Travel
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As we are seemingly doing 'what I did during the holidays'; Just got back from a fortnight in New Caledonia.
Cannot recommend, despite
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Fantastic weather: 27-30 cloudless days without the burn factor you get in NZ. Could sit around in the sun for hours with no ill effects
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Really lovely, friendly people. Helpful all with a Bonjour. Patient with my franglais
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Some stunningly beautiful scenery, particularly on north east coast of Grand Terre (hired a car for a week) and Isle of Pines
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Really good infrastructure (for a South Pacific island nation), safe, comfortable vibe. Clean well managed etc
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A very relaxing chill out time, some great activities plenty of sun, snorkelling, great food, fantastic accommodation
So why no recommendation? We could have flown to mainland France and hired a super yacht for less than the cost of 2 weeks in NC. I knew it would be expensive but fuck sake.
Using the internationally recognised exchange rate benchmark. A glass of insipid local lager NZ$19 in a bar in Noumea - more, much more at the resorts.
Accommodation ranged from $160 / night for a small shithole with no internet and dodgy aircon to $650 night at Le Meridien Isle of Pines. Four nights at the later - meals and a few drinks 5.5K
It was a very pleasant, well overdue chance to get out of NZ but the prices are eye wateringly expensive. If that isn't an issue for you then definitely worth a look see but for the average person WHOAH. NO!
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@canefan Yep. There were very few foreign tourists about and most seemed to stay in Noumea or else were flying in and out of one of the resorts. Cruise visits are just about to resume and it seems a lot of the tourist infrastructure is geared to those.
Got the impression that otherwise the market concentrates on the budget traveller or the wealthy retiree's and we fell in the middle, which was not that well catered for.
I think they are also doing what Queenstown has and ramping up the prices to try and claw back the losses of the last couple of years.
One weird thing when you return your hire car, not only do you have to fill up the tank you have to clean it....
We were dropping car off at Noumea's domestic airport and fortunately found a car wash, otherwise who knows what I would have been sprung for le valet! We had driven two and a half hours already and had three hours before our 20 minute flight to Isle of Pines only to find the sodding airport didn't open till noon!
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Road across Mangamukas is closed after successive winter storms.
BOI to Cape Reinga is a very long day which is why I recommended Doubtless Bay as a base. Carrington is OK but nothing special. There is a motor camp on the peninsula that has a few cabins.
Mangonui Fish and Chip shop is massively over-rated.
It was a long time ago now. Found the last couple of times I was there the North had seriously regressed. More than likely dived further. So yeah, definitely take @dogmeat 's advice over mine. Rose tinted glasses.
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@booboo glad you've had a good trip. Me and Neps have been waiting for you to reach out to catch up, but assume you're saving us for next time.
Chur
Yeah not quite sure how to explain to Mrs Boo that i want to meet these random blokes I "know" on the Internet ...
Unless you're around tomorrow (Thursday evening) up the northern end of the CBD?
We have nothing planned ...
Not this evening, leaving the cbd early to do the school holiday taxi run
Hope you had a good trip mate
Edit - Paddy's Markets are a debacle. I wouldn't eat anything from there and the stalls are just a rabble of junk. Shame really.
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@dogmeat If you were going to dump that much money on a Pacific Island you could have gone to the Cooks. At least spend it on "our" Pacific Island instead of France's (also things aren't going so well in Oz for Rennie so he might need to retire to Raro soon).
Just looked at January flights to Auckland. Coming in around AUD$880 return if you want to fly at stupid times of day.
Think I might look domestically until the airlines sort their shit out.
That's actually pretty reasonable for January. I don't usually travel at that time but have flown my niece over pre-Covid and it cost similar.
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Just looked at January flights to Auckland. Coming in around AUD$880 return if you want to fly at stupid times of day.
Think I might look domestically until the airlines sort their shit out.
Fly direct to Wellington. Bumpy flights with people chundering around you are always way more fun.
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@voodoo Ouch
I've had to stay in Palmie a couple of times recently and I must say I was pleasantly surprised.
Fewer ferals than the Tron, nice after work walk along the river, a decent craft beer place for a few jars and a fucking brilliant Vietnamese for a follow up Pho.
It really was a bloody enjoyable stay.
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@voodoo Ouch
I've had to stay in Palmie a couple of times recently and I must say I was pleasantly surprised.
Fewer ferals than the Tron, nice after work walk along the river, a decent craft beer place for a few jars and a fucking brilliant Vietnamese for a follow up Pho.
It really was a bloody enjoyable stay.
Nothing in this little anecdote sounds believable. When the marketing team from Palmy council give you your lines they should at least make them slightly believable.
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I thought Trader Jacks had closed when Jack died
Yep, Trader Jacks is no more.
Have you been there post covid @dogmeat ?
We were there in May and staying not far from Muri Yacht Club. It was OK for an evening beverage while walking along the lagoon but was pretty quiet. Charlies seemed to be the go on the eastern side.
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May 2019 was last trip to Raro. That was my last overseas holiday before these last two weeks in New Caledonia. I don't really count raro as a proper overseas jaunt - more like going to the Coromandel so it was four years between northern 'Nam and New C. A bloody eternity.
We always rent a place. Last time was just at the southern end of Muri. We just had a couple of old bikes for transport so Charlies was a bit far after dark. Usually sat round the pool at Nautilus
