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A brief stop in New Caledonia
We visited New Caledonia for a brief stop over on route to Mackay. New Caledonia is the fourth largest island in the Pacific, being 250 miles long by 31 miles wide. It is mountainous and as we approached it appeared much more barren than the previous islands we had visited. It is surrounded by an offshore barrier reef which is the largest insular coral reef in the world. The hills are covered with pine trees and the New Caledonian pine grows nowhere else in the world. We did our good deed for the day by towing a small catamaran about 18 miles to Port Moselle marina. The catamaran with a French man and his two young children on board was becalmed and had run out of fuel. We received a bottle of champagne as thanks.
Port Moselle marina is in the capital Noumea. While we were there the locals had a bit of a dispute about who should govern the island. It is a French territory but the Kanaks who are Micronesian and constitute about half the population want independence. There was a demonstration starting in the car park next to the marina, where all the trash was set alight, resulting in a couple of hundred riot police turning up. I don't think there was any serious trouble, just a lot of shouting.
Noumea is a pleasant modern city with a number of nice parks and a good selection of shops. It is however expensive. It has a very interesting museum displaying the arts and traditions of the Kanaks and other south pacific islands.
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