NSW: A day in Nowra

It has been more than 10 years since I last went to Nowra. A friend had a work assignment to Nowra so I decided to extend my work trip over to weekend to make a trip to visit him. It has also been a long while since I last caught up with him. Friend was working on Saturday but made plans to have dinner. 

Nowra is a city in the South Coast region of New South Wales and is the commercial hub of the Shoalhaven. Along the north of Nowra is the Shoalhaven River and it is connected to Bomaderry by the Nowra Bridge. 

I took the 9:22 AM train to Bomaderry, the train ride took about 3 hours. I booked an overnight stay at George Bass Motor Inn and I decided to walk from the station, which took about 35 minutes according to Google Maps. After checking in, the first stop was to find sustenance. 

I decided to have Thai food and walked into Elephant Thai Cafe & Restaurant. This was their Flamin' Duck spicy noodle. I was in the quest to look for Thai duck noodles for awhile, stemming from this restaurant game that I have been playing. It was ok and feed the tummy. 

After meal, I was back to Ben's Walk. I thought I got lost the last time and didn't get to Ben's Walk but when I saw a very similar photo, guess I did make it to the Hanging Rock Lookout the last round too. 

After that I just roamed around Nowra before catching up my friend and family for dinner. 

Side note: Should find somewhere the coming PH...

Sydney: First half of the year visits

I usually travel to Sydney once a quarter for work which means trying out new eating places. This time also include a long transit in Sydney prior to my flight to Noumea. ^^

Holy Basil was visited on my visit in March, Yama in April during transit but the rest in June. Both were overnight trips but I extended to the weekend when I went in June.

Holy Basil Darling Square

Steam Mill Lane, 51 Tumbalong Bvd, Haymarket NSW 2000

I thought I have been to a Holy Basil restaurant before but it was totally different shop. It was suggested by one of my colleague. The previous time we had dinner, he was telling us his aurora hunting adventures. He was the one recommended glass igloo stay to us but he went to Ivalo. 

Anyway back to this Thai & Laos eatery. I didn't realise it is a Thai & Laos eatery, I thought it is a Thai restaurant. All our food orders were tasty. I had a fresh custard apple shake while they had a lemon lime bitters and beer respectively.

From left, clockwise: crab meat fried rice, chicken pad see ew, roast duck red curry, Laos style pork sausages and Thai papaya salad

Yama

Queen Victoria Building, Shop 2- 4 Level 2 QVB, 455 George St, Sydney NSW 2000

I ordered yama's california don which is one of their signature dishes. It comes with assorted fresh sashimi, tamago egg, ebi prawns and tobiko, served on a bed of seasoned rice and salad, dressed with house-made sweet soy-based dressing. It was fresh and good but price point a bit too high unfortunately (AUD 31)

Kirribilli Club

11 Harbourview Cres, Lavender Bay NSW 2060

I used to stay in Sydney, in a suburb near Kirribilli but I've not been to this place. It is a higher end of RSL. On my visit, I was particularly dumb. I thought Google Maps had suggested that I walk across the Harbour Bridge and it would only take 20 minutes but I must've read it wrongly, it was more likely suggesting that I take the ferry. Anyway, food was pretty good and unexpectedly big portion. 

This was mine - I half expected it to be 2 pieces of small prawns. I was wrong

Some kind of fried rice

Lamb skewers

Cubby's Kitchen

Corner Young Street & Loftus Lane off, Bridge St, Sydney NSW 2000

I went earlier this year but when I checked again for this post, it has been reported that they are now permanently closed? I went for dinner with a work colleague at this Lebanese-Japanese fusion influence place. The place was cosy, the food portion looked small but filling. We opted for the tasting menu. Colleague was from Lebanon so I asked him to make an executive decision. 

Dip of baby ganous with a twist - eggplant chunks, sweet miso and burnt sesame. I find it too sweet and colleague preferred the traditional version. 

