A shimmering palette of blues ... Noumea is home to the world's largest lagoon.Credit: Getty Images
On the edge of the world's largest lagoon, Nicola Walker finds a raft of family-friendly surprises in Noumea.
Our inestimable French friend threw up his hands when told we had booked a week's holiday in New Caledonia. His verdict: "It is 'orribly expensif and full of pretentious French people." So it is with some trepidation that we fly to this former French colony in the South Pacific on a miserable wet afternoon. It's an hour's bus ride from the airport to the capital, Noumea, and halfway there I realise we've left the stroller behind. Things are looking grim.
The Royal Tera Beach Resort and Spa was formerly a Club Med, since renovated and reopened last year. The glamorous white-tile lobby keeps a cleaner busy, but the place is not much of a "resort". The one restaurant does not offer meals outside of the usual hours, is expensive (a one-course dinner, with wine and a kid's meal costs $104) and not very child-friendly. My husband gives me the look that says "where have you brought me?"
Palette of blue ... a view over the lagoon at Noumea.Credit: Getty Images
Still, the panorama from our 16th-floor apartment is like a huge Matisse, a shimmering palette of blues composed of nothing but the largest lagoon in the world and the sky.
New Caledonia's main island is enclosed by a 1500-kilometre coral reef and UNESCO listed several of its lagoons in 2008. When a sea snake slides close to shore, we can see it from the balcony. Our apartment has two generous-sized bedrooms, each with en suite, a lounge and tidy kitchenette. Friendly staff clean it daily and never fail to provide fresh towels. An admirable receptionist also procures our stroller from the airport.
We read in the Lonely Planet guide that there is an early morning market where we can buy a range of food, so next morning in the sparkling sunshine we catch the local bus. It's fun watching the other passengers and the "dude" driver with dreadlocks; we momentarily feel part of island life. The promised deli produce is absent, but there is good fruit and vegetables. From the market, it's a short walk to a city centre supermarket that stocks great pates, cheeses and French wine at reasonable prices.
Once we've decided to forgo eating out and to picnic in our apartment, we're happy. It's much easier with a baby, anyhow. The other advantage of our 16th-floor eyrie is that the husband, who is not a keen swimmer, can simultaneously babysit and watch mother and older daughter frolic in the pool and sea.
In the afternoon, aquatic activities give way to a bit of sightseeing. First off is the Musee de la Ville de Noumea (Noumea Town Museum), housed in what was the original merchant bank of Caledonia (1874). The facade is attractive but the exhibits are shabby, a bit like the city and Place des Cocotiers, which is described by the guide book as "the perfect spot to watch the world go by". This central square might have been pleasant once but now seems slightly seedy. There is no sign of the "pretentious" French folk, whose ancestors claimed New Caledonia in 1853 and practised all the usual infamies on the indigenous Kanaks. After a long struggle, the Kanaks gained equal representation in the French Parliament. A vote for full independence is due in 2014.
We'd like to visit Ile de Pins - an island off the southern tip of Grand Terre (the main island) famous for its wooden pirogues (boats), skinny pines and white sand - so we inquire about an overnight stay. It will cost about $850. "Why don't you think about a day trip to Blue River Park in the south," says the man on the phone with the amiable voice. So we do, and it turns out to be the highlight.
We see trees that foppishly grow flowers on their trunks, there being no predators in New Caledonia. Likewise, other plants have ditched their thorns.
A valley in the park looks so ancient that it is a popular site for dinosaur films. We hop on and off our minibus as we pass through the park's weirdly diverse ecosystems, including a drowned forest, with our guide, Francois Tran. He tells us a million facts with enthusiasm. Born of a French mother and an Indo-Chinese father, Francois is an inspirational Caledonian patriot. At the end of our long, invigorating day in the park, in which we spy a cagou, the flightless grey bird that is the national symbol, we feel much more connected to the island.
Just as striking as the national flora is the Tjibaou Cultural Centre, a gallery and library of Pacific cultures, set on a lush peninsula. We catch the useful Noumea Explorer bus that does half-a-dozen daily trips between the major sites. Named after a Kanak independence advocate who was assassinated in 1989, the Tjibaou Centre is both a celebration and an elegy. Built by Renzo Piano (the architect of the Pompidou Centre in Paris), Tjibaou's curved wooden lattice walls reach for the sky like enormous weathered hands. We have a coffee and enjoy the peace in the centre's extensive garden, whose sculptures whisper of a pre-colonial past.
Drinks in Baie des Citrons, a pretty crescent beach around the headland from ours, are served with a big smile and a bowl of olives. We go there on a high after visiting the nearby Aquarium des Lagons, which shows us the fantastical Caledonian marine life, including rare live nautiluses bobbing in a darkened tank.
On the flight home, my husband concedes that my choice of destination has been a success. Yes, New Caledonia is pricey because of its high minimum wage and an administration that ensures the buses run on time, however, we've had an unexpected adventure and, au contraire mon ami, we'd very much like to go back.
FAST FACTS
Getting there
Air Caledonie has a fare to Noumea from Sydney (3hr) for about $745 low-season return, including tax. Melbourne passengers pay about $915 and fly Virgin Australia to Sydney to connect. See air-caledonie.nc.
Staying there
An "absolute beachfront" (front de mer), two-bedroom apartment at the Royal Tera Beach Resort & Spa costs about $430 a night. Phone +687 296 400; see www.tera.nc.
Touring there
Helpful staff from New Caledonia Tours can arrange an overnight trip to Ile de Pins. There's no tour website, so phone +687 259 424; email caledoniatours@lagoon.nc. Francois Tran, who runs Blue River Park tours, can be contacted on the same email, or phone +687 786 838.
Arc en Ciel Voyages, which runs airport transfers, also organises tours. See arcenciel-voyages.nc.
While there
The Tjibaou Cultural Centre is a must-see, open Tuesday-Friday. See adck.nc.
Give Noumea Town Museum a miss and head to the Musee de Nouvelle-Caledonie instead. Open daily, except Tuesdays. See museenouvellecaledonie.nc.
The aquarium is superb and is within walking distance of hotels at the beaches of Anse Vata and Baie de Citron. See aquarium.nc.
Get to Noumea's food market before 9am to see it in action; otherwise, amble there for a coffee by 11am.
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