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• WHAT'S
NEW ?
The "Web'zine" of Isle of Pines |
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Kuto, the main tourist area of Isle
of Pines, is putting on a new face
for visitors.
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A
weekly
market now takes place every
Saturday near the small jetty
where cruise ship tenders
formerly docked.
Check out both Air Caledonie
(domestic) and the Betico ferry
websites as well as those of the
different hotels to see what
specials they are offering.
And,
since mid-December, Kanumera Bay has
become a little more user-friendly,
featuring benches and tables, a
petanque square, as well as
impressive wooden carvings forming a
veritable public art gallery in the
open. The carvings are the result of
months of work in a project
encouraging several young men from
the local tribe, Comagna, to hone
their skills and demonstrate their
talent. More works are in the making
to enhance neighbouring Kuto bay.
To
learn more ... 
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Information Office
Point
I : Just 50m. in
front of the church, in the village
square, Vao, is Point I. It is staffed
by a well-travelled Kunie, Marie-Jeanne,...
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Free WI-FI access is available
at the Convenience Store,
Curios
Maliska - north of Kuto
FREE
WI-FI...
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In search of
publishers ...
The
author of several books, Hilary Roots, has lived on the
island since 1975. A New Zealander by birth and
journalist by trade, she continues her research and
writing about her adopted island.
For more information contact
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WHERE
IS ISLE OF PINES ?
Known
as Kunie to its Melanesian inhabitants, the island is
part of the French-Pacific territory, New Caledonia. Situated at
the southern tip of this archipelago, it sits almost astride the
Tropic of Capricorn at 167¼ longitude and 22¼ latitude south.
Island panorama... |
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DISCOVER
THE ISLE OF PINES
No
stress, no night life, a relaxed pace and with time of little
significance ... that’s island life, island time !
Forget
your usual ways and the demands of a busy existence, let
yourself be part of an unhurried world, surrounded by natural
beauty - your stay will be refreshing and memorable.
To
be kind to yourself and make the most of Isle of Pines, you
should consider staying at least 3 days.
If
you like discovering nature, taking long walks, swimming,
snorkelling, diving, meeting local people or simply lying on
magnificent, deserted, white sand beaches, then you could
easily spend 5 to 10 days here and still find plenty to do.
Tourist
activities ...
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INHABITANTS
- THE KUNIE PEOPLE
(kanak web site)
Olobatch,
a traditional dance group formed from the combined
Kéré-Comagna tribes, is the island’s ‘star’ group at present.
Its dancers, some 30 children and adults, have become roving
ambassadors for the island. Since the 8th Pacific Arts
Festival held in Noumea in 2000, they’ve danced at the 9th
same festival in Palau, Micronesia in 2004 ; they went to
Paris in 2005 and on a two month tour of Europe in June-July
2006.
The
island is less populated than previously and
remains extremely protected by the tribal system. After
such a turbulent history, it’s understandable the Kunies
guard their land closely. Isle of Pines has become an indigenous
reserve and the land is neither for sale nor for rent. |
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“
The most beautiful island on the planet” !
“ Such a lovely spot of God’s creation ” ! ...
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Extravagant
claims one might say, surely advertising pushed to the
limits. But no.
The
first enthusiastic words came from Guiseppe Ambrosino,
the Italian captain of a large cruise ship, The
Fairstar, that spent more than two decades sailing the
South Pacific from the 1970s to the 90s.
The
second line, uttered under completely different
circumstances, was the journal entry of Andrew Cheyne,
the first British sandalwood trader to reach Isle of
Pines’ shores in 1841.
No
matter what period of history, such praise is still
valid even today.
Japanese
people know the small 14 X 18 km island as ‘the island
the closest to Paradise’, thanks to a film based on a
book written by Katsura Morimura in 1964.
For
a better view of this picture
-->
zoom |
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| Kuto
Bay © Photo Pierre-Alain Pantz |
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Closer
to the present, world champion wind-surfers of both
sexes from such diverse origins as the United States,
East and West Europe, Australia and New Zealand, were
competing on Isle of Pines and suddenly dropped their
sails, literally stopping their race, to wonder in awe
at the beauty of the water and the surrounding islets.
Two
thousand years after the birth of Christ, in the age
of rapid air travel, commercialism and the internet,
is it really possible that a beautiful and yet
accessible land can still exist unspoilt ?
This
web site leads you to discover a truly privileged spot
in New Caledonia, where nature is the master of
dreams.
For
a better view of this picture -->
zoom |
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Kanumera
Bay & Kuto peninsula © Photo Pierre-Alain Pantz
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Oro
Bay © Photo Pierre-Alain Pantz - Editions Solaris (see
: www.solaris.nc)
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©
idp
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04/20
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