This was falafel kebab, we chose this over eggplant wedges. This was my portion. We got one each. I liked this one, and how my colleague ate it where he smashed and distributed it so you get some falafel at every bite. 

Bread pieces at the back were for the dips. And the ones in the front were ladies fingers - lamb, pine nuts, onion and tomato. 

Roasted cauliflower - I liked this one too. 

Chicken shish and lamb kofta. Garlic lemon for chicken and mint yoghurt for lamb. 

Hungry Paulie

Shop 10.19B, Liverpool St, World Square Shopping Center

There are a few outlets, I went to the one in World Square as the rest are in the suburbs. This visit was for breakfast before my commute to Nowra. Portion was big, luckily I didn't get the breakfast set. I got an egg pancake with crullers and hot soya bean. 

Omu

Shop 1/507 Wattle St, Ultimo NSW 2007

I felt like having omurice but succumbed to curry rice with omelette. It was decent but no need to purposely make a trek there. Drink was kinako latte

 

Tenacious Bakehouse and Lode Pies

Tenacious Bakehouse: 101 Oxford St, Darlinghurst NSW 2010

Lode Pies: 487 Crown Street, Surry Hills NSW 2010

They are unrelated, just that I visited one after another and put them together in a same box so I didn't have to carry 2 big boxes everywhere. I find baked goods expensive, getting one is ok but when I checked how much I spent on 4 items, it did give a feeling that I over spent. The baked goods were good just I find them pricey I guess. 

From top left: Injeolmi pandoro, LoDe Pithivier, wagyu and mushroom pie and portuguese tart

Sweet pastries were from Tenacious Bakehouse and the savoury pies from Lode. I carted these back to Melbourne. 

I ate the injeolmi pandoro at the airport before boarding. It was messy but so good. I loved it. It was filled with cream and red bean paste and the pastry covered in roasted soy bean powder. Portuguese tart was filled with double vanilla egg cream and miso glaze. It wasn't too sweet and had a very smooth and soft filling. It was good but I preferred the injeolmi pandoro. 

The wagyu and mushroom pie was good, I ate it without needing to add any sauce. LoDe Pithivier is to be eaten by adding the chicken and cream gravy. The filling was buttery pork and shitake mushroom. Both are good but my favourite out of the 4 was the ugliest looking one. 

Side note: There's an Indian grocery near me that sells hot food, so good and affordable, it's dangerous.

New Caledonia: A week in Noumea and Ile des Pins

Pre-travel

Breakdown of travel days and links to accommodation.

Things to consider when planning a trip to New Caledonia

Things to do in Noumea

Things to do in Ile des Pins

Day 1

Walk around city centre - Le Marché de la Moselle (Port Moselle Market), Place des Cocotiers, St Joseph's Cathedral, Evening walk at Baie de L'Orphelinat (Orphelinat Bay)

Day 2

Hike up Mont-Dore

Day 3

Visit Tjibaou Cultural Centre and Musee de la Seconde Guerre mondiale

Day 4

Fly to Ile des Pins - Vao, St Maurice

Day 5

Piscine Naturalle, walk along Baie de Kuto and Baie de Kanumera

Day 6

Fly back to Noumea, walk along Promenade Pierre Vernier

Day 7

Short hike up Ouen Toro, walked along Baie de L'Orphelinat, Baie des Citrons and Anse Vata

Side note: What's with me throwing things wrongly into rubbish bin? -__-"

New Caledonia: Things to do in Ile des Pins

Known as Kunié to the Melanesians, Ile des Pins is an island 110km southest of Noumea. Vao is the administrative centre and Kuto is the main tourist area. 

The top item I wanted to do in Ile des Pins is pirogue excursion from Baie des Pirogues to Baie d'Upi, optional 25-30 minutes walk to reach Oro Bay and onwards to the Piscine Naturalle (natural pool). It was the pirogue excusion that piqued my interested but I only have 1 day for this. I landed in Ile des Pins after the departure. On the only day I could made it, turned out that I was the only one who signed up and didn't cancel. So the excursion was cancelled. 

