This is the New Caledonia chapter from Lonely Planet's South Pacific guidebook.

New Caledonia is dazzling; its World Heritage-listed lagoon surrounds it with every colour of blue. Natural and manmade delights are at your fingertips, with warm Melanesian hospitality and European elegance, gourmet food and gorgeous beaches, plus kayak, rock climb and diving adventures.

• admire coral reefs, lunching on freshly-caught fish then feeding a nearby shark colony on Ouvéa
• maps
• head into the surprisingly isolated far south of the Grande Terre for a full moon kayak tour
• transport
• drink black coffee with the locals at Noumea's market while listening to a local Kanak band singing by the water
• restaurants & accommodation

Coverage includes: Understand New Caledonia, New Caledonia Today, History - From Early Explorers to Modern Identity, Culture, Sport, Arts, Environment, Directory A-Z, Getting There & Away, Getting Around, Grande Terre, Noumea, The Far South, Boulouparis, La Foa & around, Bourail & around, Northwest Coast, The Far North, Northeast Coast, Loyalty Islands, Maré, Lifou, Ouvéa, Île Des Pins, Vao, Kuto, The West Coast and Baie D'Oro & around.