Noume - Good or Bad? - Recomended SHore Tours.

[kcbj]

Hi,

 

One thing to remember is that Australia (with Norway) has the highest standard of living in the world.

 

New Caledonia is not in the top 50.

 

Cheers

 

Clive

[SerendipityLulu]

Hi,

 

One thing to remember is that Australia (with Norway) has the highest standard of living in the world.

 

New Caledonia is not in the top 50.

 

Cheers

 

Clive

 

That is such a very good point. Thank you so much for giving me that nudge I will remember it.

[mick1960]

I wish to apologise to the good people of Redfern for my remark

[Froggy57]

As first timers to NC thanks for the info. Unfortunatley we used to be great walkers but now have limited mobility. Did I read somewhere the tchou tchou can't always get to the top of the lookout? We really don't want to take the bus but couldn't walk up hills

[Yulara336]

We found Noumea just 'OK' We ended up hiring a car from Avis which was quite a hike from the terminal into town. The lady who served us was quite rude - she threw the keys at us on the counter, althoughshe did make an effort to speak a little bit english. I tried to get by with my high school french and was understood.

 

Driving in Noumea itself was a nightmare. We took almost half an hour trying to get out of the city towards the Tjibaou Cultural Centre. They have a maze of streets that are only one way and are made of ridiculously long names and of course they are in french and by the time you pass one street, find it on a map you are onto the next one! We finally made it to Anse du Fort and the hill where the cannons are, only by chance LOL. There was also a lovely little hotel up top and we parked up there and took some great photos.

 

We also found the ghetto and industrial part of town. A little scary and people just dump rubbish on the sides of the roads, they dont use bins??!!!

 

We made it to the Cultural Centre which was the highlight of our visit. Our son loved going into all the little huts. Although its quite a hike up the hill through lovely forest to get to the main structures, it was well worth it. Skip eating at the cafe in the Cultural Centre, we had Hot Dog Gratine for XPF 500 (500 = $7.50 Aussie Dollars) Although it was nice and different in a baguette type of roll, it was expensive! We drank Orangina which was a really nice not too sweet sparkling OJ!

 

We did get ripped off at the petrol station (for unleaded look for - 'sans plomb' fuel) - in New Caledonia and Vanuatu petrol stations, the attendant fills up for oyu, you dont have to get out of the car. For our 4-5 hours driving it cost us $25, less than 1/4 tank of fuel. We didnt get a chance to see how much it was per litre, but in Vila it was over $2!!!!!!!

 

We also loved the Casino Supermarche opposite the terminal. It was fascinating seeing the products that we get at home in French. Hubby got French Shower Gel and I also go some AMAZING Palmolive Tahiti Vanilla Shower Gel, TDF! I think it was only around 300XPF. They had wierd HUGE drinks in a can, I got a peach one that I managed to get home OK. Havent tried it yet. Our son also got some cute french toothpaste and toothbrush. We noticed they had a heap of surf shoes there for about 800XPF a pair I think. We spent an easy half an hour there. Oh and it was wierd seeing their pricing system, all the prices were on tiny little electronic LCD pieces attached to the shelf, I have never seen anything like it! Very high-tech!

 

Dont forget you will need to take XPF on shore as NO stores that we went to took Australian dollars. Unless you plan to pay via EFT or CC. The purser will exchange them for you, we took $200 and that was plenty for the day including the car hire which was about 4900XPF

[Yulara336]

Aaah sorry for the double-post

 

Also heres a pic of the supermarket tags (in Euros, from Google, hubby got a pic of them but on camera phone)

 

[Sea_princess_89]

I am going on the same cruise as you W934 and have decided to go to duck island. I went to Noumea on a schoolies cruise 2 years ago and did not do much- we went to a beach and spent the day in the water. This time i am going to get a bus to Anse Vata and then get a taxi boat to duck island. There is a underwater walkway which you snorkel along and see all the sea life. I am very excited to go to the island as i have heard great things.

 

Maybe we will see each other on the cruise- my parents, my brother (15) and i (20) are on caribe deck and am sooo excited to be going!!!

[floatie]

we took the Petit Train from directly outside the terminal and it was great fun and good value..

 

I will second that... Petit Train ...fun, informative and great value.

Do not walk into a cafe with your hat on ... OMG !!!:mad:

Ran into the usual "you don't speak French so I will not make an effort to understand at all" routine.

Some nice people there though as well as the outright rude ones.

Vanautu beats New Caledonia hands down!!!

[The_Big_M]

Yulara, that's a neat price tag! Wonder if it means prices change frequently, that they need to install such displays.

[leashyloo69]

Hi

I know this is an old post but I was hunting around for ideas on half day options in Noumea (sailing from Brissie) and I wanted to add my expiriences to this list for future hunters ..

I loved Noumea. I did the Zodiak to Duck Island in the morning and the Chou Chou in the afternoon .. I got a bit of both experiences (water and town) and loved every minute of it..

