“…If you ever want to travel to New Caledonia, drop me a line. I will send you the contact details of my great friend Hnawish who owns the Motel Chez Rachel at the Baie de Chateaubriand. We will guarantee you the best rates and friendliest service on all the island…”
Kanaky is the indigenous name given to the group of islands we know as New Caledonia. Its people, the Kanaks, are very friendly and welcoming – they listen to reggae, smoke a wee bit of local parsley and basically live at a very different pace. Letty and I took some timeout to relax and immerse ourselves in its natural beauty.
Kanaky has some, if not the most beautiful beaches on the planet. This is Luengoni Beach – La plage de Luengoni
I had previously traveled to Kanaky in 2004 so I knew what to expect, and I took this opportunity to show my wife some places I had enjoyed with my Swiss friends Tonton Ruppen and Papa Cristobal.
We saw cook pines (a tree endemic to New Caledonia) as we descended into “La Baie des Tortues”(Bourail)- they welcomed us in all their majestic splendour.
La Baie des Tortues – Turtle Bay in New Caledonia, near Bourail
We snorkelled in the natural coral pool at “L’Ile des Pins” and saw Nemo, Dory and a bunch of their friends.
The natural swimming pool with its beautiful clown fish and coral on Isle of Pines. Kanaky number one
We were blinded by the white sands at Luengoni and Peng beaches.
Peng Beach on Lifou Island – Kanaky
Luengoni Beach Kanaky has to be the most beautiful beach I have ever seen. Trip Advisor’s top 10 beaches of 2014 makes me laugh.
We saw our friend Paul fishing every day at the Baie de Chateaubriand.
Chateaubriand Bay on Lifou Island – Kanaky number one
And we had a great time with great friends…
Paella on Lifou island by Fred – Kanaky
If you ever want to travel to New Caledonia, drop me a line. I will send you the contact details of my great friend Hnawish who owns the Motel Chez Rachel at the Baie de Chateaubriand. We will guarantee you the best rates and friendliest service on all the island.
Guy fishing at L’Anse Vata beach
Le Méridien – Nouméa
Hi there! Nice underwear :)
Turtle Bay – Bourail New Caledonia
Majestic pines
Columnar pines – Cook pines in the bay of turtles
Arrival at Lifou airport
chainsaw sculpture
Master craftsman
Sculptures made from sandalwood – smells lovely
Hnawish giving me a coco demo
Local pea
Local vanilla is said to be the world’s best
Fred and his professional aluminium fishing boat
Where do you want to go today?
View from the top of the Jokin cliffs
Baie de Jokin
Letty and Vine
Baie de Jinek
Main road – peak hour traffic
Traditional hut meets western technology
Michel and Myriam – such a cutie
Nice parsley!
Kanaky parsley for pizzas
Creeping figs
Luengoni and its famous small island – Heaven on earth
Yep, that’s right! – Le paradis sur terre – Kanaky
Look over there! Kanaky’s Luengoni beach
Coconut on the beach – white sand
Every time I’ve been to this paradise, it was empty.
Too bright
Paul, Hnawish and yours truly
Here begins where you want everything else to end – SO RESPECT!!
Plage de Peng
Paul – fishing guru
Nice bream
xox – <3
snorkely-doo-dah
Yes that’s right!
House on a volcanic rock
Night shot
Another night shot
Hnawish showing his fishing cane trick
Unwelcome visitor – one HUGE tropical snail
Home made rain water collection
Mito and Hnawish
La paella de Lifou – chef cuissetau Fred
Hnawish celebrating with a Havana
Kanaky parsley
Pawpaw
Bougna is the traditional dish
It is made from root plants such as sweet potatoe, taro (dalo), Ignam and coconut milk and shredded coco flesh
Leak
Local produce is seasonal. Oranges are imported from Australia – yes, these are tomatoes
Pumpkin
Banana sucker
Spring onion
Local parsley
It has a nice texture and fragrance. Yummy on Papa Gomez pizzas…
Cesar – the dog
Wawa
Centre commercial Le Korail
Na and Teddy
Hnawish and Letty at Lifou aerodrome
View from the Betico 2.
Isle of pines
Pacific Pearl cruise ship at docked at Isle of Pines
Kanumera Bay
Natural coral pool – Isle of Pines
Piscine naturelle de corail – Ile des Pins
Ile des Pins
Ile des Pins
Ile des Pins
Ile des Pins
La pirogue
A hard man to crack, he never smiles…
Sandals match the colour of the water!
It seems Jean-Rock hasn’t smiled since 2004
Our pirogue commander – Jean-Rock
Smooth sailing in Baie D’Upi
Bay of Upi – “Pirogue” trip
Get the coco
La grotte de la reine Hortense – Isle des Pins
Rainforest floor
Just floating about…
Isle des Pins
The convent – Isle of Pines
More gettin’ the coco
Gadji Bay – Isle of Pines
Baie de Gadji
View from the top
Kuto bay – Isle of Pines
Say “Kanaky!!!”
Le Méridien – Isle of Pines
Mont Dore
Mont Dore and Nouméa
Nouméa in the distance
Panoramic view of Yaté lake
Letty striking a pose…
La riviere bleue – The blue river
La terre rouge du lac de Yaté
Reggae band Yii Kea
Yii Kea au centre culturel de Tjibaou
La grande case
Yohann and Lala
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