The Waleï Festival (13 -15 July) is organised each year in Heo, a tribal village, and Destination Loyalty Islands. They offer about 100 tourists three-day discovery packages including the return airfare from Noumea, accommodation with local residents for two nights and breakfast.

The visitor can thus discover the traditional lifestyle of the Loyalty Islanders and absorb a new culture. For their part, the people who offer hospitality take the opportunity to demonstrate traditional hut accommodation and village life.

Visitors can partake in many activities during the three-day fest.  The standard tour of the island by minibus is for those who have never set foot on Ouvéa, but more interesting are trips on the lagoon to the wild and beautiful Pleiades islets, or a sidetrip to the Lekiny Cliffs by glass-bottom boat or on foot if low tide allows.

By foot, you can take a little walk in the Ognat Forest on the northeast tip of the island looking for the very green and endemic Ouvéa parakeet. More novel is the Nimek hike, three hours return from Saint-Joseph to the extreme north of the island where there is a surprising shark nursery where reproduction is a spectator sport.

Things to see and do on Ouvea – from the unusual spectacle in a shark nursery to birdwatching for endemic parrots and parakeets to staying with the locals.

More on the remote, culturally-rich and picture-postcard-perfect Loyalty Islands

Want to stay in Ouvea or the other Loyalty Islands open for tourists?
Hotel Paradis D’Ouvea is Rainbow Tourism Approved.

Loyalty Islands Win Your Heart for Lagoon, Food, Culture

Where is Ouvea?  It’s the island closest to paradise and part of the Loyalty Islands of New Caledonia.  A mere 2.5 hour flight from Sydney or Auckland to the mountain-high international airport and then a half-hour domestic flight from the capital city of Noumea over to the island.

Gay Noumea Stories

Before you go, check in with HomoSphere, the local community organisation for events and parties

The 27th annual International Triathlon in New Caledonia will be held around Noumea on 27 May, involving numerous Caledonian and international triathletes from Europe, Africa, Pacific Islands and South Japan.

The participants enjoy the course along the seashore, punctuated with various events such as musical bands and folk dancing.

In New Caledonia, four races are offered to participants: the elite race, usually by invitation, gathering the best athletes of the moment, the race by age categories, the team race and finally the future race for youth from 8 to 17 years.

Recommended places to stay for the race. Pick from 5 GLP hotels in Noumea.

A car rally can be a great spectator sport. Throw in some spectacular scenery in the city, villages and countryside and you have a winning formula. The awesome cars and sexy drivers notwithstanding.

Visitors to New Caledonia in April will get a chance to view stage 2 of the Asia Pacific Car Rally and the race for the cup will be contested by 15 Caledonians this year.

The Asia Pacific Car Rally which takes place every year is divided into several stages throughout the world. This year six stages include from 30 March to 1st April in New Zealand, 27 – 29 April in New Caledonia, 26 – 27 May in Australia, 14-15 July in Malaysia, 15 -16 September in Japan, and from 26 to 27 October in China.

• Places to Stay & Things to Do in Noumea and around New Caledonia.
• 10 Good Reasons to Visit New Caledonia.

At the heart of an exceptional 200-hectare marine reserve, just 20 minutes by boat from Noumea, is Escapade Island Resort. A day trip for outstanding water activities like stand-up paddling, jetskiing and snorkelling, or an overnight stay or two in the romantic bungalows is a must when you go to New Caledonia.

Pick your escape accommodation…The overwater bungalows have a large living room, a bedroom featuring exotic timbers, the subtle elegance of the huge bathroom decorated with Italian marble, a private balcony facing the sunset, direct access to the lagoon down your private stairs to the water.

Nestled in lush tropical gardens, there are 30 spacious and air conditioned garden bungalow rooms with wide glass windows to view the landscaped gardens. A serene haven, these rooms will seduce you with their peacefulness and subtle luxury.

There are 14 deluxe beach bungalows with views of the long white sand beach and the turquoise lagoon, each a serene haven that combines luxury with exoticism.

Archetypal dream of the South Seas, the island floats like a mirage Master of the lagoon.

This unique hotel offers gay and lesbian travellers the luxury associated with the tropical tranquility of the place and the staff are quick to lay out the gay welcome mat. It is one of the GLP Group Hotels that are Rainbow Tourism approved. 

Swim-up bar at Escapade Island Resort

New Caledonia is a sport lovers’ paradise; almost a quarter of the population is involved in some sort of sporting activity, and visitors are drawn to participate and spectate at international events hosted around Noumea and beyond.

Rainbow Tourism recommends a visit to New Caledonia during one of its many sporting activities, like the International Pro Kite Surfers Competition each November, or the upcoming International Triathlon on May 27th.

Book your accommodation ahead with these gay welcoming places to stay.

Obviously, the warm water of the lagoon, its underwater splendours and the trade winds that rock the coast all seasons lend themselves to a multitude of activities like sailing on your own chartered yacht and snorkelling in the world’s most beautiful lagoon.

But it’s not just water sports and activities that make it alluring.  New Caledonia has mountains and bush areas, too,  for fishing, hunting, horse riding, trekking and nature walks.  The agency to use for information and  bookings is Noumea Discovery Tours.

