New Caledonia! Nov 23

by Steve:  

Friday: 10 Nov
Excited to travel after a Rollercoaster of a yr. Emilio popped in, gave us a blessing. Uber was early 1115 sm. Check-in was not open. Had to wait. Smooth check-in  customs & we got XPF currency from Travelex.  Crap rate of 57 when the rate on XE was 65. Boarded at 255 pm, good legroom. Meal of butter chicken, rice, cheese & crackers, juice.  Very nicely presented in a box. Suz had just the cheese & crackers from me. Good external cameras show view of sky & ground. Arrived 425 pm
Quick customs, then got our luggage fast as & all scanned thru. Got a pocket wifi dongle as no sim card available at airport. Had to wait 4 shuttle to get full. At our airbnb by 630 pm & it gets dark just after 6 pm. Caroline was friendly,  she left after we got keys . Zai and I went to Mobil 10 mins walk from our place & got eggs, bread etc. Everything is costly on par with NZ prices
Headed to bed soon after admiring the lovely home of Caroline .  Pool lights on at 624 pm & the outdoors look lovely. They switch off around 6 am

Sat 11 Nov
Had Skippy for brekkie then walked to bus stop nearby.Bus driver gave us a free ride as one needs a card to tag in * out.  A thousand pacific francs just for the bus card & every ride is 300 francs. Can top up at bus stops using cash only. Dedicated bus lanes & a display announces next / upcoming stops & time to reach destination. Bus L1 takes us to city & we got off at stop Republique then browsed thru shops, eateries. Had a bite of crepes & croissants at a local. Shopped at Champion supermarket.  It was a basic shop. Picked up 3 Bus cards.

Suz made yum chicken pilaf. Later Zai & I went to check the Mass times at 150th memorial church near Mobil. Picked up 3 prosciutto pizza slices & 2 sausages. Both yumm. Zai had a swim whilst i got my legs wet. Good pool. Can't get much sleep.

Sun 12 Nov
Woke up 630 am. Had Skippy & attended 8 am French mass.  We walked to the church 12 mins away. Good participation by congregation & nice hymns.  After communion I had to dash to pee. After mass we took a bus opposite the church to city. On Sunday the bis only goes to Patch instead of Place Mosselle so we had to walk 2 bus stops (10 mins). Everything is shut on Sundays! Crazy 🤪 indeed. We waited for the bus to Chateau Royale & disembarked at Baie des Citrons. Voted best Beach in New Caledonia.  Tourist spot. Very busy. Lovely beach. Turquoise water. Had lunch @ Babar Cafe. Gr8 outdoor seats. Zai had a mojito & ham cheese panini, Suz a choc mousse & croque madame whilst I had a Desperados 0% beer & breaded chicken burger with bacon & fries. Yumm food. Around $130 which was good pricing considering this is a busy popular tourist spot. Had to wait for bus back to city & home by 3 pm. Had leftover pilaf & boiled eggs 🥚 4 dinner. Tummy upset & throat hurts

Mon 13th Nov
Took panadol. Had big brekie of salami, eggs & bacon. Brown bread 4 me. Zai & Suz like the brioche bread. Suz made chicken kolapuri * rice. We took Medipole bus & went to last stop. Surprise we got to a bay with a beach * water.  Then topped up our bus cards & visited Dumbea mall. Very nice. Geant supermarket is very nice. Picked up desserts,  mince, fish & had lunch at home. Zai fish was a bit dry. She fried it. Calzone & aranchini balls were good from the mall. Later went for a walk around the block & discovered the N6 bus route which also goes to the city but frequency not as good as the L1 which is every 10 mins on weekdays. Took panadol as throat itchy * have a cough

Tue 14 Nov
Still have a cough. Had Skippy. Suz fried beef cutlets. Left around 945 am. Took L1 bus to Place Mossell in city  & then the N6 to Tjiboau cultural centre. A bit of a ride, gr8 view on route & we spent an hour there. Back home by 130 pm & had lunch of leftover pilaf, beef cutlets & Zai had her fish. Later we had the desserts.  New Caledonia does not have a separate bin for recycling.  All in one bin Rubbish collected Wed & Sat. After lunch I lazed on the poolside sun recliner & listened to the big show, Hauraki. Later had green tea & the leftover aranchiini balls. Upset tummy again. In & out. Hahaha. In 4 days we are experts taking public bus transport. 

