Ile Aux Canards Coral Reef Noumea
[ilot, ile aux canards, marine reserve new caledonia, underwater trail new caledonia, world heritage site new caledonia lagoon, underwater sphere]
Taken 01:04, 23/11/2008
Panoramic photo by
Richard Chesher
Google EarthIle Aux Canards is only a 5 minute taxi boat ride from Anse Vata Beach, the toursim capital of Noumea, New Caledonia. The island is within a 190ha Marine Reserve set up in May of 1980, making it one of the oldest marine reserves in New Caledonia. There is an "underwater trail" on the northwest side of the 2ha island, just off the white sand beach, ranging from the intertidal to about 4 meters deep. The water is thick with fish and, on weekends, snorkelers. Huge friendly groupers and snappers laze amid uncountable swarms of brightly colored tropical lagoon fish of astonishing variety.
I don't know of any other coral reef so close to a major city that is so rich in living corals and fish. You can see Ile Aux Canards from the window of your hotel room at la Promenade Hotel in Anse Vata.
