New Caledonia (South Pacific Islands)

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Value for Money
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Ease of getting around
Family Friendly

Advantages:	Beautiful, breathtaking scenery .
Disadvantages:	Expensive to get to !

Recommend to potential buyers:

yes

Full review

HISTORY
New Caledonia is a little part of France in the South Pacific. The island was named by Captain Cook on his famous voyage of exploration. He named it Caledonia as he thought it reminded him of the Scottish highlands, this couldn't be further from the truth. New Caledonia is one of the most picturesque of the Pacific Islands and also one of the largest. It is positioned between New Zealand, Australia and Fiji. It was claimed as a French colony in 1853. It was used by the French to deport large numbers of convicts and therefore has a distinctive French feel to it. A large number of the residents are of European descent.

The local Melanesian population has been trying to gain independence from France since the end of WWII. The UN has intervened and France has to reconsider the independence question in 2013.

GETTING THERE
Getting to New Caledonia can be problematic if you live in the UK. Air France fly direct from Paris, but the flight costs between £700-800. From the UK you can either fly to France and get a flight there or you can fly to Eastern Australia of New Zealand and pick up a connecting flight. these are generally inexpensive and can cost as little as £100. However, the filght out to Australia can be very expensive depending on which time of year you choose. I flew directly from Paris with Air France in September and the return flight cost around £700.

ATTRACTIONS
Noumea
This is the capital of New Caledonia and in my opinion is one of the least interesting places to visit on the island. The highlights include the Jean-Marie Tjibaou Cultural Centre, which reflects all aspects of island life and some interesting displays of arts and crafts from New Caledonia. Entrance was about £3 in 2003. The Latin Quarter is a great place to get something cheap to eat and drink and reflects the French influence on the island. The best attraction in Noumea is the aquarium which stretches out into the Pacific and lets you see the wildlife up close and personal. Entrance was £4 and well worth it.

Bourail
Is a sleepy little town that holds the New Zealand Pacific War Cemetery, which is extremely interesting and has a small musuem that displays the major Pacific battles in which the NZ soldiers took part. Entrance is free. For those with an interest in snorkeling or scuba diving the Plage de Poé is a brilliant white beach where you can swim with turtles just off shore.

Hienghène
This was one of my favourite places to visit on the entire island. It is an entire Melanesian village as it was when the first settlers reached New Caledonia. Here there is a small museum about the history of the first inhabitants of New Caledonia. There is also a cultural centre that puts on traditional dances and festivals for tourists. It's a bit naff, as it's staged but totally different to anything we're used to! Hienghène
is one of the best places to explore the Parc Territorial de la Rivière Bleue.

Parc Territorial de la Rivière Bleue
This is the national park of New Caledonia and is abundant in colourful wildlife and plant species. There is a tree in the park that apparently is 1000 years old! I saw this tree and it is huge and extremely wide, so it could really be this old, or it could just be a trick to get tourist cahs, although I doubt it.

Poindimié
Is the best place for snorkeling and scuba diving. The beaches are rocky, but they give the best access to diving the huge coral reefs. This is a fantastic experience and I was able to hire diving equipment and a guide for two hours for around £15.

Loyalty Islands Province
These are the small islands that are just offshore of New Caledonia. They are great for diving and even better for relaxing as they have wide, unspoilt sandy beaches that are relatively deserted. You can reach them by boat from most of the coastal towns on New Caledonia for about £2 per person.

OTHER INFORMATION
Travel around New Caledonia is cheap and easy as they have a very good bus service from Noumea. The most expensive journey I made was £5 return. Other options include boat or air travel both of which are more expensive but faster. Air Caledonie offers internal flights, but I did not use them so don't know how much they would cost. As New Caledonia is part of the EU residents from EU countries don't need a visa and are entitled to stay for 90 days. The majority of towns and cities have a wide range of accommodation that ranges from £5 a night HI hostels to top of the range hotels. Food is also variable depending on where you want to eat. You can eat well for £5-7 a day if you buy from the markets or try local cooking (it's delicious I highly recommend it) you can also eat at expensive restaurants for around £20 per person.

I found the local people incredibly friendly, the native Melanesians were very welcoming and on more than one occassion we were invited into someone's house to talk. French is widely spoken and understood although many of the Melanesians speak their own dialect they will readily talk to you in French or sometimes English. French is not essential and unnecessary in the major tourist areas as English is understood and spoken but it isdefinitely helpful and polite to know a few useful phrases. New Caledonia is everything you could imagine from a Pacific Island, form huge forest covered mountains to wide sandy beaches. I highly recommend it to anyone with around a £1000 to spend on a luxury holiday. It took every penny I earned from a summer job to go to New Caledonia for two weeks but I don't regret it at all!

Just some information that I forgot to add first time round! New Caledonia is a tropical island so expect it to be extremely warm and wet on occassions. The monsoon season is between October and April and there is some risk of hurricanes. however, they have not had a hurricane hit the island since the mid 70s. The only real risk of disease is that of Dengue Fever, which can be picked up via mosquito bites. You can obtain an injcetion against this before you go and a course of tablets when you are there. Although the risk is apparently quite low it is definitely recommended.