Wed 15 Nov
Beach day. Took N6 bus, the other bus route very close to our airbnb.  A bit longer but via Magenta to city. Took bus route 3 to Kuendo Beach. Scenic route via ports, university. Secluded small Beach. Zai nearly lost her bus pass.  Then book the route 3 back to Chatean Royal & stopped at Anse Vata Beach. I loved the area but not Duz Zai. Had fries with cheese,  mochachino & orange juice at Moustache kebab then back to Place Moselle. Took L1 Medipole bus (10 min frequency) to Rue Leon Trubert our airbnb. Lunch home of fried chicken,  curry ,& cutlets.lazed by the pool & I later watched the cricket semis. Sad NZ lost

Thursday 16 Nov
Our last day in Noumea. Had Skippy brekkie, cutlets with tea. Rest day & pack bags. Will miss the house we live in & Noumea. Lovely place. Thanks, Jesus for getting us here & the opportunity to experience this 🏝 island. Zai & me visited Dumbea mall again& we hot chocs. Dumbea centre is just a cinema. Suz made granny's eggs for lunch with bread. Rested then at 530 pm Zai uni mate from Sydney. Danyala drove us around Noumea & we saw the sunset,  Cathedral & other beautiful sights. Later dinner at West which was her recommendation.  French cuisine.  Very good. Even though I had no taste I liked it. Lol. Suz had toulouse pork grilled sausage with polenta & burata,  Zai & me shared pan fried fish with mash and greens, Danyala had squid 🐙 with rice & a salad side. Suz & Zai had creme brulee , I ordered the chocolate mousse with chantilly cream & Danyala had coffee with mini choc mousse. Biscuits & tart. She is a lovely person & was generous with her time showing us around.  Back home by 915 pm & straight to bed

17 Nov Friday
Woke up 4 am, had shower. Brekkie, tidied up the place & got picked up 624 am. At airport by 703 am. Lots of ppl check in as there was a Sydney flight too earlier. Boarded 850 am. Had salami sandwiches.  Amelia flight as Aircalin had no planes/staff.  Basically aircraft. No in-flight entertainment monitor & charge yr phone. Lots of Mormons on flight.  Lunch was a omelette with potato veg, croissant, butter, jam & fruit drink. Our moslem meal was a no show. Lol. Quick immigration,  baggage collection & customs red zone.  Took uber home & there was a bit of traffic. Home by 330 pm. Rain showers & we got KFC for dinner. Thanks, Jesus for a wonderful holiday & keeping us safe throughout.

by Zai

Magnifique!

I have fallen in love with New Caledonia. 

The Air BNB we are staying at is beautiful. It has two good bedrooms, kitchen and several relaxing areas. But the best part of it all, is that it has a pool.

 

It started out slow and low key like a true weekend it seems in this country. We got to experience what relaxing really means on the Sunday where most shops in the CBD were closed. Good thing the tourist area at Baie de Citron was still open. We enjoyed the beautiful beach there and had a lovely brunch at Babar.

 

We explored as much as we can by bus each day, then go home early to relax and enjoy our time in our home away from home. Suzie cooked lovely meal every time that we feel really at home.

The best beach for me in the main island was Kuendo Beach. It was quiet and secluded, just awesome. Unfortunately due to the shark incidents in Noumea, swimming is not allowed.

If you wish to travel more, one week is not enough to see all the sights. There are more beaches and islands to see. But we found it pricey here. It was expected though based on the review of other travelers. It is at par with NZ and Australia. We enjoyed our bus rides from our Air BNB home to the north, east and south of Noumea. 

 

Thanks to Danyela, we were able to see more of the city. She toured us around the hills for a nice view of the sunset, then to Magenta area and the lovely Promenade. Later, we had dinner at a lovely French restaurant. What a lovely way to end our holiday at lovely Noumea.