The Introverts return to New Caledonia

[toowongman]

[Preface - this trip was in May, 2024. Things have changed in NC so don't rely on my TR for important information]

Righto, finally writing this trip report. Funnily enough, as we get older we find ourselves with less holiday time - but more ... intense holidays. Both the schedules of myself and the better half finally syncronised giving us May free before back to action in June.

We wanted about ten days of sitting on our coughs eating, sleeping, and just wandering about without any stress in a familiar but different envinroment. That nailed it down to either Singapore or New Caledonia. Flights to Singapore with two days notice weren't that cheap, and I just wasn't up for flying that long - so back to Noumea.

You may find our previous trip report of interest.

Booking two days out still got us a reasonable fare with Aircalin on QF tickets, BNE<>NOU. Checking in with SB was interesting, lots of people to talk to. A lot of French residents heading back to NC after shopping and tourism in Brisbane, people on English-learning trips, but what struck me the most was that everyone looked happy. I mention that as generally people look sad or miserable most of the time at airports these days.

Carry-on was weighed as well, no problems there. Security was a breeze and then up to the QF lounge. Dragons not happy... do they have a KPI to keep people out?

"Hello! "
"Aircalin! No."
"ahh QF ticket... yes"
"*sigh*.... pulls out the big folder... tap tap tap... wanders off... comes back... oh ok, I'll let you in"
"Thanks".

Nothing worthy of mention to eat in the lounge, and I was admonished for my chivalry waiting at the bar for a drink.

Wifi, however, was very good:



Time to head down to the plane, was an A320neo. A new plane type for me, and I cannot remember being on such a clean plane in my life. A testament to the cleaning team.

Seat width and pitch was generous in economy, however I'd lost a bit of weight as well. All very modern, IFE with cameras, toilet was fine, etc.:



There is a premium economy cabin in front of the curtain from memory, but it looked like economy but with more legroom. Food? Yes - a snack box:



The main part on the right was a chicken wrap. They were so good, I had two of them. There was a few runs of a drinks cart with the usual plus free alcohol. I can't drink anymore so didn't really take any notice.

After the meal service the duty-free shop was opened at the aft of the cabin, and a whole bunch of desperados lined up to buy their smokes. Instead, I bought a model of the A320NEO for the shelf in the office.



Otherwise a short, uneventful flight that was comfortable and enjoyable. Like flying AN in the early 90s.

We landed at NOU without any issues, and I had a few laughs with immigration. They were excited to see it wasn't our first time. In hindsight I genuinely hope it won't be our last.

Turned the phone back on, no roaming available with Telstra, etc.



That was OK, I didn't feel like talking much for the planned part of the holiday. While in the hotel, voice-over-wifi worked so we could call and text just like in Australia without any charge.

Off to Hertz to pick up the Hyundai Tucson... which turned out to be a complete, unadulterated POS from MG. If you have one of these, don't take it personally. Our example was just, just terrible.



I wouldn't wish that car on my worst enemy. It functioned as a car, and later on a few people beat up on it so that was my revenge.

Moving on, we were familiar with the route from La Tontouta back to Noumea, so didn't need a GPS but you have to keep an eye out for people driving without their headlights on. To the hotel...

 

[toowongman]

Instead of an airbnb, we chose a hotel as I wanted to be able to walk to a bakery, snack shop and the beach. We ended up at the Hotel Le Lagon, in a premium suite with a hot tub on the shaded balcony. The photos in their website are quite accurate.



The hotel was very nice, and we spent some time in the outdoor pool, sauna, outdoor hot tub, gym, etc.

The suite was great for lazing about, self-catering and later on, seperate workspaces for two people. The wifi was also very good, from memory about 10/50 as it was better than we can get at home on our FTTN connection. The TVs had HDMI inputs and you could stream from phones and computers as well.



Enthusiasts of the Hilton will walk past this hotel on the way to the bakery, butcher and snack shop. Which was very important as I was rapidly getting hooked on orangina light:



Furthermore, the staff at the hotel were wonderful, every single person, and extra kudos to Thomas.

Driving about was still a challenge for me, I just can't get LHD with my eyesight (my left eye doesn't work that well), so the better half did the driving. Fuel prices are set by the government (I believe) and were at the time:



At today's rate, petrol was $2.44 a litre, and diesel was $2.15 a litre.

Most of our days were spent shopping for food, eating it, and lazing about on the balcony:



The local tuna pack in the photo was delicious. From memory it was about $8. There is a chain of frozen food stores called Thiriet, which I know some of you may shudder at the thought, had very nice frozen meals we could nuke in the hotel room:



Back to the regular supermarkets, this brand of sugar always gave me a chuckle:



And for bonus laughs, a taste of home:



cont...

