Bonjour.
For New Zealanders and Australians, New Caledonia is as close as you can get for a tropical island getaway. Just two and a half hours out from Auckland, the Mainland, Isle of Pines and Loyalty Islands of New Caledonia offer a unique blend of French and Melanesian cultures. Discover the magnificent dive sites, bush walking tracks, and fantastic sailing and surf spots as well as the restaurants and nightlife of the capital Noumea, which caters to all tastes and budgets.
NEW CALEDONIA, unlike its volcanic neighbours, drifted away from an ancient continent some 250 million years ago. Its main island, La Grande Terre, is surrounded by several offshore islands, including the untouched Loyalty Islands to the north-east and the Isle of Pines to the south. Noumea, the capital located on the south-east of La Grande Terre, is a cosmopolitan blend of French ambience and fine cuisine. Most of NEW CALEDONIA’s 230,000 people live on the mainland. The islands’ isolation allowed an explosion of unique flora and fauna, with 3500 recorded species of plants, 4300 species of land animals, 1000 species of fish, and 6500 species of marine invertebrates, many of which are native only to the islands. NEW CALEDONIA also boasts the largest lagoon in the world, the islands surrounded by a 1,600 km long coral reef.
The great voyaging canoes of the Melanesian people sailed into NEW CALEDONIA two or three thousand years ago. But it was Captain Cook who named the land when he arrived there en route to New Zealand in 1774. NEW CALEDONIA was claimed as French territory by Admiral Febvrier-Despointes in September 1853, which rapidly led to hundreds of French settlers making the islands their home. Thousands of convicts were also deported there, and many remnants of that era can still be seen today. In the 1890s migrants from Indonesia and Java arrived, adding another element to the country’s cultural diversity.
Once the French had claimed NEW CALEDONIA in 1853, the new settlers European influence merged with the deeply rooted Pacific lifestyle, leading to the country’s unique identity today. The climate and location holds the relaxed and friendly beauty of the South Pacific, yet the main spoken language is French and the shopping, restaurants and nightlife feel distinctly European. The Indonesian and Javanese immigrants who came to work in NEW CALEDONIA’s copper, cobalt and nickel mines, add another ingredient to the cultural mix.
NEW CALEDONIA’s culture is a fascinating blend of French and Melanesian influences and customs. French settlers fall into two groups - French nationals and the rural Caldoche (farmers largely descended from convict settlers). La coutume is the name given to traditional Kanak rites, rituals and social interaction between and within clans. The exchange of gifts is an important element of la coutume. Traditionally, the clan's activity is centred around the largest hut - the grande case - where the chief resides. Kanak culture and arts are currently enjoying a revival, in particular kaneka (contemporary music set to traditional harmonies and rhythms), dance and woodcarving.
