From its richness, size and quality of preservation,
the New Caledonian lagoon is listed as a part of UNESCO's World Heritage Site

Discover largely unexplored dive sites, from Noumea to Isle of Pines, Lifou, Ouvea... a paradise for diving
New Caledonia is Australia's nearest South Pacific neighbour, being just 2 hours from Brisbane and 2 1/2 hours from Sydney.
7 flights per week Ex Sydney ; 3 flights per week from Brisbane on Thursdays, Saturdays and Sundays.

The largest lagoon in the world, with largely unexplored dive sites

 

Summary of this page and links to :

- INVEST in NEW CALEDONIA ? Testimony of 26 years experience -

Other useful links :

  • For your information:

    This Website is not a merchant website, it was built in 1993 and, since, it is weekly updated by volonteers with a long experience in the dive tourism and, for the author, over 26 years of stay in NC.
    The purpose of this Website is to inform about diving in NC, with a maximum of honesty and openness.
    So, everyone should access to a lot of information and photographs, that we hope useful for each of you ; morever, you can help to the updating if you provide the webmaster with your comments and feelings.

    Notice from the Author:

    "I travel throughout South Pacific for over 26 years (New Zealand, Aurtralia, Fiji, Vanuatu...), in New Caledonia I regularly could enjoy help of volonteers from different Nationalities (French, Japanese, Swiss, English) for this website construction and translation ; so, I have a special warm thanks for them.
    However, all of us, agree to say that we never met a worse atmosphere than in the nautic tourism sector of New Caledonia, including charter and diving, with spiteful actions, nasty rumours and habits ; it has been a long and unpleasant experience for each of us.
    Maybe this is in relationship with the lack of tourists for this destination, which could explain the amazing fights between the operators ; but, what is sure is that the customers of these tourist businesses are hostage of a such situation, as they are even requested by operators for testimony or heard by the police... This reality has to be disclosed." (I invite everyone to read the "special notice" from the main dive operator who stopped its activity in NC, other information is available about this matter, but not translated from the French).

    A lagoon in danger

    New Caledonian lagoon is well known for its exceptional biodiversity (5th Country through the world), but it is more and more menaced by Nickel Industry.
    For years, this pollution (nickel fumes and particules from SLN factory situated in Noumea) covers the seabed onto a largest area every years, killing the coral first and almost all underwater life ; resulting also in a poor visibilty all around the Main Land.

    Two new factories, one in the South (Goro Nickel) and one in the North (Koniambo-Koumac) of the Main Land, broke a lot of coral for their construction (Goro Outfall and Koumac channel) and have increased significantly this pollution. As a result, dive operators should go further for diving, but they do not, as the sea is rough, they use small dive boats and they do not want to spend money for the fuel... Do you understand the issue ?
    Only one dive operator, from Noumea, invested in a big (red) dive vessel years ago ; but, years after year, it had gotten so many troubles from its rivals, and in regard of the above (notice of the Author), in 2010 it decided to leave NC for a new business in Fiji and Vanuatu.

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