Saturday 5 May 2012

New Caledonia - a Piece of France in the South Pacific



 To many of you going to New Caledonia will sound quite exotic and far away.  But for those of us “downunder” it is just a quick flight to find a tropical part of France.  New Caledonia is a French territory so it is great to go a short flight and find French food, language and culture.

Le Meridien, Noumea

 There are nice hotels and apartments along the beach on the main island.  We stayed at Le Meridien – which worked well but was quite expensive.  Next time we will also visit the Isle of Pines which is a short boat ride away.

Isle of Pines, New Caledonia

 We took the local buses into town – that was an experience in itself – many of them were rickety old things with overflow seating that folded down into the aisles – a logistical nightmare when someone at the back of the bus needed to get off!  And I’m sure the “health and safety” czars would have something to say about it!  But they were cheap and patronised by the locals.

Tjibaou Cultural Centre, New Caledonia

 The highlight of our visit was a visit to the museum.  I am not a fan of museums generally but this one is a spectacular building in a great setting and had a nice feel to it.  The French government spent squillions on it.  Some say in atonement for the treatment of the indigenous people – the Kanaks.



2 comments:

  1. Thanks for this ... very timely, as we're off to New Caledonia in a few weeks! Have never been there before but we're attracted to the idea of snorkelling in a French tropical paradise, especially in the middle of a Canberra winter ;-) Thanks for the museum recommendation. Will definitely check it out ...

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