Fun things to do in New Caledonia

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Simply stunning, great natural beauty, these are just a few words to describe this tiny island paradise! It helps that you don't see towering high rise buildings usually lining up beaches of similar places. Isle of Pines is indeed out of this world! No neon lights as well! All you will see are untouched clear waters, the softest sand you will ever lay your feet on plus just beauty everywhere- the flowers, trees, animal life, all growing wild side by side!

Even the dogs playing along the beaches are free on their own, friendly, but still we were careful though!

When our ship reached this island, we had to be transported by tenders so as not to disturb the natural environment and the corals, and sea creatures around this spectacular island. Once ashore, we were treated to a friendly welcome from the locals.

Shopping for souvenirs is a breeze as the stalls will greet you once you're there near the shore.

The water's temperature while we were there was just perfect, not too cold not too hot, as it was overcast that day and it even rained for the most part, but who cares when we were wet anyway?

The Isle of Pines is a Island of New Caledonia, a short stop on the P&O cruise boat tour that I took. A beautiful Island with great beaches. Short walks are available to all parts of the Island including a scared rock. Pleanty of beach activities are available including soccer & beach volleyball.

Great for swimming & a snorkelling.

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This 4WD trip was organized on the P&O cruise, but could be also booked locally. A great experience that I would recommend to everyone. After a 20 drive out of the main town, you will hit the hills & see some beautiful landscapes. You can stop for a short while to take some photos & strech your legs.

This is only a short tour, but well worth it!

The capital of New Caledonia is an unashamed outpost of France in the South Pacific.
It has a majority French population, many of whom are recent arrivals from Europe, although it does also have a noticable presence of the native Melanesian Kanaks, Polynesian migrants from Wallis and Tahiti, as well as Chinese, Vietnamese and Indonesians.
Who are conspiciously missing are the English-speaking tourists - except on cruise-ship days, though even then, Noumea is big enough to absorb the lot.
Architecturally and culturally the city looks and feels very Mediterranean, while also boosting the fine beaches its Pacific location has blessed it with.
It is probably the most beautiful capital in the South Pacific and well worth a few days, even though it is hardly representative of New Caledonia as a whole, and you should also try and see what the rest of the territory has to offer.

See my separate Noumea pages for more info on the city!

A small town in the north-east of Grande Terre, Hienghéne sits on a secluded bay surrounded by rugged hills and a coastline graced by fantastic limestone formations.
It also has some fine beaches, an excellent cultural centre, and plenty of traditional Kanak villages, some offering tribal homestays others campsites, nearby.
If you can only visit one place away from Noumea, this should be the one to head for!

See my separate page on Hienghéne for more.

The most beautiful and most visited of the outer islands, the Isle of Pines gets its name from its trademark pines towering over some of the finest white-sand beaches in the South Pacific.
While it is probably the least traditional and the most touristy of New Caledonia's islands, it is far from being over-run or spoilt, and its proximity to Noumea makes it easy to reach even on a day-trip.

See my Isle of Pines pages for more info!

New Caledonia seduces before landing for the long and mountainous form of the main island. This French territory is an archipelago composed by still several islands: the Loyalty and yet a tiny island called Île de Pins, that I chose to spend a few days in its paradisiacal beaches of turquoise colour and with such a white sand that it reminded me the talcum powder.

The glamorous capital Noumea is called the Paris of the Pacific for its elegant boutiques and excellent quality French restaurants. From there you take a small airplane to get to Ïle of Pins and marvel at the view of the many characteristic towering pines of the sort Araucaria Columnaris, reaching up to 50 metres high.

Without doubt Île de Pins is one of the loveliest islands in the whole Pacific. Some tourists buy a one day excursion and return in the evening to Noumea.

Completed in May 1998, the Tjibaou Cultural Centre is a spectacular edifice rising on the Tina peninsula in Noumea. It is named in recognition of the Kanak leader, Jean-Marie Tjibaou and his contribution to the nation's cultural developments.
The centre exibits Kanak and pacific art and is a wonderful place to learn more about the island and its history.