Sojourn in the South Pacific

We've just landed in New Caledonia again after 5 years in Europe. This blog recounts our adventures in New Caledonia from 2005 to 2007 - a wonderful time. It is full of fantastic photos, tales o...

http://southpacificsojourn.blogspot.com/2012/08/new-caledonia-today.html

This blog is about life in New Caledonia. I lived there from 2005 to 2007 and wrote about the experience whenever I could. Here you will find information about daily life in Nouméa; visits to L...

http://southpacificsojourn.blogspot.com/2007/10/how-to-find-what-you-are-looking-for.html

If you are looking for good, solid information on moving to and/or living in New Caledonia, I highly suggest the New Caledonia Newcomer's Guide . This free 26-page guide was updated, researched...

http://southpacificsojourn.blogspot.com/2007/11/new-caledonia-newcomers-guide-2007.html

Are you wondering what it is like to move across the world and set up house on a remote island in the South Pacific? Do you have specific questions about moving to New Caledonia? It's been a c...

http://southpacificsojourn.blogspot.com/2007/11/setting-up-house-in-new-caledonia.html

Little did we know, one can (and should) go horseriding in New Caledonia. The terrain and the weather are perfect for it - and there are clubs for all levels. Plus, New Caledonia has what is l...

http://southpacificsojourn.blogspot.com/2007/10/horseback-riding-in-new-caledonia.html

Now is about the time of year when one sees a million and one kitesurfers in Noumea (right next to the Meridien Hotel). This video was shot in 2005 by Laurent Guiader, the year we stumbled on an ...

http://southpacificsojourn.blogspot.com/2007/10/kitesurfing-season-in-new-caledonia.html

For those of you who are wondering what New Caledonian music is like, I'd highly recommend "South Pacific Islands ", a Putumayo World Music compilation. The three New Caledonian songs featured ...

http://southpacificsojourn.blogspot.com/2007/10/new-caledonian-music-featured-on-south.html

Try one of the various free online classified sites available in New Caledonia. You can buy or sell anything from a car to a boat to a baby bed to a computer. Okay, eBay and Craig's List are sti...

http://southpacificsojourn.blogspot.com/2007/10/looking-to-buy-or-sell-something-in-new.html

Many people ask me what New Caledonia is really like and are often surprised to learn that we have modern, French hospitals, good schools and a few big supermarkets. Life is not as backward on th...

http://southpacificsojourn.blogspot.com/2007/10/video-afternoon-in-noumea.html

Photo by Laurent Guiader, 2007. We miss this, of all places. This is the Anse Vata ... I've written about it several times before on this blog. This is a long stretch of beach in Noumea which ...

http://southpacificsojourn.blogspot.com/2007/10/missing-anse-vata.html

I was so used to writing to you all from the edge of the planet, from a tiny island in the South Pacific, hours before you awoke (9-10 hours ahead of Paris, 18-19 hours ahead of Los Angeles). N...

http://southpacificsojourn.blogspot.com/2007/09/writing-from-across-world.html

"Les couleurs de Tina" is one of our favourite little market stalls in Noumea. A local artist sells his superb island paintings for next to nothing (1000-1500 francs - or EUR 8.38-12.57) here. ...

http://southpacificsojourn.blogspot.com/2007/08/new-caledonias-local-art-and-souvenirs.html

Photos by Laurent Guiader, 2007. Ah, some of my favourite trees here in New Caledonia: the banyan trees . You'll find these right in downtown Noumea, next to the police station, on "bank street...

http://southpacificsojourn.blogspot.com/2007/08/far-flung-roots-in-new-caledonia.html

Sophie is as wonderful as ever. Here she is with glasses! Yes, her eyes were hurting - and watering and itching and the whole hoo-ha - and so the eye doctor thought we might try glasses. Besides...

http://southpacificsojourn.blogspot.com/2007/08/sophie-update.html

Photos by Laurent Guiader, 2007. 2.5 weeks left in our beautiful house with our beautiful garden on the bay. Pablo and I are taking full advantage of our last few weeks. Outside nearly every d...

http://southpacificsojourn.blogspot.com/2007/08/garden-fun.html

"Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows ", the last of the Harry Potter series, arrived at our house Monday night, 30 July. Sophie and I jumped up and down, screamed and hollered, shook the house ...

http://southpacificsojourn.blogspot.com/2007/08/harry-potter-arrives-in-new-caledonia.html

A resource we use all the time here in New Caledonia is its phonebook. It contains helpful maps that show all of Noumea's one-way streets (no other maps seem to do so!), restaurant advertisement...

http://southpacificsojourn.blogspot.com/2007/07/new-caledonias-online-phonebook.html

For those of you interested in the American influence on New Caledonia (which was, in truth, a bone of contention with the French government), I recommend Kim Munholland's "Rock of Contention: ...

http://southpacificsojourn.blogspot.com/2007/07/rock-of-contention-free-french-and.html

The President of New Caledonia, Marie-Noelle Themereau, resigned yesterday, 24 July. Elected president of New Caledonia in 2004, Ms. Themereau had given plenty of warning she intended to leave ...

http://southpacificsojourn.blogspot.com/2007/07/president-marie-noelle-themerau-steps.html

A bridge built by the US army, Poya, New Caledonia On 12 March 1942, a large convoy of 17 000 American army soldiers, under the orders of General Patch, landed in Noumea - which then became Pac...

http://southpacificsojourn.blogspot.com/2007/07/consequences-of-american-presence-in.html

Photo by Laurent Guiader, 2007. Officially one month left in New Caledonia, time is slipping through our fingers. Two years have flown - where have they gone? New Caledonia is a part of us now ...

http://southpacificsojourn.blogspot.com/2007/07/new-caledonia-seven-things-we-will-miss.html

Photo by David Giustizia, 2007. "Trekking Greener Grasses " is a great new English-language blog on moving to, and setting up life, on a tiny island in the South Pacific - yes, in New Caledonia...

http://southpacificsojourn.blogspot.com/2007/07/great-new-blog-on-living-in-new.html

Kunie Scuba Center on the Ile des Pins (Isle of Pines) is a well-run, professional and friendly operation. My father and stepsister, Livia, dove with the Kunie Scuba Center recently and were v...

http://southpacificsojourn.blogspot.com/2007/07/ile-des-pins-kunie-scuba-center.html

Photo by Laurent Guiader, 2007. Our favourite place to stay on Ile des Pins is Oure Lodge . It is a beautiful hotel on the Baie de Kanumera - made up of bungalows right on the lagoon as well as...

http://southpacificsojourn.blogspot.com/2007/07/ile-des-pins-oure-lodge.html

Photo by James D. Harris, 2007. One cannot live in New Caledonia and not visit Ile des Pins (Isle of Pines) regularly. It is a heavenly place - far from the hustle and bustle of the modern worl...

http://southpacificsojourn.blogspot.com/2007/07/grey-days-at-ile-des-pins.html