I had about two full days in Ile des Pins but it rained the whole day on day 1. I was a motivated visitor and walked out to Ile des Pin's main village, Vao, 5km away despite the weather. I didn't walk the whole 5km though, I was offered a lift both ways. I usually declined any rides offer (with some exceptions in Jordan), but Ile des Pins felt safe, possibly of the village feel. I was grateful with the rides. 

Catholic Church
Established by the Marist priest Father Goujon, this 19th century Catholic church dominates Vao. 

Statue of St Maurice

This status, located at Baie de St Maurice, commemorates the arrival of the first missionaries on the island, it is also a war memorial. 

La Piscine Naturelle

Pirogue excursion did not happen but another couple wanted to go to the Piscine Naturelle and that I could join them if I want to. A driver dropped us at the car park, told us to follow the trail, crossed a small river and we will be there. Return shuttle to Oro Bay was 2100 XPF. 

What we didn't expect was that the river looked like this. I was in my slippers as I don't own reef shoes. It was ok on the way there, but my slippers got off my feet twice on our way back. Luckily I didn't have to chase my floating slipper for too far. 

There is an option of going all the way via water route, if you follow the direction of the sign board in the middle of the river. Or continue on via the land trail. 

Spot the humans, there was where we needed to cross to

River route

Land route

First look

Baie de Kanumera

I stayed at Gite Nataiwatch and a short trail leads to Baie de Kanumera. According to Lonely Planet, Baie de Kanumera is good for snorkelling where coral grows not far from the shore. 

Baie de Kuto

Baie de Kuto, on the other hand, said to be the place to lie on the beach or swim in the calm sea. 

Eat bulimes/Escargots de l'Île des Pins

These snails can only be found in Ile des Pins so this was my second non supermarket meal when I saw that the gite I stayed at served this. 

Entree of garlic butter snails on toast and main of seared tuna, marinated in pepper and soy sauce, seasonal vegetable and house fries. Entree and mains cost 3990 XPF. I didn't get dessert. I brought some sustenance from Noumea to save money. Entree was good, main not so. 

There are a few other activities that can be done like hiking the Pic N'ga Track, visiting Grotte de la Reine Hortense (limestone cave). 

Side note: This was my first time eating a snail, didn't try any when in France. 

New Caledonia: Things to do in Noumea

This is in the order of places in city centre, followed by order of visit. 

Port Moselle Market

Open Tuesday to Sunday, from 5am to 11:30am.

It is identifiable with the hexagonal blue roofs. It is not a big market but one can find meat, veges, fruits, cooked food and souvenirs. I got a couple of croissants (1 plain and 1 with ham and cheese), crossed the road to the garden, plonked myself on a bench and ate them for my late breakfast. 

Place des Cocotiers

This is the city square and at the top is a band rotunda from the late 1800s. There's free wi-fi throughout the square and many benches to sit so a good place to take a break. 

Cathédrale Saint-Joseph

Built in 1888 by convict labour and is one of Noumea's landmarks. I went on a Sunday and did not coincide with any scheduled Sunday masses time so it was closed. 

Musée de la Seconde Guerre mondiale

Open Monday to Saturday, 9am to 12pm and 1pm to 5pm. Entry fees: 300XPF for adult

The musuem is housed in a refurbished Quonset hut originally built by the Americans in 1943. Between 1939 and 1945 New Caledonia joined free France. The musuem itself isn't big but the exhibits were interesting and informative on New Caledonia's participation in WWII. As the exhibits are in French, I was handed a hand held device, sized of an ipad to listen to the audio guide. This was the only museum I entered in Noumea. 

Orphelinat Bay

I walked over to catch the sunset as the weather was great. This was just next to Baie des Citrons. 

