Enjoying the beach at Mystery Island!

We arrived at Mystery Island in the early morning, whilst we were still sleeping, and the cruise ship anchored offshore, as this location doesn’t have a deep-water pier available. Whilst having breakfast at the top level of the ship, we were greeted by the sparkling turquoise waters, the beautiful beach and the lush greenery of Mystery Island.

After breakfast, we gathered our swimmers, sunscreen and snorkelling equipment and made our way to the tender boats—which we initially thought would take ages as there are so many passengers onboard, however they were well-organised, and the crew ensured everyone got onboard safely and efficiently. The ride across the crystal-clear waters offered beautiful views of the island, with pristine beaches coming into focus as we approached.

As soon as we stepped off the boat and onto the island, we were greeted by friendly locals who were performing  some traditional songs for us all (and hoping for extra donations of course). The island is uninhabited and is only really open for visitors from cruise ships, with the locals from the nearby Aneityum island coming across everyday with everything that they need to sell to the visitors and at the end of the day, they all leave as it’s believed that the island is haunted and that ghosts inhabit the island at night.

Well, the sun was well and truly shining during our visit so no ghosts for us. We walked through the main part of the island, through the local markets where we picked up a few small souvenirs, as we made our way towards the beach on the other side of the island. Once we managed to find a shady spot to sit down in, we left our towels etc and headed into the turquoise clear water. Whilst in the water, we swam and did some snorkelling, however the sand went out quite far so there wasn’t a lot to see at that particular spot. So we just enjoyed the water and relaxed on the beach whilst listening to the soothing sounds of the waves and having a few of the local beers. 

For lunch, we could either buy something simple on the island, however as the tenders were fast and easy we went back to the ship and enjoyed a lunch before we headed back to the island. Once back, I wandered off towards the southern tip of the island. Due to the compact size of the island, it’s very easy to explore on foot. 

Once I found a spot along the rocks, I was all by myself and made my way into the water for some more snokelling along the coral reefs which was filled with plenty of colourful fish that were swimming through the coral gardens.

After I finished snorkelling, I wandered around the island, swimming and snorkelling some more, I returned to the others and after some more beach and water time, we made our way back to the ship, happy with the day and looking forward to the next day where we had another day planned on the beach. However as we got back onboard, we heard that there had been a medical emergency on the ship and we would not be returning to the island as we needed to return to Noumea to drop off a passenger. 

Based on this, Eloise and I decided to return to the island that afternoon once again, as she wanted a photo taken with the local lizards on the island. We managed to get back on one of the last tenders returning to the island and were on it by ourselves. Once on the island, we got the photo we needed and then enjoyed some coconuts as well before we returned to the ship for the last time that day, offering one last look at the island!

Mystery Island was a great stop which we all enjoyed, the island is small but offered everything you could want in a tropical island. It was a shame that we weren’t able to return the following day, but these things can’t be helped!