Landscape Analysis, Southern New Caledonia – by Gary

First light on our approach to Noumea found us gliding slowly through Canal Woodin, the narrow passage between the southern end of the big island of New Caledonia and the much smaller Ile Ouen.  Steep hills, thin vegetation, many bare eroding gullies, the exposed soil and rock glowing orange – we were threading a remarkable landscape, reminiscent of the hills round Queenstown, Tasmania.  Natural or man-made?  This was our point of debate as we sailed through.

The red lines and dots show our route around the southern end of the big island of New Caledonia en route to Noumea.

One of the more striking aspects of this landscape - no people!  Almost no direct sign of the activities of humans, apart from glimpses towards the head of Baie Du Prony of large scale mining activity.  And no sign of grazers; sheep, cattle, goats – so no culprits there. We knew New Caledonia to be highly mineralised; iron, copper and most particularly nickel, a key ingredient of stainless steel are all found here.  The mine we could vaguely discern in the poor light and distance was a huge new nickel ore extraction, concentration and export facility.  Could old mining and prospecting activity have created this landscape?  Could fire, that key tool of the old prospectors be causal?  Or perhaps it was just natural?.  Soil development was obviously highest at the bottom of slopes where vegetation was thickest, tallest and most luxuriant.  Higher up the thin soils are most obviously capable of supporting only light, windswept heathy looking vegetation that likely dries out quickly between rainfalls.  Could lightening strikes and subsequent hot fires have stripped vegetation and seedbeds, with erosion quickly following?

The soils were obviously deepest at the base of slopes, with pockets of luxurient growth, featuring the distinctive pines of New Caledonia (Araucaria columnaris).

A high speed ferry distracted us from our morning cogitations – we clocked it at 36.2kn on the AIS as it screamed past.

But back to our puzzle...  its not difficult to imagine fire being a major factor in the development of this landscape.

Up slope, lacking vegetation, erosion of the loosely consolidated substratum would be rapid.

We sought answers on arrival in Noumea, heading for the local library (itself a wonderful piece of history).  Piecing together our bits of French, English and more than a few hand waving gesticulations we were shuffled past a phalanx of shoulder shrugging librarians – those answers were looking elusive!  But miraculously we were rescued – a fellow standing in line behind us over-heard us and stepped in to help.  A miner by profession and a 'Caldosh', that is, a descendent of the original French settlers, Jacques' depth of knowledge of his island's history, landscape evolution and current practices was impressive.

In search of information, we headed for the local public library.  Itself a fascinating piece of history, this building commenced life as the New Caledonia Pavillion in the 1900 Paris 'Exposition Universelle', and was dismantled and relocated to Noumea afterwards.

As Jacques pointed out, the library site boasts a collection of  large, old trees, including on the left, a fine Kauri (same as grow in NZ).  It was the Kauri, along with many other prized forest trees, that apparently grew prolifically around the southern end of the island.  Jacques indicated that the first settlers, 150 to 200 years ago, rapidly harvested the trees for construction lumber.  As we speculated, fire, high rainfall and erosion did the rest.

Meanwhile most of the southern part of the island has been declared a national park and is quietly repairing itself.  It is in fact much, much greener than when I first saw it 30 years ago.

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Where Old Fishing Boats Come to Die – by Gary

Like Australia, Fiji sells off the farm to maintain its day-to-day economy.  The nations offshore fishing rights appear to be largely in the hands of others, with a huge Asian fishing fleet working out of Suva.  I guess they come to this spacious, well equipped harbour for a bit of maintenance, fuel, provisions, ice and water, R&R and maybe to await tuna migrations??  Whatever the case there are large numbers of these boats 'hanging out' with minimal on-board activity, tied up alongside or lying to moorings in huge rafts.

I'm guessing the fishing is less than lucrative.  Maintenance standards look low.  Some boats appear near derelict.  Others are quite obviously totally so, stripped of deck equipment like nets, buoys, lights, radio whips and windows.  Some have burnt, several have sunk!  Nobody seems to be minding much.  Gotta be good for the fish too!

