Thundershowers in Noumea

New Caledonia is indeed a tropical paradise -- this much I have found out in the 2 weeks I've been here. However, I was also told the sun tends to shine *A LOT* and as such I should make sure to take plenty of HIGH FACTOR sunscreens in my 20 kg of allocated luggage. Looking up at the sky I feel as though were I to stretch my hand out I could touch the clouds - thus one thing for sure I ain't running the risk of getting a sunburn any time soon!!!!

That being said we're luckier than our neighbours in Australia who had huge cargo ships strand on their shorelines -- threatening to spill their contents onto the beaches - due to high speed winds and crazy thunderstorms...

Another advantage to the situation is that I actually don't feel as itchy to grab my mask, fins and snorkel to go expore the underwater world -- I have work to do after all, much of which involves sitting in front of a computer - oh how so ever exciting!!! - and looking at pretty pictures (aka satellite images). Why this? ... well to draw little polygons around the area I recognise as being seagrass beds. Right now I am tackling Cuba -- which has lots of that grass --- the turtles feeding in those areas must have big fat bellies!

I can't complain though -- at least when I look out the window I see the ocean, little boats rolling in the bay, and I am surrounded by smiling faces. Plus the atmosphere in this place is motivating - everyone works very very hard but yet they also know how to stop and have a break, have a laugh and cheer each other up. A good combination :o)

In other big news -- the kind of news that doesn't hit the international press, but certainly is in capital yellow letters on the front page of the local newspaper -- gecko exports (mostly to feed snakes etc...) have been banned!!! You can see the little critters everywhere here -- and they make one hell of a noise! I was woken up with a jolt the first couple of nights thinking someone was knocking at my window. Noticing noone was there I wondered who on earth was making this loud sound -- only to find out a day later -- the geckos indeed!!!! ... and they only measure about 5cm! Kind of nice to have them around though to gobble up all the flies and mosquitoes that zoom around.

OK - it's lunch time for me now -- the picture above was from my first day in the water here, when the sun was still out ;o) (no I am not bitter about it!!)