noumea - Passports Overloaded

March 21, 2025 – March 21, 2025

Trace New Caledonia’s history at two museums, one reflecting the island’s strong ties to the sea, the another revealing the island’s strategic role in World War II. Much of this seafaring past is displayed in the Museum of Maritime History, whose thousands of artifacts date to the early Melanesian and Polynesian settlers. Other historical marine highlights include two frigates that were sunk in the late 18th century but not found until 2005 when one of the ship’s sextants was discovered at the bottom of the sea. The second museum reflects Noumea serving as a headquarters for the United States military during World War II. From 1942 until the end of the war, more than one million U.S. and Australian soldiers were stationed on New Caledonia, and their presence left a lasting impact. Before the war, the island was known for little more than being a French penal colony.

If you would like to see where and what we are while visiting Noumea (2025)

February 06, 2015

We boarded our tour bus and drove along the beautiful coast to the FOL lookout point. En route, we passed the Southern Province Government House, Port Plaisance Shopping Center and the Yacht Club.

The cosmopolitan city of Noumea, which is decidedly French. Noumea is known as the “Paris of the Pacific.” We stopped at the Ouen Toro scenic lookout, where we saw New Caledonia’s barrier reef, which is the world’s second longest, the largest is Australia’s Great Barrier Reef. The lookout is also home to a memorial honoring the Allied troops that protected the French colony of New Caledonia during World War II. Our tour guide told us that they still have US Jeeps on the island from the war and one of the locals favorite food is the hamburger which was introduced to them when our troops were there. The island still has deep ties to France, best expressed with French cuisine and French wines.

We stopped at La Coupole French restaurant. Known for having one of the South Pacific’s finest wine cellars, made the wine and cheese tasting that much sweeter.

After our wine and cheese tasting, we drove back to the pier.

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Noumea 2025, New Caledonia

Noumea – New Calendonia