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skinhead
Joined: 11 Jun 2004
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 Posted: Mon Sep 12, 2005 8:40 pm Post subject: |
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| Where's the Love for Kamtchatka thread? |
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redd
Joined: 08 Nov 2004
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| Posted: Tue Sep 13, 2005 7:20 pm Post subject: |
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P&O Cruises out of Sydney go to New Caledonia. I worked on the ship for a bit a few years ago. They speak French and they have some beautiful beaches. Our stops were pretty short and I get it confused with Vanuatu, but in general that whole area is beautiful.
Noumea is the main town and has little shops that make you feel like you're in France. |
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sonofthedarkstranger
Joined: 15 Jan 2003
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| Posted: Tue Sep 13, 2005 8:29 pm Post subject: |
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I don't think it's a country. France owns it, no?
There's a million obscure little places in the world--why a thread on this one? Thinking of going there?
Just curious. |
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Tiger Beer
Joined: 07 Feb 2003
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| Posted: Tue Sep 05, 2006 11:32 pm Post subject: |
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| Summer Wine wrote: |
| I'm probably wrong, but the issue may be that they are a predominantly french speaking country, surronded by english speaking states. They tend to be more tied towards France than promoting themselves to thier neighbors. It is a beautiful country, and well worth a visit. Their tourism is probably also aimed more for the French tourists than English speaking ones from America, making it less well known than Fiji. |
Yeah, I was reading more about it, and most of the tourists are French. Its more within the French-speaking world.. and the English-speaking world, its a bit off the map it seems.
I heard Noumea is a bit like a slice of Paris, however. Very urban and very French.. but a very Pacific feel to it. Sounds intriguing enough for me. |
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rawiri
Joined: 01 Jun 2003
Location: Lovely day for a fire drill.
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| Posted: Wed Sep 06, 2006 2:50 am Post subject: |
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[quote="joe_doufu"]I met a guy in HK once who called himself a Frenchman but actually came from New Caledonia. That's all I know. Apparently it's nice.[/quote]
Yeah, it was nice....till in the 80's the french (part of it (( or all i don't really know)) is a french colony) came down and started testing their nukes there. Obviously, being that we are in such close vicinity nzers kicked up quite a stink, especially the eco warriors "greenpeace". This was solved in typical french fashion though by their secret service agency sending down two agents who planted explosives, blowing up the boat and killing a photographer on board. Ahh the french.... |
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azzwell
Joined: 15 Jan 2003
Location: where the girls from Super Junior cannot find me
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| Posted: Wed Sep 06, 2006 3:41 am Post subject: New Caladonia |
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New Caladonia is a French colony, the same as Tahiti, overseen by the French Department of Overseas affairs.
A lot of the people of "European Decent" in New Caladonia are actually descendants of the Pied Noires who were forced to leave Algeria during the revolt against the French in 1960's. |
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crazylemongirl
Joined: 23 Mar 2003
Location: almost there...
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| Posted: Wed Sep 06, 2006 4:04 am Post subject: |
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| My high school had an arrangement with a New Caladonian high school to do language swaps. Every year we'd take turns to visit. I hosted a student, but dropped french before I got the chance to go on a visit myself! |
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jinks
Joined: 27 Oct 2004
Location: Formerly: Lower North Island
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| Posted: Wed Sep 06, 2006 6:58 am Post subject: |
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| Tiger Beer wrote: |
| Can you imagine being some backbacker white guy travelling around on a New Caledonia passport.. just imagine those blank looks.. |
I don't think there is a New Caledonian passport, it is a French territory so they travel on French passports. Just like there isn't a Scottish passport. |
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davai!
Joined: 04 Dec 2005
Location: Kuwait
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| Posted: Wed Sep 06, 2006 10:12 am Post subject: |
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I thought that it was more than a territory, it is actually a state of France. (Do they call them states?) They have full voting power, etc.
I could be wrong.
One thing I do know is NC has a good deal of that Je ne c'est quois! |
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Cheonmunka
Joined: 04 Jun 2004
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| Posted: Wed Sep 06, 2006 1:19 pm Post subject: |
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New Caledonia is a waypoint for all direct flights from Korea to NZ. The aircraft flies in a direct route over the length of the island. The first time I did it I was surprised by how long the island is. It takes about 40 minutes to fly over it.
What I was more surprised with is the landscape.
