We love small uninhabited islands with reef systems we can wiggle into. It’s part of the dream for us.
Ilot Goeland is a little bit of sand and scrub breaking the surface of a large shallow sand bank, a short beam reach from Noumea. It is slightly farther than Ilot Maitre, another kite spot, which has moorings and a ferry service. This means that for the most part, the only kiters or windsurfers at Ilot Goeland are those with their own boats. The exceptions are the occasional hard core windsurfers who brave a few miles of open water to cross between Ilots Maitre and Goeland on their boards. Tough Frenchies! The anchorage at Goeland is also less crowded with local boats than Maitre and we had it to ourselves or with just our friends a few nights.
The anchorage is great holding, sand, with a few isolated bits of coral and grass easily avoided. It gets slightly lumpy at certain tides (ebb against trade winds) but was still comfortable. The kite spot is useable at all tides but certain areas get sketchy (coral) at the lowest tides so you have to change your line when the tide is too low.
If you don’t kite or windsurf you might get bored quickly but the colors of the lagoon in the sun are worth a short visit even for non wind sport people.
This was our first kite spot in New Caledonia and already it was better than anywhere we kited in Fiji…
Satellite view looks like flat land with mainly scrub brush and lot's of shallow water! Great for kiting.
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