If you sail over that horizon for a few days, you’ll land in Australia
We are in the wonderful French territory known as New Caledonia. Like most of the islands in the South Pacific, New Caledonia was named in 1774 by Captain James Cook when he sailed past. The landscape reminded him of the Scottish Highlands, so he borrowed the name. Caledonia was the Latin name the Romans used for the land north of their province of Britannia, an area now called Scotland. It meant “the land of the Caledones,” one of the tribes living there. I can’t say I agree with his observation. I don’t remember red soil in Scotland.
It’s hard to imagine that this small group of islands is the third-largest nickel supplier in the world. Nickel is the backbone of New Caledonia’s economy, shaping both its history and its present. The French territory holds around a quarter of the world’s known nickel reserves. Mining began in the 19th century and remains the island’s main industry.
People line dancing to the song Rivers of Babylon – the song stayed in my head for about 3 days. (click the picture of you want to hear it)
Being back on a French island means awesome bread. If there is one thing the French do well, it is baking bread. Croissants and baguettes have quickly become a major part of our diets once again. At this point, I’m fairly sure my bloodstream is 20% butter. And yesterday, we discovered the ultimate treat.
In restaurants here, bread is a major staple served with just about all dishes. Count on it being baked fresh earlier in the day. Sometimes it is still warm. We both have an appreciation for fresh bread. When we lived on land, I would bake bread on Sundays. Our house would smell like a French boulangerie for the entire day. If I overbaked, a few of our neighbors were treated to loaves.
Anyway, my whole point in telling you all of this is so you understand that when I say we discovered some awesome bread, you know the bar of expectations is set very high. What we discovered was at a little Italian restaurant: garlic bread.
Imagine this: freshly baked bread on the premises, with melted creamy butter, fresh garlic bits, and parsley flakes. I can honestly say, never in my life have I found garlic bread to be so delicious. It makes me want to live on the French and Italian border. I thought I knew garlic bread. Turns out I was just eating something rejected by culinary schools worldwide.
I love this wooden statue on Duck Island
Interesting. And, a little scary.
While here in New Caledonia, we accomplish two things besides having fun. First, we need to renew our long-stay visa before it expires. This will allow us to come back again next year and stay past the standard 90 days. We obtained the LSV in New Zealand by making a trip to the French embassy in Wellington. It was a lot of work and involved an expensive trip to a city we really didn’t wish to go to.
As I’ve mentioned in previous posts, Cindy does all of the visa paperwork. We had a discussion the other day that made me realize how long we’ve been traveling. She is getting tired of visas dictating our lives and how long we can stay in one particular spot. When you think about it, the entire process is rather stupid. We arrive in a country, we have medical insurance, we can support ourselves, we have no intention of becoming residents, and yet the government feels the need to limit our stay unless we fill out a boatload of paperwork (pun intended). There are a few places where it is virtually impossible to stay past 90 days without prior approval. New Caledonia fits into this category.
Our visit to the immigration office was uneventful. The people there are very pleasant to deal with and we take a translator with us to make the process that much easier. Cindy presented her reams of paperwork that at least three trees sacrificed their lives for. I keep waiting for Greenpeace to show up and protest outside the immigration office on our behalf. And after a brief review, our renewed extended visas were ready to pick up.
Meet Clem, our translator and all-around magician with government things
We are back in the land of Renault, Peugeot, and Citroën cars. French is the official language here, but most people in the tourism industry speak English. We are just a short flight from Australia and New Zealand, where most tourists arrive from. So, getting around with limited French is doable.
Being in New Caledonia right now also brings a second benefit. When we return to Australia, our one-year visa there is reset, meaning we are good for another year. Australia is also one of the few countries that does not allow visa extensions. A person must physically leave and return to reset the visa. They don’t really have a firm policy about how many times you can do this; it just says you can’t act like you are living there or have the intent to live there. Australia is a little bit weird when it comes to visas.
