New Caledonia is an overseas French territory, meaning that all New Caledonians hold French citizenship, regardless of their ethnicity.
If you’ve heard of New Caledonia, it may be related to World War II. Nouméa – capital city of New Caledonia – was headquarters for U.S. military forces in the South Pacific during the war. It’s said that more than 50,000 Americans were stationed here. They still remember that era in Nouméa, with a number of monuments and a museum.
Maré Island is the second-largest of the six inhabited islands which lie to the northeast of Grande Terre, New Caledonia's main island. They are known collectively as the Loyalty Islands and are governed as one of the three provinces of New Caledonia. The island is 26 miles long and 20 miles wide, at its widest point. We understand that the population of Maré is just under 7,000, and almost all the people on the island are indigenous Melanesians (called Kanaks), living primarily in tribal villages.
Ginny remained on the ship this morning, as Jim left on one of the ship’s tenders to the island. He returned about two hours later. After arriving at the tender pier in Tadine, most of the passengers (including Jim) hopped onto a free shuttle service that Crystal had arranged to take us out to Yejele, one of the best beaches on the island. The shuttle was the only way to get there, as it was a 25-minute drive on the bus – way too far to walk – and there were no other excursions being offered. It did seem like an attractive, unspoiled beach – pure white sand and clear water that proved to be excellent for snorkeling. Once again, Jim didn’t get in the water; but those guests from the ship with whom he talked said the water was cooler than they’d experienced at previous ports, but they all seemed to have a wonderful time. Because we live so close to several great beaches at home in Florida we don’t go as crazy about spending time at the beach while on vacation as others do.
After taking the shuttle bus back to Tadine, Jim wandered around a little bit in town by foot, but didn’t go too far from the tender pier. There was a very small local food market set up for the local citizens, but that was about it.
We had a wonderful visit today and were very impressed with the attractiveness, cleanliness, and appeal of this city. Since leaving Honolulu two weeks ago, this was the first urban environment we’ve encountered across the South Pacific. Nouméa is the capital of New Caledonia and is located on a peninsula at the southern tip of the country’s main island, Grande Terre. It is a large, cosmopolitan area with a population of 100,000 within the city and 180,000 in the metropolitan area. Some local people call this “Paris of the Pacific,” and French is by far the primary spoken language. Nearly 70% of the population of New Caledonia live in greater Nouméa, and it is home to the vast majority of the country's Europeans.
Nouméa has a thriving seaport and is also one of the South Pacific's most industrialized cities, with a very large smelting plant dominating a large part of the northern section of the city. We were told that 25% of the world’s supply of nickel is mined and smelted here.
This morning we walked about ½ mile from the ship to La Marché, the city’s morning market, which is located adjacent to a large sailboat marina on Moselle Bay. The market is a rather modern setting of five hexagonal buildings, each with differing themes, including a fish market building, a vegetable building, a jewelry building, and so on. There was also a cluster of tents outside where vendors were selling very attractive arts & crafts. Although there were many tempting, unique items available, we only bought a refrigerator magnet to add to our collection. We walked back to the ship a different route through the city center, stopping once at a small café for two ice-cold Coke Light drinks. It was a hot, humid walk this morning.
After lunch on the ship, we departed at 1:15 on a ship excursion titled “Panoramic Nouméa by Tchou Tchou Train.” We weren’t too sure about this when we signed up, but it turned out to be a great choice. On the 2-hour ride on the cute, little rubber-tired train, we saw many of the highlights of this beautiful city. The tour guide was excellent and weather was perfect. Because there were no windows, the wind kept us cool.
We had no idea that Nouméa was so scenic, with wide boulevards, many large apartment and resort hotels, natural beauty of blue lagoon bays, panoramic lookouts, and the popular beaches of Lemon Bay and Anse Vata. We also enjoyed watching the dozens of kite surfers at several points along the way.
On board Serenity, life continues to be full – food is always well prepared and beautifully presented, activities abound, and entertainment is first-class all the time. Thursday and Friday nights (Feb 11 and 12) there were solo shows by outstanding performers. First was vocalist Peter Cousens, a musical theatre star in Australia, New Zealand, and London’s West End, as well as television and recording roles. Next was international pianist, composer, and conductor Kym Purling who has mounted, music-directed, and conducted many Broadway shows, in addition to performing in over 100 countries. Once again, we're amazed how the Galaxy Orchestra is able to accompany the wide variety of performers every single night of the cruise. They're definitely real pros!
Tonight (February 13) was especially busy. The Crystal singers, dancers, and orchestra performed “An Evening in the South Pacific” concert three times (5:15, 8:30, and 10:30) in the Stardust Club. We attended the 5:15 concert, had dinner at 6:00, and finished the evening by going to a movie (The Martian) in the Hollywood Theatre at 8:00. The concert consisted of favorite Rogers & Hammerstein songs from South Pacific. The entire performance was nothing short of great.
Now we have two sea days before arriving in Sydney on Tuesday (February 16).
Jim & Ginny
Jim & Ginny
Wow! I'm exceedingly jealous of your time in New Caledonia! And it always sounds like there's a lot to do on the ship. The weather here in Somerville was -2 degrees when I went to the grocery story this morning! Take me away!!!!! Scott
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