NEW CALEDONIA: PINING FOR PARADISE
The Isle of Pines is a wonderful getaway in a spectacular world of greens and blues.
The Isle of Pines is a wonderful getaway in a wonderful world of greens and blues.
The first thing that strikes you is the vivid blue of the water. It’s the blue of paradise, the blue of a child’s paint palette without any of the greys or browns mixed in. Next it’s the lusciousness of the island – an island that sprouts pine trees and rainforest as if in defiance of your sun-baked expectations. Then it’s the magic of its underwater world – a world of startlingly colourful fish and sea life of all shapes and sizes.
The Isle of Pines is a place of unquestionable beauty and delightful surprises. Just how can an island of 2,000 inhabitants have such well-kept tarred roads? And how can a small island boasting the attractions of sun and sand still offer explorations to see the limestone caves which hid a Queen or the challenge of climbing an island peak?
Located at the southern tip of the New Caledonia archipelago, the Isle of Pines is part of French-Pacific territory and has obviously been well tended. Only hours by air from Australia’s East Coast, the island is home to a happy community of Melanesians who live against a backdrop of amazing scenery which for most of us would seem surreal.
Visited by cruise ships and discerning travellers, the island (only 14 by 18 kilometres) enjoys the benefits of the tourist dollar with six hotels/resorts, six camping sites and some thriving local tour businesses. Its other main industries include yam growing, fishing and building outriggers.
The sacred rock or ‘La Rocher’ in Kanumera Bay is one of the island’s key attractions. Don your snorkelling gear and wander over the sand bar until you are close to this huge rock, which is covered with vegetation and is itself more like a small island. Visitors are forbidden from climbing on the rock but it would be difficult to do anyway. The real attraction is in snorkelling around it.
Stay fairly close to the rock and you will come across wonderful stretches of coral reef teeming with beautiful arrays of tropical fish. It’s almost too easy to access such beauty but you do have to watch out for currents drawing you into the rock’s crevices and be aware that if you go out a bit further you’ll suddenly be swimming over water plunging to great depths.
The Isle of Pines also offers many other attractions for sea lovers, such as a visit to nearby Turtle Bay to swim with the loggerhead and green turtles in their natural environment, or a succession of picturesque beaches that make you catch your breath. There’s also the natural swimming pool in Oro Bay which is separated from the ocean by a coral reef and
“the eerie wonder of night-diving among the sea snakes and turtles near the Bay of Gadji”
the eerie wonder of night-diving among the sea snakes and turtles near the Bay of Gadji.
History buffs will enjoy seeing the ruins of Bagne Prison, which was built in 1818 for French political prisoners, while hikers can enjoy climbing the 262 metres to reach Peak Nga from where you can view the entire island.
Named for its tall Araucaria pine trees by explorer Captain James Cook in 1774 during his second voyage to New Zealand, the Isle of Pines is an indigenous reserve and the land is not for sale or rent. It is protected by its tribal system, which consists of eight tribes who are overseen by a High Chief.
Many inhabitants live in the island’s only village, Vao, which features schools, sporting grounds, thatched huts with umbrella-style roofs, a few houses, stores, a Town Hall, a medical centre and an impressive Catholic Church. The lovely stained glass windows and substantial structures of the Notre Dame de l’Assomption Church (1861) are complemented by the simplicity of wooden pews and discreet adornments.
Not far from the town you can stop at another major tourist attraction, but one that commercialism thankfully hasn’t wrecked. Pay just four Australian dollars to the woman in the makeshift hut and find yourself suddenly wandering through rainforest on your way to Queen Hortense’s cave. Giant ferns and bright bushes adorn the track that leads you into a series of interesting caves, complete with niches and stalagmites. As the story goes, the Isle of Pines’ only female Chief once hid in the caves for six months in the 1880s to escape her male challengers.
You don’t go to the Isle of Pines for the night life unless you define that as a walk along a moonlit beach. However, the food choices have benefited from the advent of the resorts and include fine French dining, snack bars and the traditional Melanesian meal of Bougna whereby meat, vegetables and coconut milk are wrapped in banana leaves and cooked in an earth oven.
The island also boasts a French bakery and, among other things, an array of good seafood options. For example, islanders can be found selling whole cooked lobsters for
$30 each along the seashore. It’s rustic but it’s fresh and fits with the natural appeal of this island.