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, its 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 doesnt
usually last long.
«
Its 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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