POPULATION 246,000
FOREIGN VISITORS PER YEAR 99,000
CAPITAL NOUMEA
LANGUAGES FRENCH (OFFICIAL), KANAK LANGUAGES
MAJOR INDUSTRY NICKEL MINING AND PROCESSING
UNIT OF CURRENCY PACIFIC FRANC (CFP)
TWO DESTINATIONS IN ONE
How strange it feels. You're greeted with a bonjour when you step off the plane, then you breakfast on croissants and baguettes at a pavement café in Noumea- yet you're in the heart of the South Pacific. At first glance, New Caledonia resembles nothing less than a chunk of France teleported directly into the tropics. With its flurry of trendy shops, bistros, boulangeries (bakeries), shiny cars and upmarket marinas, Noumea could be easily mistaken for city in the French Riviera. But beyond the tres French panache of the capital and the west coast of the main island, Grande Terre, the indigenous Melanesian culture quickly comes to the fore. The rebirth of Kanak traditions has been gaining momentum for the past 30 years, and today is at an all-time high. Head to the Loyalty Islands or lle des Pins and you'll enter another world. Richly steeped in Kanak culture, Mare, Lifou, Ouvea and Ile des Pins are places where people live in clan communities known as tribus and dwell in cute-as-can-be cases (Kanak thatched houses) by idyllic beaches. In these rural settlements, the ancient Kanak code for living, la coutume, is very much alive. For the enquiring visitor, it's a fascinating opportunity to experience New Caledonia from a different perspective. Amazingly, despite its fabulous islandscapes and unique mélange of Gallic and Melanesian cultures, New Caledonia rarely makes it onto people's travel shortlists - which makes it all the more tempting to peek into. |
