Why New Caledonia
The lagoon is the largest enclosed lagoon on the planet, World Heritage listed: twenty-four thousand square kilometres of turquoise water ringed by a coral barrier fifteen hundred kilometres long.
The archipelago brings together the Grande Terre with its massifs of red earth, the Loyalty Islands — Lifou, Maré, Ouvéa and its twenty-five-kilometre beach — and the Isle of Pines. Kanak culture, with its cases, its customs and its tribes, is alive and is encountered by respecting it.
Getting around
A car is essential on the Grande Terre: the distances are long and public transport scarce. The main roads are good.
The islands are reached by plane from Nouméa, or by the mixed cargo ship that serves the Loyalty Islands. Book ahead during local school holidays, when everything fills up.
Money
The Pacific franc is pegged to the euro at a fixed rate, which removes exchange risk. Cards are accepted in Nouméa and in tourist facilities; the tribes and small businesses run on cash.
The cost of living is high, appreciably above mainland France for imported food. Tipping is not customary.
Before you go
Staying in a tribe means doing the coutume: a small gift — a banknote, a length of cloth, tobacco — handed over with a few words to the chief or the host on arrival. It is not a payment but a gesture that opens the relationship, and it is not skipped.
Much of the land is customary and therefore private: you ask before going onto a beach, a path or a site, even one that looks public.
The territory's political situation has seen tensions in recent years, with episodes of road blockades. Consult official advice and the state of the roads before leaving and during the stay.