Noumea, New Caledonia

Today is Monday, April 6 in Noumea, New Caledonia. It is also Easter Monday which means that all the businesses are closed. We docked in Noumea early this morning. Noumea is a port city and capital of the French overseas country of New Caledonia. It was founded in 1854 as Port-de-France. French is the primary language spoken here. 

 

partial view from our balcony

another balcony view

Unlike our most recent ports, this city has modern buildings, a large public market, museums and St. Joseph’s Cathedral. It is also home to the University of New Caledonia (est 1999), numerous boutiques, a coral aquarium, a hydroelectric plant and a nickel refining plant at nearby Duiambo Point. 

I would have enjoyed seeing some of the local sights, but basically the city was dead today. It was a happy coincidence for Ronnie because we didn’t have to rush to get off the ship this morning and he was able to take another 3 mile run on solid ground. That doesn’t happen nearly often enough to suit him, so I’m always happy when he gets to do that. 

There was a large grocery market an easy walk from our ship that was (surprisingly) open, so I walked over and picked up some treats for our room stewards. We are quite fond of them, and they seem to like us too.

After lunch on the ship, we walked around the town for an hour or so. We first strolled through some craft booths at the port, then headed to Place des Cocotiers (Coconut Square). The entire town was completely closed down except for just one other business. 

Peace Square

 

Fontaine Celeste (Heavenly Fountain)

I was hoping to visit China Town, thinking it might be open, but obviously they took advantage of the Easter holiday and closed their businesses as well. I snapped a few photos as we walked along but was soon happy enough to head back to the ship.

 

Chan Dang Vietnamiens Statue

Chamber of Commerce

the other open business

By the way, I recently read the novel “Miss Benson’s Beetle” by Rachel Joyce with the setting of a New Caldonia rain forest. I would recommend it if you’re looking for a new read. Parts of it are laugh-out-loud funny with a little bit of “sad” thrown in. If you read it, let me know what you think of it.