Category Paradise

30
Jun 09

Fayaoué, Ouvéa

Loyalty Islands, New Caledonia 20º39’48″S 166º32’30″E

PARADISE #6

Ouvéa is a commune in the Loyalty Islands Province of New Caledonia, an overseas territory of France in the Pacific Ocean. The settlement of Fayaoué, on Ouvéa Island, is the administrative centre of the commune of Ouvéa.Ouvéa is made up of Ouvéa Island, the smaller Mouli Island and Faiava Island, and several islets around these three islands. All these lie among the Loyalty Islands, to the northeast of New Caledonia’s mainland.Ouvéa Island is one of the Loyalty Islands, in the archipelago of New Caledonia, an overseas territory of France in the Pacific Ocean. The island is part of the commune (municipality) of Ouvéa, in the Islands Province of New Caledonia.
The Loyalty Islands (French: Îles Loyauté) are an archipelago in the Pacific. They are part of the French territory of New Caledonia, whose mainland is 100 km (62 mi) away. They form the Loyalty Islands Province (province des îles Loyauté), one of the three provinces of New Caledonia. The first Western contact on record is attributed to the British Captain William Raven from the London trading ship Britannia, who in 1793 was on his way from Norfolk Island to Batavia. It is very likely however that the discovery and naming of the islands goes back to the London ship Loyalty (also Loyalist, Jethro Daggett master), being on a South Sea trading voyage from 1789 till 1790.The archipelago consists of six inhabited islands: Lifou Island, Maré Island, Tiga Island, Ouvéa Island, Mouli Island, and Faiava Island, as well as several smaller uninhabited islands and islets. Mister Ohmoou Waibo Felix wood carver inside his house in the Fayaoue village on the Ouvea island in the Loyalty islands, he was my guide for my timeless promenades

 

 

15
Jun 09

Oro Bay

New Caledonia 22º35’99″S 167º31’67″E

PARADISE #5

Water view of the beautiful natural swimming pool out of the coral limestone surrounded by Araucaria pines. Reached by sea on foot along a small narrow path and truly out of this world, Oro Bay boasts two superb beaches of incredibly fine white sand, crystal water. Eighty kilometres south-east of Noumea lies the enchanting Isle of Pines (14 km wide, 18 km long) a place where time seems to stand still in an idyllic setting of white beaches under swaying palms and soaring Araucaria pines.”Kunié “, as it is still called by the inhabitants, is as beautiful under water as it is on land and a favourite spot for divers.The Isle of Pines (French: Île des Pins; Kanak name: Kunyié) is an island located in the Pacific Ocean, in the archipelago of New Caledonia, an overseas territory of France. The island is part of the commune (municipality) of L’Île-des-Pins, in the South Province of New Caledonia. The Isle of Pines is often nicknamed l’île la plus proche du paradis (“the closest island to Paradise”).

14
Jun 09

Isle of Pines

New Caledonia 22º40’44″S 167º30’30″E

PARADISE #4
Sunset over the Uenanavo headland cover from the iconic tall native pines (Araucaria columnaris) at the Isle of Pines, New Caledonia.

31
Oct 07

Lord Howe Island

Tasman Sea, Australia 31º31’64″S 159º03’58″E

PARADISE #3

Lord Howe Island  is an irregularly crescent-shaped volcanic remnant in the Tasman Sea between Australia and New Zealand, 600 kilometres (370 mi) directly east of mainland Port Macquarie, and about 900 kilometres (560 mi) from Norfolk Island. The island is about 10 km long and between 2.0 km and 0.3 km wide with an area of 14.55 km2, “of which only 398 hectares is in the lowland settled area”. The first reported sighting of Lord Howe Island was on 17 February 1788 when Lieutenant Henry Lidgbird Ball, commander of the Armed Tender HMS Supply  was on its way from Botany Bay to found a penal settlement on Norfolk Island. On the return journey Ball sent a party ashore on Lord Howe Island to claim it as a British possession. It subsequently became a provisioning port for the whaling industry, and was permanently settled in June 1834.  When whaling declined, the worldwide export of the endemic kentia palms began in the 1880s, which remains a key component of the Island’s economy. The other continuing industry, tourism, began after World War II.The Lord Howe Island Group is recorded by UNESCO as a World Heritage Site of global natural significance. Most of the island is virtually untouched forest with many of the plants and animals found nowhere else in the world. Other natural attractions include the diversity of its landscapes, the variety of upper mantle and oceanic basalts, the world’s southernmost barrier coral reef, nesting seabirds, and its rich historical and cultural heritage. The Lord Howe Island Act of 1981 established a “Permanent Park Preserve” (covering approximately 70 per cent of the island). The surrounding waters are a protected region designated the Lord Howe Island Marine Park.

 

08
Oct 06

Great Barrier Reef

Queensland, Australia 14º48’45″S 145º1541’68″E

PARADISE #2

Ribbon Reef number 3

12
Dec 02

Wayalailai

Wayasewa Island, Yasawa Islands, Fiji 17º20’24″S 177º08’90″E

PARADISE #1

The Yasawa Group is an archipelago of about 20 volcanic islands in the Western Division of Fiji, with an approximate total area of 135 square kilometers.