 

Duck Island was nice and lazing in the water looking back onto Noumea is still a lovely memory I visit often in my head..the zodiak ride was the best though, very exciting - fast and fun and the guide was awesome.

 

The train, while it screams tourist, was very informative and covered a lot of ground, both geographically and historically. The lookout was stunning, you can see all the way out to Amadee Island.

 

While Noumea itself is colourful, the people I spoke to there seemed to love the place. Well worth the exploration!

[aussie57]

I agree that the choochoo gives you a good general tour & is safe. Gorgeous views at AnseVata & from the lookout. But don't buy it through the ship - as soon as you get out of the cruise terminal you can buy tickets for a fraction of the price. I enjoyed the Casino Supermarche & bought some locally grown espresso coffee to bring home. I didn't like walking around by myself so didn't venture to the markets. The district between the ship & the shops is smelly & a bit run down & I didn't feel really safe. Better than Suva though:eek:

The markets upstairs in the cruise terminal are good for trinkets & souvenirs & they'll take Aussie dollars. Also they will give you a souvenir stamp in your passport at the PO in the cruise terminal centre.

[didiaust]

Whilst Noumea is not one of my favourite islands I have always managed to spend an enjoyable day there. In my younger days we travelled from south west to north east across the island and up the east coast and met the ship the next day at Hienghene, stayed in a village overnight.

 

Recently have been to the new aquarium- just catch a local bus

 

The local market is fun and I always buy a home cooked pastry there

 

 

The cassino shop is where I buy lots of stuff and always have requests for around 20 plastic shopping bags $1 each with scenery on them. When shopping at home with my Noumea bags I always think of the well dressed ,high heeled ladies and their baguettes and bottle of wine sticking out of the $1 plastic shopping bags. Me I've got baked beans and tomato sauce in mine.

 

I usually buy something nice and a little expensive from a homeware shop

 

Love to have a meal in the Latin Quarter

 

On one stop which was unplanned( too rough for Isle of Pines) we took a helicopter flight and got to see some amazing beaches and sea creatures

 

 

I always say to people that the whole world doesn't speak English, eat pies and follow RL or AFL.

 

Enjoy Noumea

[sherri3802]

We went to Noumea last year.

It was my first time out of the country and I found it interesting.

We booked our 2 tours through Princess and I realise this is probably more expensive but it was easy. It meant the tour buses and what have you met the ship and dropped us back at the ship, so there were no hassles.

The amadee island tour mentioned by someone in an earlier post sounds great as it includes such a lot but we had not booked that one, I am not even sure that one was available to us.

We did a bus tour of the city in the morning. That was okay. It was only an hour and cost $29, so the price was right anyway.

Then we had a walk round the city and saw some parks. It doesn't look too bad, possibly a little run down in some sections but I did not care as it is interesting to see new places, with different people, language, money etc.

On the bus tour though we saw some expensive areas a bit further out of town.

 

In the afternoon, we booked a glass bottomed boat tour.

The boat wasn't all that big-probably there were about 12-15 of us in total. We were dropped off at the beach and the boat came right up to the sand for us to board it. It was good-saw lots of fish and coral and really enjoyed it.

 

I saw people on the little train, obviously doing a tour of the place. That looked like fun too, especially if you have children.

 

I guess the one thing though that struck me with cruising is you do get very limited time in the actual ports. You really only get a chance to taste a little of the culture, so in that respect a second cruise to the same place would be fine-it could see you doing totally different things.

[Sandielle]

We don't arrive at Noumea until 3 pm and leave at 11 pm. What can you do during the daylight hours that are left? When does it get dark there as I don't think I'd like to roam about at night. :rolleyes:

[Aus Traveller]

We don't arrive at Noumea until 3 pm and leave at 11 pm. What can you do during the daylight hours that are left? When does it get dark there as I don't think I'd like to roam about at night. :rolleyes:

From your signature it looks like your cruise is 12th June, the middle of winter. It would be dark somewhere around 5pm-5.30pm. You would have time to do a one hour sightseeing tour. You can book this in the terminal.

[Sandielle]

From your signature it looks like your cruise is 12th June, the middle of winter. It would be dark somewhere around 5pm-5.30pm. You would have time to do a one hour sightseeing tour. You can book this in the terminal.

 

Thanks, Aust T. As long as we can do a quick tour round, we'll be happy. I've been there a long time ago but all I can remember is walking past the hospital, and driving to Anse Vata. I did buy some cheap Christian Dior perfume somewhere, but I'll bet it's not cheap there nowadays.

[Aus Traveller]

Thanks, Aust T. As long as we can do a quick tour round, we'll be happy. I've been there a long time ago but all I can remember is walking past the hospital, and driving to Anse Vata. I did buy some cheap Christian Dior perfume somewhere, but I'll bet it's not cheap there nowadays.

I don't think anything is cheap in Noumea these days. If you want duty free alcohol I strongly suggest buying it in Vila. If you want perfume, check out the prices on the ship and compare with the duty free shops in Vila. The ship is often the best for perfume.

 

Have a great trip. :):)