When it rains ...

Today was scheduled for an Anse Vata beach tour for two groups.  The first tour group was 33 tourists and boarded the bus at 9:05 AM. Everything went well, they were dropped off at the Nouvata hotel stop at 10:10 to begin their 90 minutes in the Anse Vata beach aera.  They were told the bus will return at 11:40 to pick them up and continue the tour around Noumea. The second tour group of 31 people boarded the bus at the ship terminal at 10:35, in the rain and with mild dissatisfaction. The tour went well timing-wise however, during our first two stops several people expressed their concerns about having to spend 90 min out in the rain. By the time we we arrived at the Nouvata hotel stop, it was pouring rain.  After listening to several complaints, I asked the folks from the second tour group if there is a single person on the bus who would like to spend some time on Anse Vata. The answer was unanimous and overwhelming: they all wanted to return to the ship. They all said they were not ready to walk out in the rain without rain coats, umbrellas, with small children, etc.

And this is where things started to go wrong (for me). I told them that there was not room on the bus to take everyone back as the first group, which was waiting at Anse Vata, had to be returned to the ship.  I then told them that if this second group wanted to to back, 11 people from this second group would have to remain behind.  The group eventually agreed to this when 12 people volunteered to stay.  I told those 12 that I would return in about 40 minutes to pick them up to go back to the ship.  I returned to the ship with a bus completely full of passengers, all of them happy to be out of the rain.  I was not following protocol but I was doing my best to make the clients more comfortable =- the weather situation had put everyone in a bad mood and their only desire (unanimous) was to return to the ship - all understanding that this did not mean the tour cost would be refunded.  The group of 12 that had remained behind were quite anxious for the bus to return ... only to be told that due to "rules", they could not be returned early to the ship but rather at the originally scheduled time.  this meant they had to wait in the bus outside the port for the better part of an hour with nothing to do.

In hindsight, I realize now that I should have called the cruise ship tour operator and ask what to do in this situation.  My intentions were good but going off schedule like this made things a muddle all the way around.  In the end, I wrote a letter explaining my actions (in fact, this story is based on that letter) and I faced no other consequences other than a bit of a lecture.   Anyway, that's definitely the last time I let the passengers be in charge in anyway of my tours!

The extra passenger

The extra passenger

It was my second tour of the day on one of the Choo Choo trains, round about noon on a lovely sun filled Saturday.  A bit of breeze, not too hot, one of so many near weather-perfect days in Noumea.

We were slowly driving east from the far end of lovely Anse Vata heading towards the popular shopping area a bit further along the beach when one of our companion tour buses pulled along side, honking his horn at us and pointing towards the rear of our train.  The driver of my tour train, a Kanak with a strong build, stopped the train in the middle of the two lane road to hear what the honking bus driver was so apparently concerned about.  "You've got somebody hanging on to the back car, riding your train" is basically what the bus driver told the train driver.

The train driver immediately stopped the train and dismounted, leaving the four car train blocking traffic in the middle of the road, and headed towards the back car of the train.  But, of course, it was too late for him to do anything, as our "extra passenger", having fully realized his free ride was, by now, completely over, jogged away from the scene along the white sand beach of Anse Vata,  Lucky for the extra passenger that he was thin, slight of build and quick, compared to the Kanak driver who was, to me, surprisingly upset at the addition of a free rider and had some intent of confrontation.

So here, as told from the tourists I was guiding, is what happened before this sudden stoppage of action, which was the first realization I had that this guided tour was a little different than the others I had led to this point in time.

The train tour starts at the cruise ship terminal gathering point, just west of downtown at a location convenient for all involved (Port Moselle).  The cruise ship folks who sign up for a guided tour around downtown Noumea board the Choo Choo train and get a two hour ride around town visiting various local points of interest.  On this particular ride, shortly after departing the gathering point, an islander hopped aboard the end of train, balancing on the connector mechanism between all the cars, but which sticks out unused - a convenient free ride platform - at the back of the last car..  The tourists in the last car took note, of course, and asked him what he was doing there.  And this extra passenger played his role beautifully and squeezed a free ride all the way to Anse Vata by regaling the Choo Choo tourists with a dialogue they accepted as true, and thus never betrayed his presence to me or the driver as we meandered our way around the Noumea peninsula.

"I'm a friend of the guide" was his opening line to the tourists, "she doesn't mind me riding along" he added by way of explanation.  Being tourists, of course they accepted this story, especially as nothing seemed terribly amiss as viewed from the back of the train.  As the train progressed, the tourists heard a few stories, most either fabricated or stretched ... he was from French Polynesia ... he was staying at my place in town ... that sort of thing,  Several tourists asked for pictures with him and he happily complied.  I'm sorry now I didn't think to ask any of the tourists for their email to send me one once the joyride had been abandoned.

In the end, our extra passenger got a free ride of several kilometers from the Port Moselle region to Anse Vata Beach, a trip that would have cost him about 200 XPF (~ $2 US) using the local bus system and he harmlessly entertained several tourists, who no doubt appreciated their interaction even more once they learned he was a free rider and not a friend of the guide.

(maybe attach and point to a picture of the beach where he escaped)