Lifou, New Caledonia…as we near New Zealand, we arrive at one of the Loyalty Islands that is part of the larger French territories of New Caledonia.

There is no port, no taxis, no hotels, and no organized tours on this remote piece of Paradise! We take the tenders ashore to a rickety wood platform steps from an incredibly bleach white stretch of coral sand beach.

I have never seen water this color of aqua blue! It’s beyond stunning and it just calls out to you to swim in! How can it just get more beautiful as we go from island to island in the magnificent South Pacific?

I take a stroll beyond the lush vegetation of our landing site to Baie du Jinek; an underwater natural aquarium! Crystalline waters revealing a bevy of underwater coral refuges that hold a population of exotic fish! It’s so clear you can view the marine life below from the cave edged shoreline above!

I spent some time snorkeling…seeing fish of every hue and I can’t help but to be awestruck by the striped sea snake slithering between the coral beneath me! So much so that the surprise of seeing this unique animal causes me to begin inhaling the salt water and I have to stop for an above water breather…I am disappointed I don’t have a waterproof camera to capture what looks like an animated children’s film below the surface!

The rest of the day I just enjoyed the seemingly undiscovered beauty of the beach, probably still looking as it did when Captain Cook discovered this perfect little island!

Life really doesn’t get much better than this!