New Caledonia, Coral Sea, South Pacific, Sept/Oct 2024
Humpback whales visit the lagoon of New Caledonia for couple of months every season, when they normally are seen between July to September. The whale season has come to an end and the whales are about to leave their breeding grounds to start their long migration south towards their feeding areas in Antarctic waters.
In the great south lagoon of New Caledonia, we observe several humpack whales leaving the lagoon for deeper waters. During the whale observation our attention gets distracted by a white plunge-diving bird. It is a red-tailed tropicbird succefully catching a fish which takes the seabird quite some struggle and time to swallow...
When weather deterioates we seek shelter at the very southern tip of the New Caledonian main island. Here the coastline provides a great variation of steep red cliffs, mangroves and small, wild beaches.
When approaching the anchorage, the scent of wild flowers and sound of chanting birds is a lovely contrast after a good time on the salty sea. Later on, the coastline gets explored further by paddle and foot.
This wild corner ruled by wind and tide, has for quite some time become one of our favorite getaways...
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