New Caledonia – the Overview

I’ve got a fair amount to say about New Caledonia, but its only weakness is dodgy internet! So I haven’t really been able to make updates easily. And pictures may be light. But for now, we’re in one of the most beautiful places we’ve ever visited and the internet is better in the anchorage than it is in the capital. So here are some updates…

We’ve been in New Caledonia a almost two months now, and my strongest reaction is “Why aren’t there more cruisers here?”

So far, to say we love it would be in understatement. Without waxing too effusive, we’re enchanted by the combination of natural beauty and local culture.

Sunset in Nouméa

New Caledonia is surrounded by one of the world’s largest barrier reefs and is completely enclosed by a coral lagoon. The lagoon itself is protected with many nature preserves, and is uncrowded and clean. The island’s terrain is rugged, like many volcanic islands in the Ring of Fire, but is also lush and rife with birds, flowers, and life. Outside the city of Nouméa, surrounding the city and even visible from within it, are gorgeous green mountains, beautiful landscapes, and sparkling waters. Every night’s sunset is a beauty contest with the last, and the light pollution is so low outside of town that every starry night’s display is breathtaking. In the lagoon we’ve seen whales, dolphins, fish, birds, and dugongs. The snorkeling is fantastic and the beaches are gorgeous soft white sand.

Culturally, the island is French, with a mix of Melansian and Kanak culture. French culture dominates the food and language. At least three Boulangeries/Patisseries are within easy walk of the dinghy dock; there are several others in town. A fourth rumored to be a longer walk, but there’s a hill in the way and the first three are so good, we’ve got a dominant sense of “why bother” since we’ve scientifically tested the three that our easiest to reach and found our favorites. The predominant language is French, and more so than any French territory that we’ve visited, people prefer it, and fewer people seem comfortable with using English.

We let this guy go since we already had some tuna in the fridge for dinner.

There’s a market right at the town dock that’s open every morning but Monday, with fresh fruit, vegetables, and other delights, and a fish market that provides a wide array of local catches. We’ve become partial to the Thon Blanc there (white tuna, what we’d call Albacore) which is half the cost of the yellowfin at about 1300cpf (currently the US D dollar is strong at about 105cpf or “Pacific Francs” to the dollar, so that’s about $5.00/pound for fresh caught Albacore).  Though the Thon Jaune isn’t a bad deal either, at a little over $10.00/pound. Interestingly, pelagic open ocean fish like Tuna, Mahi Mahi and Wahoo come into the lagoon as if it were open ocean, and can be caught very close to Nouméa. We hooked a Wahoo within view of the city, so the fish is coming pretty fresh. We’ve become much more aggressive and hopeful for a tuna while fishing, and now generally have a line in the water as soon as we’re clear of boat traffic.

The city has several supermarkets, with a full range of French cheeses, and many things are inexpensive (relative to New Zealand, especially) and good wines, various French products we’ve come to like, and a decent selection of meats and frozen foods. The fresh vegetables in the grocery stores are the only real weak point – both expensive and generally poor quality, but we have to walk through the local market to get to the grocery stores, so that’s not generally a problem.

To the detriment of our waistlines we’ve resumed our addiction to the Boulangeries and Patisseries that so delighted us in other French countries.

These are clearly the low calorie versions of the Aux Delices de Noumea desserts.

With three in easy walk, when we’re in town it’s easy to get our fix for baguettes, Pain au Chocolat, and other stand-bys. We’ve been meticulous in our studies of these places, and have determined that our favorite is Les Petites Choux (“The Little Cabbages”; Petite Chou is a French pet name for a loved one) for breakfast patisseries (beignets, or French donuts, that are different from the usual Patisserie offering and to die for), though Au Vieux Paris (“In/of/for Old Paris”) edges everyone on éclairs and some desserts to die for, and Aux Delices de Noumea (“The Delicacies/Treats of Nouméa”) reliably has the best baguettes and finishes very strong in the dessert division. But any one of them would suffice if the others didn’t exist, and if one is closed our out of stock the degree of difference between the quality is slight. We all agree that had we found only any ONE of these places in a town we’d have been perfectly content. But then again, we’ve only met one French bakery we didn’t like and have loved most of them.

The saving grace though is that we’re doing a lot more walking.

Did I forget to mention the spectacular sunsets?