Blogs from New Caledonia, Oceania - page 21

Oceania » New Caledonia » South Province » Noumea April 3rd 2007

We left you in Hervy Bay, from where we moved onto Brisbane! Brisbane is a really nice city, its not too big or busy and is well looked after. We stayed at a really nice hostel called Bowen Terrace, it was more like staying in a big house than in a hostel. You can get around the city using the city cat, which as it sounds isn't a large feline, but a catameran that cruises up and down the river in the centre of the city! We decided to take a trip to Australia Zoo, home of the late Steve Irwin. We encountered lots of animals, from mini crocodiles to the largest you could ever imagine, to circus rescued elephants, bengal tigers, wombats, turtles, dingoes and of course lots of Koalas, we even got to cuddle ... read more

At Sea - Bound for Sydney, Australia

Oceania » New Caledonia February 14th 2007

Travelers R We

Day 29 - February 13, 2007, Tuesday, At Sea Bound for Sydney Time: 1:50 pm, Tuesday (8:50 pm, Monday CST) Latitude: 26 degrees 10.40 minutes S Longitude: 161 degrees 33.73 minutes E Speed: 19.1 knots Seas: 4-7.5’ Wind: 30 knots (the ship is really rocking again with these winds!) Distance traveled from FLL: 10,442 nautical miles Distance to Sydney: 721 nm Weather: 74 degrees / 82% humidity, partly cloudy with showers Day 30 - February 14, 2007, Wednesday, At Sea Still Bound for Sydney Time: 6:55 am, Wednesday (1:55 pm, Tuesday CST) Latitude: 29 degrees 47.74 minutes S Longitude: 156 degrees 57.81 minutes E Speed: 19.6 knots Seas: 4-7.5’ (Seas are seemingly calmer than yesterday, so far!) Wind: 12.9 knots Distance traveled from FLL: 10,772 nautical miles Distance to Sydney: 392 nm Weather: 74 degrees / ... read more

Noumea, New Caledonia

Oceania » New Caledonia » South Province » Noumea February 12th 2007

A beautiful place!

Travelers R We

Day 28 - February 12, 2007, Monday, Noumea, New Caledonia Time: 6:58 am, Monday (1:58 pm, Sunday CST) Latitude: 22 degrees 16.51 minutes S Longitude: 166 degrees 25.86 minutes E Speed: 0 - At Anchor Seas: Smooth Wind: Calm Distance traveled from FLL: 10,084 nautical miles Weather: 80 degrees / 75% humidity, Sunny Noumea is the beautiful capital city of the French territory of New Caledonia. As we arrived the sun was shining! We were happy to see that! The French established a settlement here in 1854. The area first served as a prison colony from 1864 to 1904, and then as a center for the nickel and gold that was mined nearby. Later it served as the headquarters of the U.S. military in the Pacific during World War II. After the war, the U.S. military ... read more

New Caledonia

Oceania » New Caledonia » South Province » Noumea November 10th 2006

Picnic at Tontouta river

Mattock

My dear friends and family, Having a wonderful time in New Caledonia and warm at last! After a couple of days in Noumea resting at my brother Marc and Joelle's lovely appartment, we were off camping in the bush! Imagine that, I hadn't been camping since I was 18 years in Ireland! To top it all, we were to go camping in the wild for the 1st 2 days, not even on a camping site. Well I not only survived but loved the whole experience. Marc and Joelle have a landrover with a trailer (they call it their country residence) which Marc equipped with a double bed, cooking facilities, water tank with shower attachment and large ice box for keeping our beers (and food) cold. What else do you need? Going to the loo in the ... read more

Lost In Translation (AKA The French Connection)

Oceania » New Caledonia » South Province » Noumea October 19th 2006

Last Night In Sydney

matt_australia

Partly cloudy & strong winds - 25c It has begun!!!! On arrival at La Tontouta airport I needed to find out where the bus stop was, so I asked in my best french and got a reply I'd never heard before: ‘Il ny’a pas buses.. something something’ (translate: there are no buses.. something something). Very strange?! I asked someone else and got the same reply. I looked up the ‘something’ word in my phrase book, it read "strike". The buses were not running because the workers demanded an extra 5mins lunch break (seriously... 5mins?!?) and were on strike. It cost me nearly $50 to get to Noumea which was only 35mins away, damn those well thought out travel plans!! I complained about it to a local and got the reply 'Il est Noumea maintent' (translated: 'this ... read more

New Caledonia, A Pacific Island We Knew Nothing About

Oceania » New Caledonia September 25th 2006

Ile des Pins

kablaa

18 September, Monday... After a nice sleep in Sydney airport they reopened the main doors at about 4:30am and we could check-in. A nice flight with a disaster movie (Poseidon) as the in-flight 'entertainment' and we arrived in Noumea, or at least a bus ride away (after being rather worried we'd missed all the buses). By the time we got to Noumea and checked in to the hostel the light was starting to go so we walked to the centre, checked out the main square (Place des Cocotiers) and got some din-dins. For a capital the town seems quite small and laid back, I think this is going to be a prety chilled out week. 19 September, Tuesday... A boring morning sorting out washing and buying boat tickets. It seems French is very much the main ... read more

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