Rafted up five and ten deep alongside wharves

Lying to moorings rafted up in the middle of the bay.

Undertaking a bit of needed maintenance.

Although maintenance standards appear to be pretty average, some look near derelict.

Others obviously are derelict, stripped of valuable deck equipment.

Some are burnt ...

...others sunk.

It's quite a sight.

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A Step Back In Time - by Zeke

Hello everybody. The other day we briefly visited Levuka the former capital of Fiji where good old mother England controlled Fiji from. The town is full of old very beautiful colonial buildings that line the water front. For several hours we wandered around town amazed at the buildings experiencing the unreal feeling of going back in time.

Westpac

Levuka was founded by traders and settlers in 1820. At the height of the towns growth when it was still the capital the population reached 800 people. Levuka holds many of Fiji's first's such as the first: bank, post office, school, private members club, hospital, town hall, and municipal government. The town was an important commercial port and business center for Fiji for over 60 years. However Levuka is no longer the capital. It was moved to Suva because of concerns that the town could not grow owing to the 600 meter cliffs hemming it in.

With the assistance of a tuckers ice cream(proudly made in Fiji) we walked around town

Left over from when the English ruled over half the world(a good part of it any way) are churches, old administration buildings, schools, shops and lots more. Many of the houses and shops along the main street have been recently restored to as near as can be guessed to what they looked like originally. It is an interesting mix of old colonial buildings and palm trees.

A department store in town

A fruit and vegetable stall

The school

The Masons Hall, arsonist burnt it in 2005

The town church

The town hall

This fly wheel,boiler and other components siting behind the diesel generating plant in town I think were part of Levukas first power scheme, the first power scheme in Fiji.

Thank you for reading this blog on Levuka which I hope you found interesting. I enjoyed my visit to Levuka had a great time eating ice cream and looking old buildings.

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Makogai Leper Colony – by Vicki

Our visit to Makogai provide an opportunity to learn more about the long history of leprosy and the terrible stigma attaching to those with this disease.

Northeast of Viti Levu sits Makogai Island, some 70 nautical miles from Suva. From 1911 to 1969 this island was home to a leprosy hospital, dormitories and villages for lepers from right across the south Pacific. Makogai's remoteness, and isolation from Suva, made the placement of a leprosarium there very attractive to colonial administrators. Now, much of this infrastructure has disappeared or lies in ruins.

The staircase above is all that remains of the hospital (see first photo)

Makogai's patients were housed in separate villages according to their ethnicity, and gender.

At the beginning of the twentieth century there was no cure for leprosy. Treatments only reduced the symptoms and the separation of patients was the primary means for preventing the spread of the disease. The life of a leper on Makogai was not dreadful but still harsh by present day standards. Everyone that could was encouraged to farm the land, there was traditional village life, there were inter-village sports competitions, and there were even cinema evenings.

We were suprised to learn that it was not until 1948 that effective drugs became available. Of the 4500 patients that were sent to Makogai, a lot of people in those day, almost 1500 died and were buried in the cemetery. 3000 survivors were able to return to their country of origin, and their families.

A melancholy scene, row after row of headstones running up the hillside

Makogai has two villages, one centred around the old hospital site and the other across the island where the leprosarium workers lived. Today fruits and vegetables grow amongst the foundations of the dormitories. Elsewhere the vegetation chokes the ruins and large trees have grown up through buildings.

Fireplaces in a cookhouse behind a dormitory and one of the few remaining dormitories

An administration building, the surgery and pharmacy buildings

The closure and abandonment of the leprosarium saw many building materials re-used elsewhere. The island was slowly resettled and became the national centre for a giant clam aquaculture project in 1986 to re-introduce them onto Fiji's reefs (native population lost in the 1960s). The giant clam project is still in operation and been augmented by a Hawkesbill Turtle hatchery – we visited both facilities.



To end our visit to this historic island we snorkeled along the foreshore over the giant clams, some free-standing and some in protective cages. The coral is colourful and diverse, with many soft corals. The fish are small but abundant. We see a huge variety of fish, many that we have not previously seen in the Pacific.

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