Day two at the ‘Rendez-Vous New Caledonia’ pre-famil saw the group arrive in Poindimie in the Northern Province to learn how to cook traditional kanak and snorkel the famous reef.
New Caledonia was discovered by James Cook but later become a French colony hence the island nation’s official language being French.
The French influence is particularly prominent when it comes to food and visitors can enjoy various French baked goods including top-class baguettes as well as traditional French cuisine with an island twist.
A quick stop in the town Bourail to pick up local French baguettes.
On day two, the pre-famil group departed to Poindimie driving through Houailou over to the East Coast in the Northern Province.
The East Coast is incredibly green and features sparkling streams with waterfalls and steep slopes of New Caledonia’s highest mountains. This area is also well-known for its large number of tribal communities and some tribes offer visitors the opportunity to experience the authentic Kanak way of life.
First stop was ‘Le Bonhomme’ which has the shape of a man’s head.
KarryOn’s videographer Brendon O’Shea took beautiful photos during the drive across the island.
Driving across the island offers travellers a taste of the real New Caledonia with rolling green hills, miles long rivers and traditional local fruit stands along the roads filled with tropical fruits such as bananas, papayas and lychees.
There are numerous local fruit stands along the roads.
Local Kanak Cooking
The next stop was at the Napoemien tribe to meet with Kanak guide Jehudit Pwija. After a warm welcome Jehudit demonstrated how to cook a traditional Bougna, which is various vegetables and meat cooked in the ground for several hours.
Kanak guide Jehudit Pwija gets a helping hand from his wife.
Snorkelling
The warm jackets came in handy after a snorkelling trip off Poindimie.
In the afternoon the team was taken out to the famous New Caledonian reef by Martin from Aqualagoon, a scuba-diving centre next to Hotel Tieti in Poindimie.
Despite the cooler weather in the afternoon and with a light shower of rain the reef didn’t disappoint with parrot fish and colourful clown fish being spotted.