RCCL is opening a private island down our way!!

[MicCanberra]

1 hour ago, cme2c said:

Last time I was there, it was Sunday. Have you seen "The Day After" ? The centre of town was deserted. We did have a lovely lunch at Lemon Bay, but that was about it. 

Try being there on New Years Day, the only shop open in the cbd area was one of the duty free shops, although all the bars and shops along Lemon bay were open.

[banzaii]

2 hours ago, cme2c said:

I saw more "French" attitude in Noumea than Paris!

I have heard those in the know say Noumea is more french than France these days.  They say it's like France was 20 years ago.

 

That said I always enjoy Noumea aside from my initial visit (an overnighter off Fairstar) 27 years ago.  It is what you make it.

[Chiliburn]

1 hour ago, MicCanberra said:

Try being there on New Years Day, the only shop open in the cbd area was one of the duty free shops, although all the bars and shops along Lemon bay were open.

As long as la Barca was open.

 Half way from town to lemon bay there’s  `the mall ‘ .a small shopping centre by our standards.

We found some fabulous French pastry shops .The best this side of Paris.

Edited October 17, 2019 by Chiliburn

[MicCanberra]

We were very disappointed that the Boulangerie (near the cruise centre) was also closed.

[Chiliburn]

9 hours ago, MicCanberra said:

We were very disappointed that the Boulangerie (near the cruise centre) was also closed.

Don’t know of a Boulangerie near the cruise terminal worth talking about?

 I have tried a couple not better than a bread shop.

 

We are there in February on Ovation.The plan is to catch the local bus from coconut square to the zoo and botanical gardens. I have heard some good reports lately.

Then some pastries and hit la barka.

[MicCanberra]

Le Petits Choux, it is one block in and one block to the right on the corner, very popular with the locals. We are there in November.

[lyndarra]

14 hours ago, cme2c said:

Noumea is a French mining town that happens to be in the South Pacific. First time I was there, did the city tour and went down to Anse Vata. That was fine, and the tour quite interesting.

 

I can understand that the locals get heartily sick of cruise ships, as so many turn up there. I saw more "French" attitude in Noumea than Paris! (Mind you, there were 2 ships in at the time) I also quite liked the aquarium at Anse Vata . I have stayed on the ship in Noumea rather than disembark.

 

Last time I was there, it was Sunday. Have you seen "The Day After" ? The centre of town was deserted. We did have a lovely lunch at Lemon Bay, but that was about it. 

 

Part of the problem with being in Australia is that we are a long way from anywhere. There are a limited number of destinations within a reasonable sailing time of Sydney. Given the choice, I'd rather swap Noumea for a private island than Vila.

That "French attitude" has always been there. I noticed it 40 years ago when I holidayed there for a week with my wife and two kids. This was before it was the cruise port today. The local indigenous population, on the other hand, were wonderful. Have been back there cruising a few times now and the "attitude" is changing for the better.

[MicCanberra]

have never found it to be an issue, either in France, or New Caledonia.

[lyndarra]

58 minutes ago, MicCanberra said:

have never found it to be an issue, either in France, or New Caledonia.

Didn't find it an issue, just noticeable.

[lyndarra]

As wife and I each did three years of French in high school, we always tried to converse with what little we could remember and, it also seemed to make a difference being Aussie not English. It was similar when we visited France a few years later.

[GUT2407]

We have friends who spend a lot of time in France, they all say start out with Parlez Vous Australian And you’ll have no worries, they love you making any effort and while they have a bad relationship with POMS love Aussies.

[MicCanberra]

1 hour ago, lyndarra said:

As wife and I each did three years of French in high school, we always tried to converse with what little we could remember and, it also seemed to make a difference being Aussie not English. It was similar when we visited France a few years later.

Definitely makes a difference when they hear our accent.

[Chiliburn]

2 hours ago, lyndarra said:

Didn't find it an issue, just noticeable.

We went tassie a few years ago and at a pub someone asked where are you from?

 I said Sydney.a couple of people at once said ` get a plane and f ing go back.’

 

They don’t have to be French,even our  country men can be hostile.

[cme2c]

3 hours ago, lyndarra said:

As wife and I each did three years of French in high school, we always tried to converse with what little we could remember and, it also seemed to make a difference being Aussie not English. It was similar when we visited France a few years later.

Definitely does. I love Paris. Even the beggars get polite when you say "Je ne comprends pas"! Look, you find all kinds of people everywhere. I recall one shop assistant in Noumea that seems to be taking delight in saying "No Aussie" as she refused Australian current. She seemed disappointed that I had South Pacific Francs and could negotiate a simple transaction with my limited French.

[cme2c]

8 hours ago, MicCanberra said:

Le Petits Choux, it is one block in and one block to the right on the corner, very popular with the locals. We are there in November.

That was my mistake, I went left!

[Chiliburn]

12 hours ago, MicCanberra said:

Le Petits Choux, it is one block in and one block to the right on the corner, very popular with the locals. We are there in November.

Looks good.

checked it up on TripAdvisor,a lot of reviews said it was very expensive .500 francs for most items.

 I don’t think it’s expensive,$7-$8 for most items and they look big.

 

so it look like walk past casino Johnson’s ,get some cash out of the PNB bank and turn right.

 

[Chiliburn]

On 10/15/2019 at 5:44 PM, SinbadThePorter said:

CocoCay has a big docking facility for RC ships.

 

You'd have to assume that is not on the cards for Lelepa if they want to maintain the vibe of the place.

 

So it would be anchoring and tendering. In which case is Savannah Harbour a suitable anchorage for a ship as large as Ovation?

A interesting thing I was listening to on the ABC.

A company which is owned by the Chinese communist party wanted to by a Island on Havannah Harbour vanuatu a few years ago.

The Australian government lobbied and blocked the sale.

Now they are trying to buy a Island in the Solomon Islands.

 It’s suspected for a military base.

[MicCanberra]

1 hour ago, Chiliburn said:

Looks good.

checked it up on TripAdvisor,a lot of reviews said it was very expensive .500 francs for most items.

 I don’t think it’s expensive,$7-$8 for most items and they look big.

 

so it look like walk past casino Johnson’s ,get some cash out of the PNB bank and turn right.

 

Not cheap but oh so good.