of time paddling SUP in the mangrove. It is my first time using a SUP and it seems like I got addicted to it directly!! ;-)

There is so my much life hidden in the mangrove. Everywhere I hear something swimming, splashing, jumping, crawling and/or flying... Crabs, fishes, sharks, rays, birds...

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Back on dry land the lagoon always look so inviting! Sure I like walking and to explore new places on dry land... However, it will not take long until I am longing back to the ocean again...

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Wohooo, finally!! Blue, blue sky and sea!!! :-)

The beaches of Pindai and Poe. Great places for both sunseekers and water sport enthusiasts. Kind of crowded during weekends, but almost no one during the rest of the week...

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Further out at the coral reef the visibilty is much better and the sea is no longer only inviting from distance...

While being out there you really do not want to leave... ;-)