Île Ndé

Learned a lot about getting around Nouméa by bus today! First off, people are pretty friendly - it helps a lot if you start with a “Bonjour!” when you arrive, rather than just before asking for help. Secondly, public transit is not reliable - there are few schedules posted and nobody quite knows exactly when buses will come or go. Bus drivers themselves are not even fully informed. Finally, while routes may look really useful on a map, service is rather infrequent and so it can take some time to get from place to place.

We ended up waiting 30+ minutes for a local Nouméa bus to the Gare d'Echange, followed by another 30+ minute wait for the Carsud D service to Mont Dore. At this point, we compounded our already critical sequence of errors (starting from a serious grass'mat!) by getting off Carsud D to wait for the D1 service to the north trailhead of the Mont Dore hike. Despite repeated assurances from the bus driver that the D1 navette would be right on her tail, after a 45-minute wait, we changed our plans and caught the next D service to the south trailhead instead.

By now it was evident that we would not have enough time to finish the anticipated 2-hour Mont Dore trek - and that was before we got to the hike board and saw that it was actually a 4.5-hour hike for fit adults (rating: difficult)! Still being inclined to make the best of the situation, we proceeded to complete the first part of the south trail. Even under threat of an impending rainstorm, Mont Dore still impressed us with its beauty, views and calmness.Read more