NEW CALEDONIA: A Different Sort of South Pacific

This is neither 1st world nor 3rd world, but a bit of both at the same time. Socially, New Caledonia is quite an odd place. It actually a part of France. This means that there are fashionable people in the capital, Noumea, going about life as if they were at a seaside resort in France. There are also examples of the original Kanak inhabitants -- some of whom live in thatched huts or, in quite a few cases, in the streets and parks.

It’s hard to get a good understanding of the political situation here. Historically, there has been no love lost between the modern French residents, the Caldoches - French settlers from many generations ago, and the Kanaks . There were episodes of significant violence in the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. There was some politically motivated violence in the 1980s. There were also violent Kanak political demonstrations during our stay and talk of further violence from a Kanak pro-independence labor union including threats of bombs on domestic air flights.

However, there seems to be no single view in New Caledonia on the status of relations between the Kanak population and the French government. Both Kanaks and French acquaintances have described the situation here to us as “cordial”. The opposite opinion has also been voiced to us. Apparently, the situation will come to a head during the next few years (months?) as there is talk of a referendum on independence from France.

It’s pretty clear that, as a whole, New Caledonia receives huge financial benefits from its position as a French overseas territory. It also seems of note that those benefits are skewed, at least somewhat, towards the white French population. With many of todays Kanaks presumably wanting a bigger share of the pie, it will be interesting to see what sort of solution is created. Speaking of the new political relationship, one young French professional told us, “It will likely be something between the status-quo and independence. They need French money here or there will be no more schools and no government programs. Without French money, New Caledonia will become like Vanuatu” (primitive).

We are told that unemployment here is not as big a problem as in France. In fact, we understand that there is quite an influx of European French looking for employment here. Yet the Kanaks, if they go to France to get university degrees, return to under-employment as there are not enough jobs in New Caledonia requiring their educations.

Bureaucracy does work in New Caledonia. We got our one-month visa (that’s all they are willing to give U.S. citizens upon arrival) extended by just asking. Supposedly, it is “quite impossible” to get such an extension after arriving (according to the French Embassy in New Zealand), but the local Kanak officials were quite happy to give us extra time.

The access to good French cuisine is easy. We often walked a few blocks from the marina to buy fresh baguettes for about US1$ each or, if Geoff’s sweet tooth got the better of him, "pain au chocolat" or "pain au raisins". We have over-dosed on a huge variety of delicious cheeses. French wines are also in plentiful supply and at reasonable prices.

One striking difference between the Kanak and European French population is in the way the two groups dress. Kanak women dress modestly, wearing what is often referred to as “missionary dress” or “Mother Hubbard” dresses. While beautifully intricate, and often very colorful, they do the job of hiding whatever is underneath. Lets just say that the European French dress in such a way to highlight, accentuate and draw attention to their assets.

The geography of Grand Terre (the big island making-up most of the country) is unique. Located just north of the Tropic of Capricorn, this is a sub-tropical climate. Travel agents tout it as a “Land of Eternal Spring”. New Caledonia is surrounded by a huge lagoon and reef system. The waters inside the lagoon are strewn with coral islets and just-under-the-surface coral reefs. Shipwrecks are not uncommon here. The main island is rich in nickel, and is quite hilly. The nickel has been heavily surface-mined over the years, which has left large ugly red scars on the landscape as one travels around.

On the other hand, New Caledonia also boasts some idyllic islands with sandy beaches and turquoise waters. There is also an abundance of marine life here. Even in the somewhat smelly marina (an understatement) of Port Moselle, where we completed our clearances into and out of the country, the water is brimming with sea life. In the more remote anchorages, there are plenty of sea turtles, sea snakes, flying fish, dugongs, jumping fish and smaller swimming fish around all the time. There are also lots of spectacular birds.

The Baie de Prony is a deep complex of Bays at the southern end of Grande Terre. Anchored deep in the bay, we explored the mangroves and waterfalls and hot (actually they were only tepid) pools. Yet there was no one on land. Ashore, we found only the bright red earth and ancient relics of the mining industry and an old French penal colony. This is the quietest place we have ever been to. The only sounds were those of the bird calls, the fish leaping about, and the faint sound of running water from the waterfalls ashore. The water was as still as a mirror, and reflected both the stars and the moon. The rest of the world seemed galaxies away.

Ile des Pins, a tropical idyll at the southern extreme of the huge lagoon, also had a penal colony at one time. This is a truly beautiful island with amazing trees and foliage as well as intense turquoise waters and perfect white talc sand beaches. Baie de Kanumera, a spectacular small bay, is one of the prettiest spots we have seen in the whole of the South Pacific. There is a beautiful lagoon where old fashioned pirogues quietly sail back and forth, a few quaint churches, and fantastic (and rather phallic – a big theme in the South Pacific) carvings.

We even had our own colony of large remoras while we were anchored at the Ile des Pins. Very strange-looking creatures, we were disappointed that they did not seem to want to actually attach themselves to our hull bottom and clean if for us. Yet they loved to crowd around Geoff when he went into the water to clean the hull.

We had to have some minor sail repairs done to the genoa’s UV cover, which was best done back in Noumea. This gave us an opportunity to have some good discussions with the local sail maker, see some of the unusual birds and plants in the botanical gardens, and of course, for Geoff to visit a dentist in yet another exotic location. As soon as the repairs (to both sail and tooth) were completed, we completed our outward clearance and set off for our next country: Vanuatu.

photo in Baie du Prony by s/v Do It