Maré: A Tour of the Island Begins

Photo by Laurent Guiader, 2006.

To continue our story of our tour of the Loyalty Islands, we spent the second day (16 December) in Maré touring the island with a local guide. We started here, at a picturesque (and often photographed) corner of Maré, not too far from our hotel (Nengone Village). A stone's throw away, you can get down into the cove where you have one of the nicest beaches (la plage de pede) and snorkelling locations in Maré.

We then drove to the natural aquarium (pictured below), which is an outdoor inlet fed by the sea flowing under the coral formations. It provides a wonderful refuge for fish and turtles and it is forbidden to swim or fish there. We were thoroughly impressed with the number of fish you could see and the water's transparency.

Photo by Laurent Guiader, 2006.

Stay tuned for the rest of the tour ...