Oceania & Pacific Islands

Formerly named the Duck Bay (like the island located just opposite) because of its swampy side, the Anse Vata neighbourhood now has the same name as the adjoining bay and the 2-kilometer long sandy beach bordering it. Located between the Lemon Bay (Baie des Citrons) and Val Plaisance, it is bounded by the “Rocher à la Voile” on the one hand and the Pointe Magnin on the other side. This South neighbourhood of Noumea, part of the living heart of the city, really looks like a real see side resort. There is a holiday atmosphere and this area is popular with tourists who find here all activities and infrastructure they need: shops, restaurants, water sports, most major resorts and two casinos ... all in one holiday setting at the edge of a wooded beach. Sea activities such as windsurfing are highly successful thanks to the exposure of the bay to the prevailing wind. Many sporting events also start from this place. https://www.explore-newcaledonia.com/noumea/anse-vata-bay/tabid/3992/offreid/f1df6245-6263-407b-8297-bfc40f2b9aca

The Amedee Lighthouse was France’s first metal lighthouse and it boasts a unique history. In 1861, due to the many shipwrecks of boats entering the lagoon, Paris ordered a lighthouse to be built for Noumea. Mr. Rigolet, a French engineer from the Eiffel Tower workshops in Paris, started to work on this outstanding monument in 1862. According to one of the clauses in Mr. Rigolet’s contract, the lighthouse had to be assembled outside his workshop in France. For two years, the lighthouse towered above Paris, standing 56 meters tall. After that it was dismantled and divided into 1,265 pieces, weighing 387,953 kilos in total. It was then transported along the Seine River to the port of Le Havre for the final stage of its long voyage to New Caledonia. The Amedee lighthouse is indeed a unique attraction and one of the tallest lighthouses in the world in the world’s largest lagoon. https://amedeeisland.com/amedee-lighthouse/

Looking for the perfect introduction to local Kanak culture? Plan a visit to the Tjibaou Cultural Centre in Nouméa, where art, history, culture, knowledge and natural beauty combine to delight and educate adults and children alike. Housed within beautifully designed buildings and landscaped grounds, the centre sits just minutes from the city, offering a fantastic selection of permanent and temporary exhibitions to discover. A visit to the centre is a must for any Nouméa itinerary. https://www.newcaledonia.travel/au/noumea/tjibaou-cultural-center

Located at Anse Vata bay, the Lagoons Aquarium in Nouméa hosts a variety of corals, fish, crustacean and marine mammals, with some demonstrating the endemism of the New Caledonian aquatic wildlife. Entirely renovated in 2007, the aquarium is today one of the most popular tourist attractions in Nouméa. The Aquarium des Lagons with its multiple different tanks, you can admire a collection of phosphorescent corals unique in the world. The aquarium also boasts a garden featuring a turtle pool. Throughout the year, the aquarium organizes very popular “nocturnals.” They allow you to observe the night-time behavior of the fish and to attend fun awareness-raising workshops on conservation of the lagoon. https://www.aquarium.nc/en/

Located in Port-Moselle , a stone's throw from the South Province Hotel and the Government of New Caledonia, this covered market is made up of five hexagonal pavilions capped with blue tiles. Fishermen land their fresh fish directly. There are all locally grown fruits and vegetables, flowers, and many other products from the country. The market is also the rendezvous of artisans who offer multiple objects of costume jewelry or decoration. It is also one of the top tourist spots in the city, especially at the weekend with a background of ocean music. The inhabitants of the city find themselves there traditionally to buy their fresh products, but also for the pleasure to meet. On Saturdays and Sundays it is recommended not to arrive too late in the morning to find what you are looking for and enjoy the colorful atmosphere. https://www.noumea.nc/decouvrir-noumea/marche-de-baie-de-la-moselle

Built in the 1970s, the museum of New Caledonia asserts, in the late 1980s, its vocation as a museum of society and its objectives as to the enhancement of the Kanak civilization and the preservation of its heritage. Since then, this museum exhibits one of the most beautiful collections of Kanak art in the world, including monumental, and the most complete from the point of view of the themes it allows to address. In view of the Kanak collections of major European museums, the place occupied by the New Caledonia museum in the international museum world is particularly impressive. https://museenouvellecaledonie.nc/le-musee/presentation-du-musee

Seat of the archdiocese of Nouméa since 1966, Saint Joseph’s Roman Catholic cathedral was built between 1887 and 1897 by a penitentiary workforce and following the construction plans of a former convict named Labulle. Consecrated in 1890, before the end of its construction, the cathedral is laid out as a 56-meter-long Latin cross, with a 36-meter-large transept. 15.5 meters high, the building's south west facade presents two 25-meter-high towers on both sides of the porch. Both towers, the buttresses and the bay frames are made of cut stone, the other walls are made of lime-rendered rubble stone. https://www.newcaledonia.travel/au/noumea/saint-josephs-cathedral

Город Nouméa, столица Новой Каледонии, и наверное единственный более или менее крупный город. 95 тысяч жителей, если верить Википедии. Местами наплохое благоустройство, дорожки, парки, урбанистика - вот это вот всё ... На waterfront, видимо, живет народ побогаче.

Добрались до восточного побережья. Настоящая островная жизнь, особенно впечатлили местные жители.

Встречаем 2023 на deck в Новой Каледонии. Пьем водку

В Noumea несколько пляжей прямо в городе. Этот называется Plage de Magenta Длиннющие, долго идти до глубины, но детям нравится, им в самый раз, раздолье Очень красивая лазурная вода в заливе.

Мелкий городок. Они все так выглядят, если ехать на север. Чем дальше от столицы, тем больше разрухи. Местные жители ездят на невероятных развалинах

Ходили по местным Ново-Каледонийским лесам На побережье, в некоторых местах природа немного напоминает Австралию На пруд ведет дорожка, в конце которой смотровая площадка, чтобы "наблюдать" птиц. Из биноклей. Observatoire du Marais Fournier называется

Отель Sheraton в котором останавливались в Каледонии. Очень понравился, стилизованные под местные традиционные бунгало домики По ночам какие-то страшные зверюги бродили вокруг и нагоняли ужас своим рычанием По территории отеля ездили на машинках для гольфа

Речки и природа