Striking a natural balance

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This was published 11 years ago

Striking a natural balance

Self-balancing ... the Segways at Parc Forestier.

Self-balancing ... the Segways at Parc Forestier.

"Having a go on a Segway had been on our 'bucket list' for some time, so that was the big attraction of doing this excursion.

"We wouldn't have gone to the park on a normal tour; it would have been too time-consuming when you've only got a day," Ken says.

"On the Segways we were able to cover a good bit of ground in a short time - what would normally take ... half a day we did in a couple of hours.

Moving experience ... a scaly Parc Forestier local.

Moving experience ... a scaly Parc Forestier local.

"Forest Park is a zoo and botanic gardens in the hinterland just outside Noumea.

"We started with 10 minutes of orientation, getting to know the Segways, then we set off in a line with two instructors, one at the front and one at the back.

"Our group was just eight people and ranged in age from early 20s to a lady who was 81 years old, although I think she found it a bit nerve-racking. Segways are self-balancing; if you lean forward they go forward and if you lean back they slow or go into reverse.

"We were able to get the hang of it quite quickly and by the time we got back we were experts!

"I believe that we were some of the first tourists to try out the tour but they had it all pretty well worked out.

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"We'd go along for a while and then stop and have a break, where we'd get off the Segways and go to have a closer look at things.

"There were lots of different types of birds in the park - both ones that are local to New Caledonia and ones from other parts of the world - and they had many different types of monkeys, too.

"We also enjoyed the stunning views of Noumea from the higher vantage points of the park."

Value for money

The 2¼-hour Forest Park Segway Experience was offered by P&O and cost $119 a person.

Ken believes it was good value given that it included Segway hire, instruction, a guided tour of the park and transport to and from the ship.

"If we ever had the chance to do this sort of tour again we would, because it's an excellent way to cover a reasonable distance in a short space of time," he says.

WHO Ken Glover, of Port Macquarie, on his sixth cruise.
WHAT Segway tour of Parc Forestier (Forest Park), a nature park and zoo in Noumea.
WHERE Parc Forestier is about four kilometres north of the centre of Noumea, capital of New Caledonia. Passengers taking the shore excursion were picked up from and returned to the ship in Noumea.
THE SHIP Ken cruised with his wife, Kristine, on P&O's Pacific Jewel (pocruises.com.au), on a nine-day itinerary from Sydney to various New Caledonian ports and back to Sydney.

Have you done an interesting shore excursion? Drop us a line at travelshd@fairfaxmedia.com.au

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