New Caledonia - Nuova Caledonia

New Caledonia

Location
Coat of arms and flag
Capital	Nouméa
Currency	CFP Franc (XPF)
Surface	18,576 km²
Inhabitants	244 410
Tongue	French
TLD	.nc
Time zone	UTC 11
Website	tourism site^{[link not working]}

New Caledonia (Nouvelle-Calédonie in French) is an archipelago of the Melanesia under administration French.

To know

Landscape in the "Brousse"

Geographical notes

Kanak women

In New Caledonia it is customary to distinguish three types of communities:

Canaques (or Kanak) - The people originally from New Caledonia of Austronesian stock and with a dark complexion that according to some theories would come from Papua New Guinea
Caldoches - This term indicates the descendants of the French colonists. The most authentic of the "Caldoches" are the descendants of the deportees from France at the time when New Caledonia was a penal colony. They live above all in the "brousse", a term that in Italian can be roughly rendered as "forest" and which in the specific case of New Caledonia indicates everything that is outside Nouméa, the only place in the territory capable of guaranteeing of life marked by "civilization". The Caldoches della Brousse live mainly from cattle breeding and have a lifestyle that recalls that of the Australian bush "cowboys" but in the eyes of those who live in Nouméa, they are French who have progressively "gone wild".
Les Métros (abbreviation of Métropolitains) - Also called "Zoreilles" or "Zozos" in local jargon, the term Les Métros indicates those French who have settled in New Caledonia in recent times and have not yet lost the way of life of the motherland. They are mostly civil servants or military engineers

Each community has its own habits and ignores the others in a spontaneous sort of cultural, social and in a certain sense even racial separation as evidenced by the strict selection at the entrance to the nightclubs of Nouméa

When to go

The least favorable period for a visit to New Caledonia is from mid-December to mid-April, not so much for the higher temperatures and more frequent rains as for the possibility of running into a cyclone that could ruin your vacation. In 2003, cyclone Erica caused significant damage.

Another factor that acts as a deterrent is the proliferation of mosquitoes during the wet season. Mosquitoes can transmit dangerous tropical diseases such as Dengue which in 2003 took on epidemic characteristics, killing several people.

Territories and tourist destinations

Below is a list of the islands that make up New Caledonia:

Grande Terre - With its characteristic elongated shape, Grande Terre is the largest of the islands that make up the department of New Caledonia. It has an area slightly smaller than that of the region Lazio. It is surrounded by very long coral reefs second only to those Australian.

Loyalty Islands (Îles Loyauté) - Located east of Grande Terre, the islands of Loyalty include Sea, Lifou, Ouvea, Tiga, Mouli is Faiava.

Île des Pins - Major tourist destination, Île des Pins is covered with forests of tall trees, which is quite rare in Oceania.

Belep Islands - Off the north coast of Grande Terre, the tiny islands of Belep are served by flights of Air Calédonie. They do not have hotels.

Chesterfield Islands - Uninhabited archipelago in the Coral Sea, 550 km north-west of Grande Terre.

Urban centers

Nouméa - Departmental capital, Nouméa is located on the southwestern side of the island of Grande Terre. It is also a seaside resort with various beaches in the gulfs just south of the center.
Bourail - Agricultural municipality in the Southern Province.
Hienghène - Capital of the northern province of Grande Terre, Hienghène is a nice place to stay. The coasts around include cliffs with imaginative shapes. However, the climate is more humid than in Nouméa and the difference is noticeable.

How to get

By plane

The international airport of Nouméa [1] is located in La Tontouta, 17 km north-west of capital. As of 2010, the following companies were operating there:

Air Austral - From / to Paris-Charles de Gaulle, with stops in [[[Saint-Denis (Reunion) | Saint-Denis]] and Sydney.
Air New Zealand - From / to Auckland
Air Vanuatu - From / to Port Vila
Aircalin - From / to Auckland, Brisbane, Nadi, Osaka-Kansai, Papeete, Port Vila, Seoul-Incheon, Sydney, Tokyo-Narita, Wallis.
Qantas - From / to Brisbane, Sydney

How to get around

By plane

Air Calédonie is the local airline company. It operates domestic flights from Magenta's airport Nouméa for Bélep, Île-des-Pins, Koné, Koumac, Lifou, Sea, Ouvéa, Tiga, The Tontouta is Touho.

What see

What to do

Currency and purchases

The current currency is, as in French Polynesia, the Pacific Franc (CFP). This has a fixed exchange rate with the euro. 1000 CFP francs correspond to 8.38 euros.

New Caledonian banks charge high fees so it is important not to change often. If bank branches and ATMs are widespread a Nouméa, in rural areas and smaller islands they are much less so. Same goes for credit cards. ATM machines are often out of order. The opening hours of the banks are from 07:30 to 15:30. They are closed on Saturdays.

There is a thriving black market in currency exchange where at least no commissions are applied so you can do without the services of the bank but be very careful when extracting large banknotes from your wallet.

In theory, banks should accept the local currency left over at the end of the trip and convert it back into euros without commissions. In reality they refuse to do so.

Tipping is not used and is sometimes considered offensive. After all, the prices are more than high and even adding a tip sounds like a form of self-harm.

At the table

Tourist infrastructure

Gîtes - This term refers to accommodation in traditional huts managed mostly by Kanak. The gîtes are concentrated in the Île des Pins and in Loyalty Islands. Sometimes their prices are exorbitant as well as the food prices.

Campsites are quite popular and are often the only option for those on a budget. The prices of tourist accommodation are, in fact, high, without exception.