French kiss: 7 days in New Caledonia on board Masteka 2

Captain Matt Stafford, of 37 metre Masteka 2, which is available for charter with Ocean Alliance and is the first foreign superyacht to be granted a commercial charter permit in New Caledonia, explains how to explore this slice of France in the South Pacific

Day 1: Château Royal Beach Resort

Spend the night before your charter at the Château Royal Beach Resort & Spa and get into the holiday mindset with a treatment at the hotel’s Aqua Royal Spa. The next morning meet Masteka 2 and cruise south to Baie de la Tortue (Turtle Bay) on Ile Ouen. Enjoy an introductory snorkel off the beach looking out for loggerhead turtles, before a secluded night at anchor.

Masteka 2 will make the 47nm cruise to the deserted beaches and wild coastline of L’Île des Pins. Anchor in Kuto Bay and tender ashore for a freshly caught seafood lunch at a local restaurant. In the afternoon, a private guide will lead a tour of the island, including the Grotto of Queen Hortense, where the daughter of the Great Chief Kaoua Vendégou took refuge during tribal wars in the 1850s.

In the morning discover the cerulean waters of Nokanhui, which can be accessed only with authorisation from the local tribe. Then cruise to Île Moro and after an afternoon of watersports dine on Bougna, a traditional banana leaf dish made from pieces of chicken, lobster or fish with yams, bananas, sweet potatoes and coconut milk.

Enjoy breakfast en route to Kouare Island, which is in the heart of the UNESCO World Heritage Site lagoon. Keen fishermen can undertake a sunrise expedition trawling the fringing reefs on the yacht’s Boston Whaler tender and meet Masteka 2 later in the morning. Spend the afternoon relaxing before dinner on the sundeck.

Awake in complete seclusion and then cruise north and anchor at Uatio Island. Here you can swim, explore, snorkel, paddleboard, or just take in the views. In the evening, the crew will treat you to a beach barbecue of the previous day’s catch, while you watch the sun set.

After a morning swim, cruise to the expansive Baie de Prony, on New Caledonia’s southern mainland, and walk to the Cap N’Dua lighthouse for views of the entire cruising area out to L’Île des Pins. Afterwards Masteka 2 will navigate her way into the Baie du Carénage where the water takes on a reddish tinge from the high wooded hills close by.

Masteka 2 will head to Passe de Boulari so that divers can swim with the manta rays that feed in the pass in front of the 56 metre-high Lighthouse Amédée. Watch the sun set from the top of the lighthouse before a slow cruise back to Nouméa to disembark the next morning.