Ilot Kouare is one of the better anchorages in New Caledonia's great southern lagoon. You can anchor in nice deep, good holding sand, 6 to 8 meters deep, on either side of the island and reef to get protection from most wind directions.

There tends to be a swell coming over the barrier reef at high tide that makes the western side of Kouare a bit rolly polly but then you are way out there in the wilderness part of the lagoon and the water is very clear and the corals live and bushy, so a little gentle rocking isn't a big trade-off.

The reef extends a long way NW and SE of Ilot Kouare but there is a shallow sandy pass that cuts across the northern reef making it a lot shorter to go from one side to the other with the dinghy or even a small outboard. At high tide there is two meters depth in the shallowest part of the pass. Which means you can go back and forth until the tide starts getting really low - then you need to kick up the outboard into shallow running position or go lie on the beach and snooze until the tide comes in again.