Trade-A-Boat — November 2017

(sharon) #1

“The reef itself is the second longest coral reef


on the globe, beaten only by its close neighbour


the Great Barrier Reef of Australia”


ABOVE What a day!
PHOTOS RIGHT Noumea provides a reef-diving haven with all sorts of sights, including sharks,
turtles and schools of brightly coloured reef fish.


Noumea has a reputation of being
expensive to visit, but that was not our
experience. Air fares start at just over
$300 each way for midweek flights.
Being a mere 2600km from Melbourne
the flight takes only about three hours
and flights land late morning and depart
just after lunch.
New Caledonians drive on the right-hand
side of the road, and after hiring a car we
quickly gained an appreciation for the
problems that tourist drivers face in
back home. However there are no
motorways apart from a short stretch
between the international airport and
the city, and speeds are generally low.
The French have a way of driving that
takes some getting used to, but were

polite and forgiving when we made
mistakes. Outside of the main city there
are few traffic lights but many
roundabouts and uncontrolled
intersections. It is important to
remember that you give way to the right
at intersections, not the left. Also note
that even the main road running north
and south of Noumea has sections that
are unsealed and narrow, so drive
cautiously and be prepared for
unexpected obstacles.
A GPS (or an app such as Google Maps
on your smartphone) is absolutely
necessary because the country is
extremely hilly. Getting from A to B can
involve complicated roundabout routes
that are not obvious. We would have

been lost several times without our GPS.
Mobile data access
Roaming data charges from mobile
providers are extortionate in New
Caledonia (as much as $100 for 25MB
from Vodafone, with the other telcos
having similar rates), so the best thing to
do is to buy a prepaid Carte Liberte SIM
from local provider OPT. These are
available from post offices or OPT shops
in town and cost about $80, including
$40 of credit that can be used to buy
daily data packages, while 24 hours
unlimited data costs about $6. This data
can be used by your smartphone for
Google Maps as well as a translation
app such as iTranslate for understanding
road signs and supermarket labels.

Getting there and getting around

tradeboats.com.au 71

Noumea, New Caledonia
Free download pdf