New Caledonia Travel Guide

New Caledonia is an archipelago in the South Pacific region of southern Melanesia. It is the third largest island in the region after Papua New Guinea and New Zealand, and is located 1,500km from Australia and 5,000km from Japan. New Caledonia comprises the Grande Terre (main island or mainland), the Loyalty Islands, Isle of Pines and many smaller but no less beautiful islets spread around the blue waters of the Pacific.

Still part of the French Republic today, it was discovered by Captain James Cook en route to New Zealand in 1774. He named the island ‘New Caledonia’, in honour of Scotland and encountered the Melanesian inhabitants whose ancestors migrated to the area approximately three thousand years ago. The island was became part of the French colony in 1853. The population was estimated at around 50,000 Melanesians and a few hundred Europeans at this time.

New Caledonia has struggled for independence for many years and has remained on the United Nation’s list of non-self-governing territories since 1986. Autonomy was increased with the Noumea Accord in 1998, instating a local Caledonian citizenship, separate official symbols (such as a national flag), and a mandatory referendum to be held on the issue of independence after 2014.

Differing from it's island neighbors, which are mostly volcanic, New Caledonia is a portion of an ancient land mass which split away about 250 million years ago. The plants and animals were segregated from outside influences and have now evolved to be unique. It has the largest variety of endemic botanical species anywhere in the world, and is home to some magnificently dense tropical forests. It is also has the largest lagoon in the world, and sits aside the world's second largest coral reef.

Five hundred kilometres (350 miles) long, fifty kilometres (35 miles) wide, New Caledonia offers some of the best beaches and clearest waters in the Pacific as well as spectacular mountain retreats. It is most famous for its French cultural influence and images of authentic grass Melansian huts perched above crystal clear, blue waters.

The mainland, where most people live, is divided into the east and west coast. The East Coast is a fertile, exotic land with lush tropical vegetation, green valleys, waterfalls … and Melanesian huts along the roads. The West Coast is ‘cattle country’ shaped by people who live at the pace of their cattle. There is an abundance of beautiful beaches too.

The unique blend of authentic Melanesian and French cultures together with some of the South Pacific’s most picturesque and unspoiled beaches and rainforests, makes the archipelago of New Caledonia a highly-coveted tourist destination.