THE BEST SEASON ?

 

 
       

Of course the weather can vary from one year to the next but, surprisingly, the most pleasant months of the year are often outside the main tourist periods - that is from the end of March, through April and May, then in October and November (although it can be windy in November).

The climate is gentle almost all year. There are only two seasons : warm from November to March, when the temperature varies from 22 C¼ to 31C¼ (72¼F to 88¼F) and cool from April onwards, when the mercury ranges from 15 C¼ to 26 C¼ (59¼ to 79¼F). You can swim all year round.

The sun rises very early in this part of the southern hemisphere in the summer (November - February) when a wonderful concert of birdsong greets the first rays of daylight about 4.30am. At the same time of the year, nightfall is around 7pm.

In the cool season, it’s daylight around 6am and dark by 5.30 - 6pm. Dusk is fleeting in New Caledonia.

A tropical rainy season, as is common in latitudes closer to the Equator, does not exist in New Caledonia. However, from December to April, a tropical depression with heavy rain, winds and stormy seas, or a rare cyclone, may occur. Isle of Pines, thanks to its being situated further south, is less bothered than the main island, La Grande Terre, by such tropical weather and one is also comforted by knowing the bad weather doesn’t usually last long.

« It’s perhaps the healthiest and most pleasant climate in the world », wrote Jules Garnier, the French mining engineer who discovered nickel in New Caledonia ... that was back in 1864. The description still holds good today.

 
       
 

 

   
         
       
 

 

   
           
             
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