Information Office Point I : Just 50m. in front of the church, in the village square, Vao, is Point I. It is staffed by a well-travelled Kunie, Marie-Jeanne, who, in addition to her own native language, speaks English, French, Italian, Czech and Polish.

Office hours are from
8-11.30am and 2-4pm, Monday to Saturday.

• RENEWAL OF LIFE

Dye ? Pollution ? Not either. Simply an extraordinary demonstration of nature in full bloom. Every year, once a year, several nights after the first full moon of summer, the coral bursts ‘into flower’, liberating millions of pink, white or brown micro-spheres. It’s the reproduction of the miniscule animal that constitutes coral reefs.

This year, on November 21st and 22nd, the usually crystal clear waters of Kanumera Bay became strangely opaque with huge, pinky-red patches, bearing witness to this regenerative event.

Former director of the renown Aquarium in Noumea, Pascale Joannot, describes the brief phenomenon that lasts just one night, as « the corals’ one great night of love ». She explains that male and female gametes recognise each other and unite to give birth to a tiny larva known as planula.

•  POD-CAST

If you’re a computer devotee with up-to-date equipment, you might be interested in following a recent ‘pod-cast’ concerning life on Isle of Pines. Originating out of Houston, Texas, the programme can be found on www.ulivewhere.com

Looking for soft sand, warm sunshine and French food? Hilary knows the ideal spot.

Podcasting is the distribution of audio or video files, such as radio programs or music videos, over the internet using RSS syndication for listening on mobile devices and personal computers. A podcast is a web feed of audio or video files placed on the Internet for anyone to subscribe to, and also the content of that feed. Podcasters' websites also may offer direct download of their files, but the subscription feed of automatically delivered new content is what distinguishes a podcast from a simple download or real-time streaming.
Source : From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

• GETAWAY

And for television viewers in Australia and New Zealand, Isle of Pines will feature on a GETAWAY travel programme sometime early in 2006. The half-hour window on the island is expected to cover from sunrise at Oro to sunset at Roller Bay, Kuto, presenting the small South-West Pacific spot as a holiday destination for budgets from camping to deluxe hotel.