Ilot Maitre Marine Reserve New Caledonia Helicopter View
par Richard Chesher
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Photo panoramique par
Richard Chesher
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Ilot Maitre Marine Reserve New Caledonia Helicopter ViewThe World > Les Iles de l'Océan Pacifique > Mélanesie > Nouvelle Calédonie > Nouméa |
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I was really fortunate that my good friend and helicopter pilot Olivier had the afternoon available to help me with my series of aerial sphere images of New Caledonia's fabulous lagoon. We started our afternoon flight with The Ilot Maite Marine Reserve. This small island and the very big reef around it is only a 15 minute water taxi ride from the hustle and bustle of Noumea. It is one of the very first marine reserves in New Caledonia. When the government declared it a reserve there was already a resort on the island - so the resort is still there and has, I believe, actually helped maintain the protected area.
The resort is designed for minimal environmental impact. Water and Electricity for the resort are supplied from Noumea by underwater conduits and the resort's sewage is pumped through a pipe back to Noumea for treatment. But there is another reason why I believe the resort helps protect the marine creatures - there are lots of people keeping an eye on what goes on around the island and reef so anyone tempted to spear or net some of the happy and friendly fish would be landed themselves pretty quick. The penalty for violation of the park rules is the loss of your boat and equipment plus a fine and possibly even jail time.
The Provincial Government installed moorings so pleasure boats will not drop their anchors and anchor chains onto the coral reefs. As a result, the marine life is spectacularly healthy and happy. In fact, the day before I went flying with Olivier I took an astonishing underwater sphere image nearly under where we hovered the helicopter for this image. You will see an arrow to it but unfortunately the arrow points towards the horizon, not down.
So turn the helicopter sphere image so you can see the overwater bungalows of the Escapade Island Resort, find the 8th bungalow from the wharf and then drag the sphere image straight down - you'll see the big patch reef where I took the snapper school image. While you are there, look all the way down just under the helicopter. The really big fish cruising around that boat are Giant Trevally! If you have a look at the coral reef fish image you'll see a couple of these big fish cruising around the school.
The other interesting story in this photo is that dramatic rain storm over Noumea. You can see the rain bucketing down onto the city and the squall cloud towering into the sky. On hot, summer days gigantic thunderheads build up over the mountains of New Caledonia, reaching right up into the stratosphere. By the afternoon the big billowy clouds gloom over the coast and drench anyone outdoors. But these big clouds rarely move out into the lagoon so the lovely white sand beaches around the lagoon islands are more likely to be drenched in sunlight - a point to remember should you be thinking of spending a summer afternoon at the beach in Noumea.
Oh the things we do out of frustration. Yellow snappers, Lutjanus fulviflamma, bunch together in tigh...
This reef is just off the wharf for l'Escapade Island Resort. It is part of the Ilot Maitre Marine Re...
Free diving in New Caledonia - called Plongée en Apnée in French - is one of the most popular watersp...
The coral reefs surrounding Ilot Maitre are part of a marine reserve. Located close to l'Escapade Isl...
Le récif de la réserve de l'ilot Maitre est à juste 25 minutes de Nouméa. Ce récif du lagon est assez...
Samedi matin Frédérique et moi ont fait une petite randonnée palmer autour du récif de l'Escapade Re...
The Giant Triton shell, Charonia tritonis, is one of the most valuable molluscs on the coral reefs of...
Le récif de la réserve de l'ilot Maitre est à juste 25 minutes de Nouméa. Ce récif du lagon est assez...
Le trajet avec la navette Coral Palms entre le centre ville de Nouméa et l'Escapade Resort Ilot Maitr...
Welcome to l'Escapade Island Resort located on Ilot Maitre in New Caledonia's World Heritage Site Co...
Nouméa est la capital, et le centre de la Nouvelle Calédonie, comme pour le commerce et le tourisme. Une petite ville qui devient très vite une grande ville avec 91,000 habitants, Mélanésiens, Européens, Polynésiens, Vietnamiens, Chinois, Japonais, et la langue et la culture française. 60% de la population de la Nouvelle Calédonie habite le grand Nouméa.
La ville de Nouméa est située dans le sud-ouest de Grande Terre avec un des meilleurs ports naturel du Pacifique Sud.
Les baies de l'Anse Vata et Baie des Citrons avec leurs plages de sable blanc sont le centre touristique de Nouméa, avec hôtels, restaurants et bars. Il y a 23 hôtels dans Nouméa d'une étoile au 5 étoiles, et plus d'une centaines de restaurants.
