We spent most of yesterday getting through the initial preparations for our passage to Australia. This included clearing out and cleaning all the food cupboards so as not to pick up any biosecurity issues on arrival, getting dinghy fuel and completely the provisioning needed for our passage meals. To do the latter we took a walk to the Carrefour Supermache, but we were very disappointed to find the bulk of the products American rather than French, no to mention extremely expensive. Casino Johnson Supermarche turned out to be a far better option.

We topped off the day catching up with family in Ireland, but not before we were invited aboard Alchemy I for sundowners and where we spent a very enjoyable evening with Geraldine and George, learning about all the modifications and improvements that they have made to their Leopard 46, as well as acquiring additional information and insights about sailing around Australia, especiall y Sydney.

Today we decided to venture much further afield, heading over to the east coast of New Caledonia by bus, where we visited the Tjibaou Cultural Centre. Since our arrival in New Caledonia we have savoured the French culture, but today was an opportunity to explore the indigenous Kanak culture.

During our walk along the Kanak "pathway", we learnt about Tea Kanake, the mystical founder of the Kanak people, and the five stages of life that the Kanaks believe in.

Stage 1: The Origin of Being - At the dawn of the world, the moon placed a tooth on a rock emerging from the primeval sea. The warmth of the moon's rays caused the tooth to decay from which the first living being appeared and Tea Kanake is born.

Stage 2: The Earth that Nourishes - Born without knowledge, Tea Kanake asks the spirits for the knowledge he needs to live on earth. He learns about the magic of the stones and the grass, how to work the land and to understand the properties of the plants. He starts to grow yams and taros.

Yams play a key role in Kanak society and are given the same respect as a human being. It is condidered the symbol of a man and the life of each clan is governed by the yam farming cycle. Community life revolves around the planting, care and harvesting of yams and the yam cycle determines the date of all major events from the ritual induction of a chief, to birth, marriages and mournings.

Stage 3: The Land of the Ancestors - Tea Kanake builds his house after he exchanges some yams. The spirits also teach him how to live in a community. He plants the tall pines which mark the sacred and tabu places and he speaks the first words of Kanak oratory.

Stage 4: Tea Kanake Visits the Land of the Dead - In order to know all about human life, Tea Kanake deci des to experience death. He enters the Banyan tree, which is the body of the spirit. Through its roots that reach down into the underground, he visits the land of the dead and is transformed in this womb.

Stage 5: Tea Kanake is Reborn as a New Man - Like the shoots that sprout from a cut tree trunk, Tea Kanake, the eternal bearer of the Kanak message, passes through the hole in the rock, the symbol of rebirth. He breaths his solemn words into the ironwood tree, where they will song on forever. From these words a new era begins.

It was a fascinating glimpse into the Kanak belief system and one very similar to the circle of life we learnt about in Tahiti.

Amongst other aspects, we also explored the "Mwakaa", the traditional ceremonial grounds, which is a place for formal speeches and ceremonial exchange of gifts, known as "custom", similar to Vanuatu. The three chiefly homes of the grounds were, not only a fabulous display of Kanak architecture, but they also represent the three main Kanak clan groupings - the southern clan, the northern clan and the Loyalty Islands clan.

Before leaving the grounds, Roy decided to hedge his beats and placed a few coins on the magical rock, to be sure, to be sure!