So, here we are in New Caledonia having fun. The weather is warmish (it’s winter here) and the water is chilly. When we jump in, it takes a few minutes for our bodies to become numb enough to stay and snorkel. We’ve enjoyed some great dive and snorkel sites. One consistency here is almost every time we are in the water, we see a turtle. New Caledonia is home to a large population of turtles, and they seem fearless of humans. I had one come within a meter of me as it was surfacing for air. It looked me dead in the eye as if to say, “Move it, pal. This is my lane.” I actually had to stop swimming and give it the right-of-way.
Cindy snaps a pic of this turtle as it starts to ascend for air
The tuttle passes right in front of my face to surface
We were talking to a couple of locals who are excited about taking a trip to New Zealand. They are renting a camper and plan to spend a couple of weeks touring the North Island. They were interested to hear our take on NZ and Cindy promised to send a list of sites to see. In our conversation, we asked where else they like to go for vacation. The first thing they said was, not Fiji. They wanted to see snow and mountains. They told us Fiji offers them nothing they can’t experience in New Caledonia. I agree.
A lot of the locals here also vacation in Australia and eastern Asia. Japan is a popular destination and we see ads for travel there in local publications. I was recently reading about one of the Japanese airlines offering free domestic flights once you arrive. They are trying to get people to explore more of Japan than just the big cities. A ticket purchase includes flights to destinations that Japan is trying to promote. What a great deal! Japan is kinda sorta on our bucket list, but not anytime soon.
Cindy and I were ordering lunch today and made an interesting observation. We have had a lot of fun with people in lands where English is not spoken. There can be a couple of different attitudes when facing situations like this. We tend to take the entertaining view rather than the frustrating one.
We greeted our waitress in French and she replied in English. This immediately brought smiles all around. People can tell we don’t speak French as soon as we say bonjour. Something about the way we say this single word screams, “Here come the tourists — hide the good wine.” We ordered our meal in French and she confirmed it in English. At one point we stumbled a little bit. Our French has limitations. We all switched to English. But because we made an effort, we were made to feel welcome.
Very few Americans venture to New Caledonia, which is surprising given its breathtaking lagoons, French-inspired culture, and quiet South Pacific charm. Tucked between Australia and Fiji, it offers a mix of European sophistication and island ease, with bustling markets in Nouméa, rugged mountains in the interior, and some of the world’s most pristine coral reefs. It is a diver’s and snorkeler’s paradise.
If you look closely at this picture, you will see the big shark. Thankfully, it was more interested in the large fish in front than me – a reminder that we go much lower on the food chain when in the ocean
Cindy snaps a pic of the fish following her. We often see a large amount of fish trailing swimmers – most forget to look behind themselves
The main reason few Americans visit New Caledonia is largely because the islands lack the commercial spin of places like Bora Bora or Bali. There are no over-the-top luxury resorts lining the beaches, no endless stream of honeymoon packages, and far less of the glossy marketing that draws crowds elsewhere in the Pacific. Instead, New Caledonia has kept a quieter charm. And by “quieter charm”, I don’t mean it is third-world. In fact, being a French territory, the opposite is true.
We are back in the land of bright colored clothes
A fruit stall at the city market
The fish market in Noumea is the place to buy fresh fish – you can watch it being unloaded by local fishermen if you get there early.
New Caledonia is home to the world’s largest lagoon and one of the largest atolls on earth, the Ouvéa Atoll. Encircled by a reef, this vast natural wonder stretches for miles, offering dazzling turquoise waters, untouched beaches, and an astonishing diversity of marine life. A good portion of the country is extremely remote. But one of the best parts is the sailing is very easy.
New Caledonia offers a rare opportunity to sail inside the reef for almost the entire visit, enjoying the protection of the lagoon and comfortable sailing. The barrier reef, second in size only to Australia’s Great Barrier Reef, creates a vast turquoise playground where anchorages are calm, passages are straightforward, and the scenery is nothing short of spectacular. From quiet islets dotted with seabirds to long stretches of untouched beaches, sailors can explore for weeks without ever leaving the safety of the lagoon while still feeling worlds away from civilization.
We love Noumea (Capital of New Caledonia)
New Caledonia is a destination we’ve grown very fond of, very quickly.
