New Caledonia Map

 

 

 

         

          Map of

        the Pacific

 

latest picture:October 21, 2008

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121  The first church of the “Sacred

Heart of Cié” (Tyé) South of Poindimié

was completed in 1866. It was completely

restored by the Northern Province and its

reopening was celebrated in October 2001

 122  From Touho, South of

Hienghène, we follow the lush

East Coast with its shallow bays

123  6am in the East: The sun is rising

like a rainbow from the blue ocean

124  Black limestone cliffs emerge

from the sea in Lindéralique near

Hienghène at the East Coast .....

 125  ..... because of its appearing

on the 500CFP bank note, it is also

known as the famous “500-francs rock”

126  Early morning view over the quiet bay

of Hienghène from the Belvédère view point

with its famous rocky outcrop called “the

brooding hen” (Poule Couveuse), the best

known landmark of New Caledonia

127  In the late afternoon light, the

outcrop „the brooding hen“ in the

bay of Hienghène shows another

of its fascinating faces

 128  The “Case de la Chefferie“ – the hut of

the tribal chief – is still present in every Kanak

village. This one is a showcase in the Culturel

Centre “Goa Mwa Bwarhat” of Hienghène

129  The village of Hienghène nestles

beneath densely forested hills at the

edge of the same named river

130  Opposite of the bay of Hienghène,

the church of Ouaré, nestled in

subtropical vegetation, is greeting .....

 131  ..... locals enjoy the lovely

setting of Ouaré and a

chat with the friends .....

132  .....we park in front of the

church of Ouaré while exploring

its surroundings

133  The bride is waiting to be

handed over to her groom. In

the Northern Province, this

tradition is still alive .....

 134  ..... prior to the traditional handing

over ceremony, there is much Polynesian

chanting in front of the community straw

hut in Ouaré, the village of the groom .....

135  ..... nature provides

everything that is necessary

for the wedding decoration

136  We say good-bye to the

stunning rock formations of Hienghène

 137  The ‘false Mango tree’ (Cerbera

Manghas/Sea Mango), whose fruits

and leaves are poisonous, produces

garlands of wonderful blossoms

138  The mountainous East coast

North of Hienghène towards Pouébo

is dotted with dense coconut groves

139  Remote sandy beaches

lure on the wild East Coast – here

South before the Quaïème River

 140  10 miles North of Hienghène we

cross the Quaïème River with the aged

ferry “Bac de la Quaïème“. It is the last

nostalgic river crossing in New Caledonia .....

141  ..... short after the river

crossing, we enjoy a beautiful

coastal view in Southern direction

142  Once more we experience

the wonder of a sunset

 143  The white sandy beach opposite

the Colnett waterfall North

of Hienghène is deserted .....

144   ..... the Tao waterfall – about

halfway between Hienghène and

Pouébo – tumbles from a high

black cliff through tropical

vegetation into the riverbed below

145  From the subtropical

vegetation of the East, we change

into the savannah of the North

 146  Two policemen (Gendarmerie)

stop us in the Northeast near Ouégoa,

but only for a friendly chat, because

they have seen us in the newspaper

147  Also a way of living .....

beneath a simple straw hut

at the beach with a satellite disk

148  On our route to the most Northern

tip of the island at “Pointe Nahârian”, we

enjoy the beautiful scenery of mountains,

coconut groves and the blue sea. In

the background the “Baie de Banaré”

and the hills near Poum

 149  In Koné – the capital of the Northern

Province on the West coast – we leave the

plains of the West at the roundabout with

the traditional “Case” and totem poles

and drive again on an excellent new

road to the subtropical East, to Tiwaka,

situated between Touho and Poindimié .....

150  ..... leading us over a pass with

forested hills (view towards the South)

151  In Houaïlou we climb to an altitude of

1’770 ft, crossing a landscape near Poro, which

was heavily ruined by mining activities .....

 152  ..... but the view to the

valley of the Koua River deep

below is impressive .....

153  ..... and the landscape before

Kouaoua on the other side of the

mountain pass is different again

154  We drive through peaceful

scenery towards the South

 155  Grottos along the road are

looked after caringly. There are

always fresh flowers in abundance

156  The “Ver de Bancoule” – a fat,

white wood grub – is considered as a local

delicacy in the tiny mountain hamlet of Farino

near La Foa in the Southwest. Each year in

September, there is a contest: Champion

becomes who can swallow in a minute the

most of these grubs – alive of course!

157  One of the towering totem poles in

the beautiful sculpture garden of La Foa,

the capital of the Southern Province (there

are three provinces in New Caledonia:

North, South and Loyalty Islands)

 158  A landscape like painted:

The picturesque Kanak village of

Grand-Couli near Sarraméa

159  The traditional Kanak

“case” of Petit-Couli is framed

by majestic araucarias and

coconut palm trees

160  The Hibiscus flower is one of the most

attractive blossoms in the tropical world

 161  New delicate leafs are

sprouting in the heart of the Cycas

162  The juicy seedless lemons are

used also to make tasty jellies

We visit the Cultural Festival of Mont-Dore in Bourali:

163  The Polynesian group

„Te Ana Vai, Lani Hei” performs

a graceful traditional dance .....

 164  ..... the Melanesian dancers

“Bua, Wedrumel” of Lifou of the

New Caledonian Loyalty Islands

fascinate us in their “jungle look”

and wild performance .....

165  ..... with thunderous drum beats

while wearing traditional skirts made

of bast fibers, the male dancers “Yasur

Melody Boys“ of Vanuatu’s island of

Tanna present an excellent program

166  Surrounded by pastures with cows

and horses, we enjoy the idyllic rural scenery

at Alicje’s und Franck’s place in Dumbéa,

who spontaneously invited us to camp

 167  Curious spectators are never

far away when Liliana is cooking

168  The natural “light display”

offers constantly new fascinating

flavors in the surroundings

169  Liliana’s anniversary meal together

with new friends (clockwise) Alicje and

Franck, where we are invited to camp in

their garden; Inge, who serves us a delicious

meal at their house; then Sylvia, a Swiss

lady living in Mont-Dore; and seen from

the back: Liliana, Patricia, Hendrik and

(hidden) Uli, the husband of Inge

 170  Two parties celebrate together their

24th anniversary – with champagne, grilled

sausages, salads and a black forest cake in

the shape of a heart, baked by Inge:

–> Inge, Uli and son Hendrik migrated

24 years ago to New Caledonia

–> Liliana and Emil left for their epic

journey around the world 24 years ago

171  It is playtime for Alicje’s own

and her neighbor’s dogs. All are full

of energy, have a special character

and all are adorable

172  October 21st, 2008: We say

farewell to New Caledonia, where

we spent almost three months and

had a wonderful time. “MV Havannah”

will bring us in three days to our

next, 161st destination – Vanuatu

 173  On our stopover in Maré on the

Loyalty Islands, passengers are waiting to

disembark the ferry. There are two stop-

overs more on Lifou and Ouvéa on its monthly

sailing, before reaching Port Vila in Vanuatu.

While we shall disembark there, however

the vessel will continue to Malekula and

Espiritu Santo, before returning after six

days to Nouméa in New Caledonia

174  The white church of Tadine,

half hidden between the palm

trees, is a lovely sight on our

departure from Maré

More websites from New Caledonia:

 

• Pictures from the first part of our Caledonia trip: Nouméa and the South of Grande Terre
• Pictures from the second part of our Caledonia trip: North #1 of Grande Terre

Articles in newspapers about us in New Caledonia:

Article: "Un voyage sans fin", Les Nouvelles Calédoniennes - August 27, 2008