Away from any kind of electronics and the internet, in a wooden hut smelling of wood fire and seemingly full of peaceful, Kanak ancestral protective spirits, is probably where we had some of the most peaceful nights in New Caledonia. Speaking to our host family we asked Suzanne, our ‘mum’, where her favourite place on the island was, and after a little thought she replied, ‘my home’. An answer we definitely did not expect on an island blessed with all sorts of natural beauty. It definitely made us think, and whilst discovering the most amazing, empty beaches her answer kind of stuck with us. Apparently most of the Kanak families really do stay in their houses for most of the time and not at the beach or in the crystal clear seas as one might expect. In fact it was striking really how little traffic or people we saw whilst exploring this island that is home to 10,000 people. The first and maybe our favourite beach we visited in Lifou is called Peng. We found old ruins of stone buildings and Ingrid tells us that all inhabitants used to live close to the sea in Peng, but they had to move inland because of a leprosy epidemic.
Walking with our SUPs on the dreamy beachside road close to these abandoned buildings and next to the most beautiful beach we had ever seen really felt like we were in some kind of movie…it was too perfect to be real.
