Back to Homepage
 |
| Place des Cocotiers from the rotunda |
Today, the big plan was to meet Tamar and John in the morning and explore the Noumea markets – a permanent complex fronting the foreshore – except it was closed on Mondays.
Instead, we explored the city centre, which was fairly uninteresting except for Place des Cocotiers the large central Park which is a little like Hyde park in that it's a large oasis in the centre of the city.
 |
| Place des Cocotiers |
It is also surrounded by food outlets selling some pretty nutritionally poor foods, such as omlette on a baguette with chips.
Just nearby is the Musee de la Ville, a Museum of New Caledonian history located in a former bank that went bust 3 years after opening in the 1800s.
 |
| Musee de la Ville |
The museum was quite interesting, especially in that it presented the history in a very factual way and didn’t gloss over some of the unsavoury events of the past. New Caledonia has had a turbulent history right up until 2004, and there are still tensions over its relationship with France and rights for the indigenous Kanak people.
It was refreshing to see an unsanitised history, even if of necessity it was a little brief. The English version of the guide book had to be returned to the desk, but it contained some quite pithy statements about some of the ambitious ideas for the colony, and of the events that transpired here over the years.
 |
| Bank to Town Hall to Museum |
 |
| The French colonies |
 |
Disillusions of the
New Caledonian Eldorado |
Near the city centre, half-enclosed by a huge car park, was a fairly neglected-looking park featuring Kanak carved wooden figures.
The Melanesian wood carvings I saw in New Caledonia resonated with me as I had photographed many similar, but much older, traditional artefacts while working at the Australian Museum in the 1980s and 1990s.
The word Kanak had become a derogatory term, but has now been appropriated by the indigenous Melanesian population and is an acceptable usage. There is still some simmering resentment over treatment by the French in the past, but the predominant feeling appears to be to look forward and not pursue retribution - a little similar to Timor Leste.
 |
| Casino Supermarché |
We then visited the huge harbourside Casino Supermarché.
John and I waited patiently while Frances and Tamar dealt with their deprivation of supermarket shopping experience.
Finally they emerged with some baguettes and a few ingredients for an informal lunch at their B&B accommodation.
 |
| Mural |
I did manage to quickly photograph a quite interesting mural on the side of a building that had all the signs of being prepared for demolition.
I also saw a billboard advertising the casino (gambling, not supermarket type) that had been paint-bombed - obviously there is some opposition to it.
In the afternoon, we caught a water taxi to Isle Canard (Duck Island) just off the coast.
There is no accommodation, just a bar and highly priced banana chairs on the beachfront. The main attraction for us however was a snorkelling trail adjacent to the island.
 |
| View of Isle Canard from Anse Vata |
 |
| Catching the water taxi |
 |
| Boarding the water taxi |
 |
| On the the water taxi |
 |
| Looking back towards Anse Vata |
 |
| Isle Canard |
Frances went into the water immediately, Tamar and I followed a little later when we had adjusted to the water temperature - not that it was cold, but it was cooler than the air temperature of around 24 degrees. Anyway, although the snorkelling area was fairly small and there was a lot of dead coral, it was worth seeing, especially for the colourful fish and the bright blue living coral.
After returning to the mainland around 4pm, we went to our respective accommodations for hot showers and a rest before reconvening for dinner.
 |
| Pizza & Pasta website photo |
That evening, we again had a few rounds of cards in our hotel accompanied by some wine before picking up some pizzas from Pizza & Pasta for dinner.
 |
| Pizza & Pasta website photo |
I can’t say which pair won the game of cards, but it was a closely fought, if slightly unfocussed game - possibly the result of wine consumption and/or the day’s exhausting activities.
The pizzas were very good, thin crust, but interestingly had a cheese base instead of tomato as in the Italian style. Of course this left a little room for a gelato after an late evening walk along the seaside.
Today, the big plan was to meet Tamar and John in the morning and explore the Noumea markets – a permanent complex fronting the foreshore – except it was closed on Mondays.
Instead, we explored the city centre, which was fairly uninteresting except for Place des Cocotiers the large central Park which is a little like Hyde park in that it's a large oasis in the centre of the city.
Near the city centre, half-enclosed by a huge car park, was a fairly neglected-looking park featuring Kanak carved wooden figures.
We then visited the huge harbourside Casino Supermarché.
I also saw a billboard advertising the casino (gambling, not supermarket type) that had been paint-bombed - obviously there is some opposition to it.
