6 New Caledonia facts that’ll blow you away

6 New Caledonia facts that’ll blow you away

It may be just two and a half hours away from Australia’s east coast, but there’s still much to learn about this laid-back archipelago.

  • New Caledonia is home to some of the world’s most idyllic beaches, which draw over 100 000 tourists each year.

Lifou

@hillymoon

  • The indigenous people of New Caledonia are the Kanaks, who arrived in the archipelago around 3000 years ago. Today, they make up 42% of the population.

Kanak

@trazeetravel

  • The ever-elusive cagou is the national bird of New Caledonia. It cannot fly and barks like a dog.

Cagou

@newcaledoniatourism

  • Locals and the mainland French affectionately refer to New Caledonia as le caillou (‘the pebble’) due to the importance of mineral resources to its economy.

New Cal. Waterfall

@newcaledoniatourism

  • New Caledonia is home to a naturally-occurring, heart-shaped bit of vegetation called ‘The Heart of Voh’.

Heart of Voh

@lesbaroudeurs

  • New Caledonia has an enormous diversity of species. In fact, so many new fish and invertebrates are regularly discovered that it’s hard for scientists to keep up with classifying them.

Clownfish

@pintade_laura

All images sourced from New Caledonia Tourism Instagram feed (@newcaledoniatourism)

Latest News

  • Partner Content

My journey: Before becoming a travel agent I was… a palliative care nurse 

Australind Travel & Cruise, Travellers Choice member Saibra Twigg reveals her life as paediatric nurse then to palliative care before a career leap to travel agent. How did you become a palliative care nurse?  ST I went straight from school in nursing and initially specialised in paediatrics, working at Perth’s Princess Margaret Hospital for Children. […]

Partner Content

by Travel Weekly

Travel Weekly
  • Destinations
  • News

APT Launches 2025 Asia Adventures

APT has launched its Asia Adventures for 2025, including new luxury holidays in India, Sri Lanka and Japan. Five new tours lead guests to the highlights of India, including a seven-night cruise along the rarely travelled Lower Ganges aboard the Ganges Voyager. Further south, Sri Lanka’s greatest destinations are revealed on a new 15-day Land […]

  • Cruise
  • Luxury
  • News

Seabourn announces Western Kimberley Traditional Owners as Godparents of Seabourn Pursuit

Seabourn has named Western Kimberley Traditional Owners, the Wunambal Gaambera, as Godparents of the ultra-luxury purpose-built Seabourn Pursuit. It is the first cruise line to appoint Traditional Owners as godparents of a ship. Seabourn Pursuit embarks on its inaugural season in the Kimberley region this June. The naming ceremony will take place on Seabourn Pursuit’s […]