distance. This was
one of the narrower sections with tremendous
views and wooden ‘armco’. Sarah took the first stint
through the mountains and whilst she enjoyed
the Streety, she really wanted to have another
shot at the bends on her beloved MT-09. About
the only thing to be wary of was that the locals
do have a habit of using all of their lane on left-
handers, so it pays to not stray too close to the
centreline on corners you can’t see all the way
through. Pretty much everyone, whether they’re
on foot, on a bike or in a car waves a greeting
and it’s pretty easy to get in the habit of waving
back. It really is a very friendly kind of place.
Once across the mountain range and into the
eastern half of the island, the scenery becomes
a lot more lush and tropical, but the roads never
stop giving more than they take. Our stop
off point on the second night was Hienghène
which carries a lot of recent history in relation
to the Kanaks seeking to regain independence
from the French. And some of that history has
involved a lot more than just harsh language.
At the time of writing, the country is starting
to gear up for a referendum on independence
which will probably happen sometime in 2018.
Day three was a short one, just a scoot down the
coast to Poindimié but before we headed south,
we took the coastal road north of Hienghène
which took us past the amazing rock formations
known as La Poule (the Hen) and Notre Dame and
then on to the waterfalls at Tao via the Ouaième
River Ferryboat. The road along the coast is
crammed in at the bottom of the cliffs and has
spectacular views along the coastline. Rock falls
have made a mess of the road in a few places
and the temporary road repairs aren’t something
you’d want to hit at speed, but there were no
nasty surprises and the loop from Hienghène
to the falls and back was well worth the time.
The drive south from Hienghène to Poindimié was
more twisties, more nice scenery and more fun.
Like most of the towns we stopped in, Poindimié
had a population of about 5000, at least one
petrol station, an ATM and a general store or
two. Eating out in New Cal is expensive and we
always kept an eye out for ‘snack’ cafés which
served a decent range of meals, which only cost
an arm and half a leg. Even a ‘cheap’ meal would
Once across the mountain range
and into the eastern half of the
island, the scenery becomes a
lot more lush and tropical, but
the roads never stop giving more
than they take