Diving & Snorkelling
New Caledonia has an enormously long barrier reef surrounding Grande Terre, and diving and snorkelling is a popular activity among visitors.The best places to do it are the outer islands where you can just swim in from the beach and find fine reefs - the barrier reef around Grande Terre is mostly far out and requires expensive boat-charters to reach.To be honest, I must admit though that compared to more tropical places further North like Papua New Guinea, the Solomons or Indonesia, I found New Caledonia's reefs quite dull, lacking in species diversity. This is no doubt due to the cooler climate here. Don't be put off though, as most tourists were still very happy with what they saw here!