Baie des Citrons

Orientated north-south and less than 10 minutes from the city centre. The beach is closed for swimming at the moment due to recent shark incident. On my visit, I walked along the waterfront, from Orphelinat Bay to Baie des Citrons to Anse Vata. 

Anse Vata

Orientated east-weat, it is a popular beach. Likewise Baie des Citrons, also closed for swimming. It's only 5 minutes by taxiboat from here to Ile aux Canards.

Promenade Pierre Vernier

It's not exactly a tourist attraction but it's a good walk that continues on from Anse Vata and rounds the waterfront to the other side of the island. I happened to continue walking on the day I wanted to walk up Ouen Toro but when I saw the trail and my slippers, I didn't not to proceed and continued on walking along the waterfront. 

 

Ouen Toro

There are a few different trails to go up to Ouen Toro. I went up on one of the trail, across the road after Le Meridien. I think the trail that I went on is cross between some trails but so long it leads to the top. I came down by the walkway along the main road. The walk up felt easy, I wasn't gasping for air but then again, I also took my own sweet time to make sure I wasn't lost. The walk down was an easy downhill so I guess it would be a little steep when walk up. 

Tjibaou Cultural Centre

Open Tuesday to Sunday, from 9am to 5pm (Tue-Sat), from 9am to 4pm (Sunday), entrance fee: 1000 XPF, re-enter allowed. Bus stop name: Tjibaou

The cultural centre is a tribute to a pro-independence Kanak leader Jean-Marie Tjibaou who was assassinated in 1989. The building was designed by Italian architect Renzo Piano who also designed Paris' Pompidou Centre. The centre is easily accessible by public bus with the stop just outside of the entrance. There were good views along the way by bus. 

The exhibits are in French but there is free wi-fi within the compound and you are encournaged to use google translate to translate the texts. I really want to like this place but between this and the WWII museum, I prefer the latter. 

Mont Dore Hike

Nearest bus stop: Ninette

The walk from bus stop to start of trail is clearly indicated. Start of trail was marked too but I missed it, it was a quick left turn from begining, so please don't miss it like me. The trail are on red dirt path along metal stairs. 

Mont Dore is a mountain just southeast of Noumea. It was steep hike of 7.3km (return - I think, it's in french acronym). Said to take 4 hours 30 mins return (also by deduction) but I've read a blog that said they took 1.5 hours one way. At 1.5 hours, I only reached station 1. I also didn't finish the hike because I forgot to check the time of last bus back to Noumea. The bus was infrequent, one hours plus between buses. 

Anyway, I turned back just passed station 1 so I don't miss the bus. But I somehow only took 40 minutes to hike down so I made a good time for the 2:39pm bus. The only consolation was that it started pouring just as I made it back to the bus stop. I was dry but my shoes and socks were already soaked through from the beginning of the hike because it rained in the morning. 

It was over an hour bus ride from city centre to get here. There is hardly any shade at most part of the hike so when the sun is up, it was hot. 

Eat bougna

I mostly bought food from the supermarket and only ate out once in Noumea for bougna. Bougna is a traditional Kanak stew dish, with ingredients wrapped in banana leaves then buried for cooking. I found a place in Noumea (Celeneraw) that serves this dish. I am not sure of any other restaurants that also serves bougna so I didn't make any comparison. The one I had ingredients of prawns, fish, banana, yam, sweet potato cooked in coconut milk and was delicious. On the day I visited, they were doing some specials set menu but I only want to eat bougna. 

Served with bread, 2550 XPF

There are some offshore islands that one can visit but I didn't make it to any. I was interested in Amedee Islet, mostly for its tall white lighthouse but seems the only way to get here is via a day trip with Mary D. However, I am not thrilled with the rest of the activities that formed part of the day trip. In the midst of my contemplation, there were no more spots on the days I could made it. So I didn't get to any of the offshore islands. 

Side note: Running out of shows to watch...