 

[toowongman]

So for outside entertainment...

We enjoyed the Stone Grill steak restaurant near the Hilton. Not cheap at all, but great local steak.



We thought we should also try a "good" restaurant while we're there, so we had the hotel book us a table for dinner at a restaurant that has now since closed. Typical contemporary French food, and you could smoke indoors after dessert.

One morning we went for a drive to look for some... lookouts... Being a radio enthusiast, I had a squiz at this tower:



Cellular, a microwave link, it didn't have radar like the military installation that wiped out your car radio. While up there, we had a look at the Notre Dame Du Pacifique which was a lovely, peaceful place to spend some time. Although not a person of any concrete faith, I still appreciated the care and attention given to this place of worship. Nice cats as well.



There were many statues and places to relax and reflect, along with a main area of worship. I didn't take photos inside, but there was a good view of some industry:



We also visited my favourite spot Le Trou des Nurses several times via the big Carrefour supermarket at Kenu-in. This trip we took some snorkels and face masks, so I could see the fish I was swimming with.



The photo doesn't do it justice, a magnificent spot to relax and enjoy nature. On the third and final visit, we encountered some unusually-aggressive motorists whilst driving from the river back to the town at Dumbea.

We decided to have lunch at the Park Fayard after swimming, as there were some concrete picnic tables. During our lunch on the last visit, the Gendarmerie cruised past us about once every twenty minutes and gave us a wave.

The next day, I visited the Museum of World War II. This was incredibly interesting and I spent about two hours here:



From memory it was cheap to get in, and as an aside had great toilets. (Public toilets are quite rare). Pretty much everything is in French, but you can use a tablet computer with some translations:



Lots and lots of interesting artefacts:



The museum is over two levels:



What did amaze me, even though it shouldn't as they're the best in the world at doing so, was the logistic efforts of the US Army during their arrival and stay at New Caledonia.

While I was soaking up the history, Mrs' plan was to wander around the shops and around the
Place des Cocotiers. Last time that was enjoyable, but this time she lasted about fifteen minutes then waited in the car... people were not so happy or friendly, and on this occasion she was asked for money and whatnot in much more aggressive tones.

Oh, before visiting the museum I wanted to see the lift that eluded my attention on the last visit...



Nobody was around, or responded to the intercoms on the building, so alas not this time. Maybe third time lucky...

Moving on, after visiting the museum, I wanted to see the Canons de Nouville. This involved driving out past the university, where some protestors jumped out from the road and gave the car a bit of a flogging with their flags and sticks. Nobody was directly in front of us, so we accelerated to leave the situation.

I didn't look at the satellite view before heading out there, so the track up the mountain defeated the MG which rolled backwards nicely down the hill with the transmission in drive. The road around the mountain wasn't sealed, and I think we drove through someone's yard, but the view back to Noumea was nice:



After the scenic interlude it was back past the unversity, at which point the fire brigade was out there and we could scoot through the palava back to town.

And that day was the end of the holiday portion of the trip. There was plenty of legroom on the flight back to Brisbane (below). Click here for the review of the bonus leg to the holiday.



And this week (December) my holiday present arrived thanks to the Mrs and France At Home:

 

[OZDUCK]

Thanks for the photos and commentary. It seems to have been a mixture of good and bad on you holiday. I don't think that I would enjoy being in a car being 'beaten' by protestors.

My left eye also barely works so I understand your feelings about driving left hand drive vehicles. Even though I have done so a number of times it still causes me some anxiety.

 

[Flyerwin]

Beautiful photos and write up!

We were fortunate to visit Noumea two years ago on classic rewards J and stayed at the Hilton on mainland and the island. Amazing experience. Thanks for sharing so much detail, brings back memories.

 

[toowongman]

Thanks for the photos and commentary. It seems to have been a mixture of good and bad on you holiday. I don't think that I would enjoy being in a car being 'beaten' by protestors.

My left eye also barely works so I understand your feelings about driving left hand drive vehicles. Even though I have done so a number of times it still causes me some anxiety.

Thank you. It was an unexpected adventure. I've tried several times with LHD and just can't do it. Going back to Japan this year, thankfully they drive properly up there.

 

[Flyfrequently]

Thanks for sharing both journeys to Noumea @toowongman .
We stayed at Hotel Le Lagon in the same category of room in 2019, a very relaxing time and the staff, as you say, were excellent.
Delpine was our go to girl!

We dined at Marmite et Tire Bouchon as a birthday treat but enjoyed The Stone Grill more - glad to see it is still open.

Going to Port Vila this year, hope not to get "extra legroom " on the way home, though things seem to have settled very quickly since the earthquake pre Christmas.