The 18th August, I’m leaving New Zealand to go at 2388km, in New Caledonia. Just 3 hours of flight and it’s a total escape. I left a New Zealand winter for a New Caledonia winter, almost 10° of difference. Finish sweater/pan/scarf, give way to the short/T-shirt/flip-flop ! Ariane, a friend from Lyon in France, picked me in the airport. She lives in Nouméa with 6 flatmates. A beautiful house with an amazing view at 180° on the sea.
Sailboat weekend
And as soon as we arrived, a fantastic weekend on a sailboat wait us. Her friend Vincent invited us in his boat/house. First time for me, it’s the adventure for 2 days. With sun, we are going to an island and leaving Noumea. Noumea is like Nice, a French city in the South close to the Mediterranean, I feel like I’ve stepped back in France. Even more when Ariane & Vincent take the French red wine, cheese, baguette and saucisson (of deer, it is hunting here) out. The French pleasures missed me ! And then, we will be lucky. After seeing a dugong (like a sea cow), we could see whales close to the boat. We were screaming « the tail, the tail », it was awesome ! I discovered how you live on the sea, it made me want live on a boat too, but you have to like the confined spaces and to have the sea legs !
Isle of Pines
Go back on the firm ground, as of next day, I take a plane to the Isle of Pines, in the South of Grande Terre, for 3 days. A little paradise island, like a postcard with white beach. It was nice to camp close to the sea. A lot to do : walking (with 4 dogs !), snorkeling, biking, … I met very nice guys in the camperground with which I shared great times : watching the sunset, eating a Bougna*, discovering a traditionnal canoë and beautiful landscapes. We finished the days with a Manta, a local beer.
Bougna : is a traditional feast dish of the Kanak people of New Caledonia, often contains taro, yam, sweet potato, banana and pieces of either chicken, fish, prawns. The contents are wrapped in banana leaves and are then buried to cook in a ground oven, which uses red-hot rocks heated by fire.
Diving weekend in Poindimié
I come back in Nouméa for the week-end with Ariane and her flatmates at Poindimié. I learned in New Caledonia you have to think to make your provisions of beers and alcohols before Friday at noon for the week-end : there is a restriction for selling alcohol after this time to Monday. This is to combat the problems of alchohol in the Island, I’m not sure it’s an answer… Diving week-end for them, hiking for some of us. I met Mathilde, a sister of one of the flatmates of Ariane.
Lifou
And with her, the Monday morning, we are going to Lifou, one of the Loyalty Islands. 4 days, 3 days without sun… This didn’t really slow us down. The first day we rented (with difficulty) a car to discover the north of Lifou. We slept at Wé, the administrative center of the commune. By word of mouth, we met Marcy and her flatmates, who welcomed us here so well. No camping this week, is not to bad because it’s going to rain the whole day the next day. But the rain didn’t stop us and with Jean-Pierre, a guide from the same tribe of Marcy, brought us to see a wonderful water hole below a cave. Totally wet, we finished the day with Paul, a friend of Jean-Pierre, a sculptor. Two beautiful encounters, we spoke about life and we learned a lot about New Caledonia and Lifou from them. The day after, we discovered the South of Lifou with them. We had the opportunity to sleep in a traditional hut thanks to Jean-Pierre and to do the « coutume » (custom) for the first time. It’s a sign of respect, you offer a gift and money as a welcome gesture. We finished to see the most important sights for the last day by hitchhiking and just before I left, sun was coming (of course !). So I could see the lagoon in its best light.
Thio
Back to Nouméa, and after a week-end with Ariane and her friends in a music festival, a new week of work starts for them, not for me. I accompany Ariane to Thio, in the East coast where she works Monday and Tuesday. It’s a mining town, « city of green gold », Nickel is exploited. The Nickel is one of New Caledonia’s essential ressources.
“La Grande Terre”
After that I start my road trip in the Grande Terre. First with Noémie and her friends, a Ariane’s flatmate. We stayed 2 days in Poé, beautiful beach in the West Coast. I had to rent a car to travel alone in the North of the Island because hitchhiking is not safe here. And I don’t regret, I met some great people, saw beautiful landscapes, learned a lot about this country. In the North-East, it’s very different. More sauvage, more Kanaki, indeed, there are more Kanaks. So we can see lots of flag and banner in this part of the island. Even more now because on November 4th, they are voting for the independance of New Caledonia. The « no » will certainly prevail but the Kanak want the independance.
After one week and half in the North, I come back in Nouméa. Ariane is not anymore, she was in France for holiday. She lent me her car, until the end I can enjoy. I discover the South, very different with a red ground. Awesome too ! I shared time with her flatmates too, I was with Remi in a Nakamal, a traditional meeting place in Vanuatu which is now, in New Caledonia, synonymous with the consummation of kava, a non-alcoholic drink that has sedative and anaesthetic properties. It is made from the roots of the Piper methysticum plant. It’s yuck, but funny, you drink this in a half of coconut, straight, in the same time of everybody.
« Voilà », an amazing month in New Caledonia, a little tast of France and a big part of discoveries. I was little bit surprise by the prices – transport, food, activities –all are very expensive (my bank account know that). But this didn’t stop me to travel and enjoy. There are a lot to do and to see, in the sea, on the mountains. I was little bit sad that it’s not easy to travel alone in the Grande Terre and finally I think I was approaching less the people after I heard so many bad stories. And it’s wrong, because I met so many great local people.
And I will never forget what Jean-Piere, our guide in Lifou, say to Mathilde and me :
« On the way, the best is to get lost. When you go astray the projects give way to surprises and that’s when the travel begins ».