N.C. has too much mineral mining. Maybe nickel? Almost the entire island has been deforested and mined. From the air almost the entire island is a reddish light-brown color of dirt. There are a few spots of sparse green, I'd guess pine. But through these sporadic and small forests you can see the dirt (I don't think we can call it 'soil.')
If it rains a lot there, as it should being in the tropics, you can't tell by witnessing a lush forest. There's so little vegetation.
The coastline looks okay. Like there is mostly deeper water. That is, there isn't the sedimentation around the coast due to run-off and sluggish shallow waters. I guess then that is how tourism can flourish around the coast.
But as for inland, the ground looks like the outback of NSW, Aussie. Very sparse.
There were some problems a while back with indigenous rights. The locals were angry at the colonists. Judging by the mining I can see why.
I met a couple from N.C and they were second descendent French. They worked on a cruiseliner. Very handsome looking people, not poor looking.
But, I didn't talk politics with them. |
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Tiger Beer
Joined: 07 Feb 2003
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| Posted: Sun Jul 22, 2007 9:26 am Post subject: |
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| Do they have much of a tourist industry that caters towards New Zealanders or Aussies? |
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Cheonmunka
Joined: 04 Jun 2004
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| Posted: Sun Jul 22, 2007 3:27 pm Post subject: |
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| Less than you'd expect. NZ and Aussies were more inclined to Fiji and Vanuatu than NC when it comes to Club Med tourist styles. Very little is heard about NC even though is very close, closer to Aus than Fiji and closer to both NZ/Aus than the more famous Rarotonga or Samoa. |
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paquebot
Joined: 20 Jun 2007
Location: Northern Gyeonggi-do
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| Posted: Sun Jul 22, 2007 8:37 pm Post subject: |
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| sheba wrote: |
| joe_doufu wrote: |
| I met a guy in HK once who called himself a Frenchman but actually came from New Caledonia. That's all I know. Apparently it's nice. |
New Caledonia is in French Polynesia.... they all speak french. Same with Tahiti and a lot of other Islands there..... |
Technically it's part of Melanesia and not Polynesia. 
I originally thought Nouvelle-Cal�donie was a French DOM-TOM, but apparently it's a special territory that will vote on the issue of self-government any time after 2014. At the moment it's considered a part of France so French is the official language. Tourist visas are not required for citizens of Switzerland, Canada, or EU residents -- although the official NC tourism site for the island says that budget hotels run from 40-55 Euros a night. Maybe not the best price range for the average backpacker?
For more information, en fran�ais: http://www.kanaky-nouvelle-caledonie.com/
Last edited by paquebot on Sun Jul 22, 2007 9:00 pm; edited 1 time in total |
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paquebot
Joined: 20 Jun 2007
Location: Northern Gyeonggi-do
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| Posted: Sun Jul 22, 2007 9:00 pm Post subject: |
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| davai! wrote: |
| I thought that it was more than a territory, it is actually a state of France. (Do they call them states?) They have full voting power, etc. |
Not quite a French state (r�gion is the equivalent term). The only overseas r�gions are located in French Guiana (South America), Guadaloupe, Martinique (both in the Caribbean), and R�union (next to Madagascar). The French system of overseas possessions is DOM-TOM (Departments Outr�-Mer et Territoires Outr�-Mer -- Overseas Departments and Overseas Territories) and New Caledonia doesn't fall into this classification. It's listed as suis generis, a legal term meaning outside the current classification system. It's more than a r�gion but less than an independent country. In fact, any time after 2014 New Caledonians can vote on whether to remain a part of the French Republic or become a sovereign state.
Politically, New Caledonians vote in French elections and send representatives to the national assembly and senate. Conversely, they have their own elections for political office in which only citizens of New Caledonia may vote (in other words, French who have immigrated to the island are ineligible to vote), control their own taxes and educational system, and can enter into agreements with independent states in the Pacific without consulting with the French government.
And thus ends today's lesson on Francophone cultures.  |
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rednblack
Joined: 12 Jun 2006
Location: In a quiet place
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| Posted: Mon Jul 23, 2007 9:21 am Post subject: |
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| I spent a month there on holiday some 26 years ago. Friends of the family live in Noumea and they took us for the big tour around the island. Had a great time and spent a few days in the bush with some of the locals, eating bat ( tastes like oily fish) and food cooked underground. A bit like a hangi. Great people, both the French and the Woolesians (Melenesians)s.p, atleast the ones I met. Some good memories. |
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