Merci Noumea

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Noumea, New Caledonia from 8am to 5pm. What a great day, such a lovely place, a delightful mix of Europe, Melanesia and Kanak cultures all on proud display.
We were welcomed to Gare Maritime terminal, downtown Noumea by a group of dancers and singers. We had sailed from Vanuatu through the Havannah passage, Woodin Canal and the Petit Rade into this deep water harbour. Our draft enabled us to berth downtown; we were only 3-4 meters from the bottom though.

Noumea is situated in Grande Terre the main island, and was sighted and named by Captain Cook in 1774. Noumea was claimed by the French in the Napoleonic war and this city became the administrative center in 1854. Like Australia it was a penal colony but free people also came in the form of traders and workers in search of a living in the nickel and precious metal mines from Vietnam, Indonesia and of course France. USA had a huge military presence here also during WWII. All of these cultures have combined with the native Kanak indigenous people to create a Melanesia paradise.

When we got off the ship we took a 1000 FPF ($AUS 10)1 hour tour of the main areas of Noumea, so we got to see the coastal beaches, houses, main tourist spots and the general lay of the land. It's a pretty harbour city, well looked after with good roads, and appealing. The climate is warm but not oppressive. We were told that everything closed after lunch for siesta but this is not quite true. There were quite a number of shops and eateries all open throughout the day, as well as the museum.

Once we returned to the ship terminal we got a city map and found 3 places we wanted to visit, The Maritime Museum, Noumea Town Museum and The Museum of New Caledonia. The Maritime Museum is closed and looks quite derelict but it still appears on all tourist maps. Suspect it hasn't been used for quite some time.

We walked into the city centre, 3 streets up from the terminal and through Place des Cocotiers (Coconut Square) which is the main meeting area of this city, about 4 blocks long and 1 wide, with cafes, fountains, bus terminal, rotundas, amphitheaters and tree lined avenues with an tourist information centre in the middle. Local young guys hung out in one area doing impressive athletic and dancing tricks, one handed hand stands, break dancing, somersaults, another area had a guy juggling 6, and the other end of the square had a huge crowd of people (Kanak) sitting in the shade of the trees playing bingo.

On Rue J Jaures we found Musee de la Ville. Many of the streets are named after famous French battles.

The Noumea TownMuseum was the original first merchant bank built in 1874 and then the town council up to 1975. It has 3 levels, 200 FPF adult entrance, with a free audio guide in English. We could have spent a day there easily.
The ground floor informed us about the history of NC from the time of the colonization of the French. Like many other countries it has not been an easy time for the indigenous Kanak people. They were not given French citizenship for many years or equal rights and only in 1961 the first Kanak boy gained his International Baclerette from high school. The Catholic Church has been responsible for the education of NC in the early years and still today the church has a big influence.
The basement level is to do with WW1 and the involvement of the Pacific nations in the fighting as well as how the war in Europe affected the colonies.
The basement also explores the past and present nickel mining.
The top floor is about WWII which directly involved the Pacific Countries due the increasing threat of Japan.
We had no idea that there were many precious metals to be found in NC. Mostly nickel is mined with a huge refinery in the port area, but other metals such as gold, silver and magnesium are also found. Bet the English are kicking themselves for not claiming the country.

Lunch was in a little cafe just off the square, fresh baked baguettes filled with salad, cafe au lait, a beer (Number 1 )2000 FPF = $20AUS. The locals were so helpful and despite my awful French we managed to order and get what we intended and they assisted us by speaking English. Total strangers stopped and spoke English everywhere we went. A beer in a cafe was 350 FPF, really nice and cold and delicious on a warm day.

2nd stop was into the local McDonalds for a pee and the dirtiest toilets I have ever seen in a McD. It was next door to the Museum of NC on Ave du Mar Foch 5 blocks from Coconut Square, short blocks, lots of shops, some tourist, some local, and lots of interesting things to look at and buy and browse on your walk. We felt safe the whole time walking along in the day light but you can see some areas north of the terminals were a little bit more run down and had lots of bars and wire on the windows.

3rd stop was the Museum of NC with the ground floor exploring the Kanak people, their history and customs, and the top floor exploring the other Melanesian nations and cultures such as Fiji, Tonga, PNG and Vanuatu and a little bit of information on Indonesia and Australian indigenous people. Again a wonderful place, same price, well signed in English, French and other languages and very informative. There was also a garden with a traditional Hut and plants and a temporary exhibition of batik.

The whole feel of the city of Noumea which has a population of 93,000 is spacious, green, safe, well kept and friendly. Certainly we have only seen a very small part, but we walked and talked to many locals and each and every person was really helpful. Sure the tourist dollar and cruise ships are important but you do not feel exploited.

So easy for an Australian to experience a slice of Europe and the French language without the dreadful 30hour flight to Europe. And the bonus is the Kanak culture to experience and learn about.

Our ship departed to another local Kanak group, using drums, guitars, ukelele, and dance to farewell us through the lagoon before exiting the reef through the Dumbea passage on our way home to Sydney, 2 full days and 3 nights of sailing.

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