UND-Pilsa Blog

Do you want a vacation that is truly unique? Fancy somewhere with a beach and sailing opportunities, plus the cuisine and ambience of a metropolitan city. A perfect vacation that provides all of this is a trip to the French settlement of New Caledonia, located about halfway between Fiji and Australia.

As New Caledonia is situated further south than many of the other islands of the South Pacific, its climate benefits from southeast trade winds, plenty of sun, and balmy weather. If a sailing holiday is what you are thinking to have, New Caledonia is located in a part of the Pacific that has the largest coral lagoon in the world. Sailing charters are freely available and with the aid of the trade winds you can sail out of the capital city of Noumea along the coastline, past numerous small islands that dot the ocean around the New Caledonia. The island also offers other outdoor activities such as scuba diving, snorkeling, horseback riding, canoeing, and kayaking.

If you were hoping for a gourmet holiday, you can get everything you could want on New Caledonia. New Caledonia’s capital, Noumea, widely known as the Paris of the Pacific. Noumea boasts fine gourmet French food and wine along with the other benefits of a active cosmopolitan town. Some of the world-class restaurants in the South Pacific can be found here. Claimed by the French in 1853, New Caledonia has a distinct French influence when it comes to food.

There are great deal of restaurants, ranging from sidewalk cafes to elegant bistros. French cuisine is easy to come by, but other selections include Indonesian, Chinese, Japanese, Spanish, and African food. Seafood is a specialty of the Island, including spiny lobster, prawns, crab, and mangrove oysters. One of the national dishes is Bougna, which is fish or chicken, mixed with sweet potatoes and bananas wrapped in banana leaves and then steamed covered in sand on hot stones. For the adventurous traveler on a gourmet holiday, you can try a dish popular with the locals, bat stew.

New Caledonia is the holiday destination you want to be: a sailing holiday, a gourmet holiday, or a time to just relax by the beach.