cut or the vegetation cleared and the
scars on the hillside are clearly visible
all around the mines.
Luckily a decade or so ago new
environmental regulations were
introduced and pollution from
the three smelting plants has been
dramatically reduced. The result
is very little air pollution now and
greatly reduced runoff, with a greater
focus on the environment. On the
whole the air is clear, the skies a deep
blue and the sea is a transparent
aquamarine colour.
Since we went to the country to
test new boats we were fortunate to
have the use of a vessel the whole
time we were there. Although much
is accessible directly from the beach
the really stunning places are best
reached by boat. Fortunately there
are several tourist operators in the
country who can arrange a diving or
fishing trip to suit your requirements,
plus there are water taxis, jetski
hire and several ferry options for
individual access.
I was particularly keen to scuba
dive the reef and contacted local
operator Gabriel Parodi who operates
Dive NC (say that out loud and the
pun becomes clear). He put togethera custom dive trip for me to two
different locations, each with different
objectives.ZODIAC PLATFORM
A customised 6m Zodiac is the dive
vessel and his gear is top-quality and
well-maintained. Our first dive was
to around 15m and the objective the
smaller reef fish and other marine
life. I was blown away by the sheer
profusion of fish of every shape, size
and colour and the pristine nature of
the coral.
For the second dive we went slightly
closer to Amadee Island, distinctive“Although much is accessible directly from the beach
the really stunning places are best reached by boat”
tradeboats.com.au 69Noumea, New Caledonia