Noumea, New Calidonia

 

Pre-Arrival:
Here are a few pics from the ‘White-on-White’ formal night, held Monday evening. The ship’s crew once again did a tremendous job with decorations throughout the ship. Cheryl is pictured with two of her friends (Barbara & Trudy) and in another, with Presty, dining room manager.

 

 

 

 

 

Following 32 hours of occasional fog & rolling seas out of Sydney, the weather finally dissipated Monday midday and our arrival in Noumea Tuesday morning was very nice – partly cloudy, but eventually clear & pleasant temps. So where are we? In the South Pacific, about halfway between Fiji & Australia, you’ll find New Caledonia…a cluster of French islands in the Coral Sea. Noumea is the country’s capital, with a population of about 220,000. The average personal income is said to be US$14,800. The city itself lies on a protected deep-water harbor that serves as the chief port for New Caledonia. The island is about 7,300 square miles in size & shaped like a cigar. It’s one of the most westernized capitals in the Pacific Islands and features beautiful beaches, colonial mansions and is not yet a heavily ‘touristic’ destination, although there was another cruise ship in port during our stay. It has the second largest coral reef in the world, so diving and snorkeling are big activities. The seasons don’t vary too much - located just north of the Tropic of Capricorn, the country’s climate is tropical. It is warm and humid from November through to April, but the trade winds temper any extremes. The local water is said to be perfectly safe to drink, but as always, we carry our thermoses with ice water wherever we go.

As you would expect, French is the predominant language though we didn’t have difficulty communicating with the local ‘retailing’ folks. English is not spoken much after you leave the city. Since we weren’t leaving until 10pm, we opted for all day bus passes but first walked over to the local market. The market opens at dawn in a constellation of round, blue-roof buildings piled high with tropical produce. Coconuts, papaya, pineapples, bananas and custard apples sit alongside garlands of cut flowers and sweet-scented herbs, while a separate building houses the fish market selling freshly caught snapper, crayfish, squid and lobster. As you’ll see in one particular photo, they were selling lobsters nearly as long as my arm – never knew they grew that large – their coloring was extraordinary but the pics really don’t do them justice. We then caught the bus and were dropped at Lemon Beach where we spent a lot of time just people-watching & strolling the boardwalk. Less than a mile down the road we found Anse Vata Beach where they were preparing for Kite & Wind surfing competition – literally hundreds of participants…but not scheduled to begin until 1:00. It was 11:30 at that point so we decided to have lunch at a nearby open-air café – Cheryl had a small pizza – I ordered lasagna and we both had two local beers. This was one of those rare occasions when we eat off the ship – it’s far too risky in many ports, but this restaurant appeared to be very clean with respectable patrons. To our dismay, the surfing contest was ultimately postponed for the day due to lack of proper wind conditions, but we met many nice folks along the way and really enjoyed the beautiful scenery. They told us that normally, the Noumea peninsula compresses SE to E winds and creates perfect windsurfing conditions, but no such luck today.  

The Jean-Marie Tjibaou Cultural Center is the newest development and presents the history and culture of the Kanaks. It’s built on the Tina Peninsula - about 10 minutes from the town center. The Tjibaou Cultural Centre is a harmonious marriage of tradition and modernism. Tjibaou Cultural Centre has 10 cylindrical, sail-like tall buildings. Inside these buildings hold permanent and temporary exhibits, displaying various works depicting Kanak culture. Scattered all around the venue are interesting sculptures. Three galleries house permanent exhibitions of Kanak and Pacific art. Near the entrance is a theater showing a short documentary about the Kanak people. The cultural complex is composed of ten houses, all of different sizes and functions. The small houses are 670 square feet, the medium houses 1,024 square feet and large houses, 1,510 square feet. Their heights range from 66 to 92 feet, with a circular floor plan, which are grouped into three villages, each with a distinct role. All of them are connected by pedestrian walkways in the form of spokes evoking the central promenade of traditional villages. Outside the tall cylindrical buildings are life-size Kanak huts. You can walk inside to get a feel of how New Caledonian indigenous people used to live.  

Michel Corbasson Zoological and Forest Park (Parc Forestier) is a few minutes from the City Center and located in the heights of Nouméa, the park offers fantastic walks, with magnificent views over the lagoon and the southern coast of the Mainland. The park features a large number of birds, including the rare endemic Cagou - the emblem of New Caledonia. The Cagou is a rare and flightless bird that makes a noise more like a barking dog than that of a bird. Other animals include deer, bats and parrots. The Park covers 85 acres, including 5 acres of ponds and lakes that draw large numbers of birds, wild, domestic and water birds. Well worth a stop!  

The Maritime History Museum is on the Baie de la Moselle waterfront. The museum goes back over 3,000 years in maritime history. This little museum is packed with maritime artifacts, like a humongous rudder, lighthouse lamp, and models of New Caledonian ships. You can also see wreckage from the forty ships that have met their end at Noumea's reef! 

Lagoons Aquarium (Aquarium des Lagons) houses species found in New Caledonian waters including nautilus – it’s a good place to see sea snakes, stonefish, turtles and stingrays.  

We were back at the pier by 4:30 and decided to do some light shopping at a supermarket just across the street from where we were docked. By 5:00, we were ready to call it a day and get ready for the seafood BBQ being held at 5:30, poolside. We were nearly two hours late getting to the BBQ – we got sidetracked at Happy Hour with a couple friends but eventually made it upstairs. As you’ll see, the pool area was decorated with balloons to match the seafood theme and a great time was had by all. It was a busy, but very relaxing day for us – our lights were out by 9:00. The ship sailed sometime after 10:00 but neither of us were awake when we departed.

No ‘wedding vow renewal’ date for us yet…stay tuned!