Lonely Planet has unveiled its list of favourite 10 countries to visit in 2012. New Caledonia has broken into the Top 10 list at eighth position, the only destination in the South Pacific.

Despite its fabulous island scapes and unique mélange of Gallic and Melanesian cultures, New Caledonia rarely makes it onto tourists’ short lists. Maybe the tide will turn this coming year.

Gay and lesbian visitors from nearby Australia and New Zealand have long known about the gay welcome mat in Noumea and the Loyalty Islands.

Nouméa could be easily mistaken for city in the French Riviera. But beyond the très French panache of the capital and the west coast of the main island, Grande Terre, the indigenous Melanesian culture quickly comes to the fore. The rebirth of Kanak traditions has been gaining momentum for the past 30 years, and today is at an all-time high.

Head to the Loyalty Islands or Ile des Pins and you’ll enter another world. Stay on Grand Terre and you’ll think you’re in gay Paree.

Rainbow Tourism Accredited Accommodation in New Caledonia includes The GLP Hotel Group, with 6 budget-to-luxury level properties. One in Noumea CBD, 4 on magnificent Anse Vata Bay in the lagoon, and one on a private island just offshore.

Fly from Australia or New Zealand to New Caledonia and you could be speaking, eating and drinking in French that day.

More than a destination, Noumea is a lifestyle. The Pacific “French Riviera” is where good taste is combined with the Pacific lifestyle. Sophisticated cuisine and fine wine are two elements of The French Touch experience awaiting you in New Caledonia’s capital.

Noumea today has many wineries, cafes and restaurants that make it a great destination for lovers of fine wine and gastronomy. For a romantic or a family meal, various styles of restaurants offer local products “à la française”. Oysters, lobsters, mud crabs, coconut crabs, shrimps, prawns, bougnas and the famous Caledonian deer and bio-dynamic vegetables are paired with French, New Zealand and Australian wines. French, Asian or Oceanic, New Caledonian cuisine reflects its mixed population, offering visitors a delicious, eclectic menu.

For the gourmets, the curious and others, visitors can attend cooking classes in order to be initiated into the codes of French cuisine -  learn some chefs’ secrets and taste the results of your own work as a bonus.

Outside of the city in the brousse (bush), local specialities feature deer, shrimp, coconut, crab, wild hog and fruit salad.

The Bougna is the traditional kanak dish (Melanesian), chock full of assorted tubers, fish, prawn or impressive lobsters. The whole meal is marinaded in coconut milk then simmered for hours in banana leaves on the hot stones of the Kanak oven. The dish contains yams, sweet potatoes, and taro, plus snails and pigeons – or for the more daring candlenut worm (a fat white worm tasting like hazelnuts, eaten raw or roasted!).

Bon apetit!

Treat yourself to a gourmet getaway, learn French and get into the Pacific Lifestyle. You can select the perfect retreat at a Rainbow Tourism Accredited hotel right on the lagoon. The GLP Group of hotels has a range of tropical and contemporary hotels, from two to four stars, along the promenadae close to the restaurants, cafes and cooking classes. There are other gay-welcoming hotels, venues, language schools and tour operators. Ask the Rainbow Tourism Concierge, a frequent visitor to Nouvelle Caledonie.

Dream Yacht Charter Noumea

A seasoned mariner or a sailor for a day, stop dreaming and come and enjoy the unique experience of sailing on the Caledonian lagoon!

If you are in Noumea over 10-11 December, you can participate or spectate at the 24 Hours of Sailing event.

Jet Skiing with Dolphins

The principle is simple: teams of minimum four persons sail non-stop for 24 hours!

All sailing lovers are participating: wind surfing, kite surfing, dinghy, catamaran, kayaking, even outrigger canoes.

In parallel with this water competition, events are taking place on the land, involving activities associated with sliding, as skateboarding and BMX.

• For more events and news, Visit New Caledonia
• Rainbow Tourism Accredited Accommodation & Attractions

For the 10th consecutive year, Noumea hosts Teri Kite Surf Pro, a race in the world championship calendar of the Professional Kitesurfing Riders Association.  What is at stake for the male and female riders is winning the World Champion title of Freestyle Kitesurfing.

The event will be held in the beautiful lagoon of Noumea from 30 Nov. to 4 Dec. You can follow the action from Anse Vata Bay and even hear the results from the gay bars that border the bay.

If you’re going for the competition or happen to be on holiday in Noumea, check out the Rainbow Tourism Accredited accommodation and tour operators.

The iconic image reflects the love and generosity that the New Caledonian people feel for their land – a country where the nature is spectacular and intimately attached to the ocean.

Visit New Caledonia site has some fabulous videos that will transport you to paradise – 64 of them showing the range of activities, events, accommodations, cultural landmarks, restaurants and heretofore hidden secrets.

Pass the word, grab your travel companions, and head to one of the most gay-welcoming destinations in the South Pacific.

Rainbow Tourism Accredited accommodation and tour operators
10 Good Reasons to Place New Caledonia on Your Must Do List