Sometimes for political reasons, sometimes for economical ones, this Pacific archipelago has always been a refuge. Melanesians, Europeans, Wallis and people from Futuna, Tahitians, Vietnamese, Indonesian, Japanese, but also Blackfoot, Caribbean ... men and women from 5 continents have migrated to New Caledonia, which has become a melting pot of diversity and mixed races.
New Caledonia is a multi-ethnic and young society, since half the population is under 30 years old.
Thus, discovering New Caledonia is to be immersed in the heart of a dynamic society where the difference is a daily experience. Two in five people now are of Melanesian origins, the first people (natives).
Just a little more than 245 000 people live on the whole territory, with a population density of just 13 inhabitants per km2, which is exceptionally low in the French colonies in the modern world. Two-thirds of residents live in metropolitan area of Greater Noumea, which hosts the vital economic activity. Therefore, it is enough to leave the commotion of the capital to enjoy the tranquillity of wide-open spaces and the authenticity of the people who live there.
The stockmen of the East Coast, in the region of Bourail, are the last French-style cowboys, workers in livestock farms workers in full harmony with the environment. The mine is the focal point for several northern villages, and many on the East Coast.
However, in "the Brousse" -what the Caledonians call everything that is not part of the Greater Noumea- 341 tribes live, perpetuating an ancestral way of life based on principles of solidarity and respect for nature.
Agriculture and subsistence fisheries represent significant resources for these populations, who will gladly share their expertise with you on the Iles Loyauté (Loyalty Islands), in Hienghène, or Yaté ...
Tribal accommodation is recommended for visitors in search of human adventure. You will discover that in their diversity, these rural people share modesty and simplicity.
Greater Noumea
Brousse