Sam FK8DD, Dom FK8CE, Mic FK8IK will be active from Noumea, New Caledonia in CQ WW DX CW Contest 29 - 30 November 2014 as TX8C.
They will operate in M/S Category.
QSL via FK8DD.
New Caledonia – the fun French island
New Caledonia is a French island set in Pacific Ocean on the southwest. The locals often call it Grande Terre. The capital city of New Caledonia is Noumea. The island has an area of 18,500 km2 with a population of 268,767 people. Kanak is the original inhabitants and some ethnics in New Caledonia are European descent from France, Polynesia, and groups of Asians too. There are numbers of Maghreban people in the city.
The earliest trace of New Caledonia
The first settlers were found during the period of Lapita. Lapita was the name of skilful agricultural experts and navigators that had influenced the Pacific Ocean for centuries. Captain James cook then arrived in 1774 and this British explorer named the island New Caledonia. The island reminded him of Scotland but Captain Cook did not explore the whole area. It was Jean-François de Galaup who found Grande Terre. There were view explorers that later came to the island. The archipelago is the major thing here and in 1840, sandalwood became a popular thing in New Caledonia.
The slavery was also a trend in New Caledonia. Back then, there were slaveries happening in New Hebrides, New Guinea and Loyalty islands. The slaves would be called Kanakas but it only happened until 20th century. These slaves work on sugarcane plantations in Queenslands and transferred to New Caledonia. There were missionaries in New Caledonia. The first to come was London Missionary Society. In 1840, Marist Brothers also came to New Caledonia – sadly, the Pouma killed the ship crews and ate them. Pouma was a clan with extreme culture of eating human’s flash. Hence, cannibalism began to spread quickly in the island.
In 1853, Napoleon III took the New Caledonia in a formal treaty. And afterward, a few more dozen of settlers were freed from the island. New Caledonia was then a penal colony where criminals would be sent to this area after being arrested. Most of them were those who fail Paris Commune. There were more political prisoners than of criminals and left only 40 after the rest were granted amnesty.
Nickel was one of the major sources in the island. A nickel company was established and the French would take labours from Dutch, Japan and Indochina. There were also European immigrants but it was not a successful immigration. The violence started when the origin inhabitants were not considered as part of the French government. There were many tribes that went to war. Thousands of Kanakas and Frenchman died during the fights. The major decline of the population was when European settlers bought chickenpox diseases and measles.
The fall of France in 1940 was the point where New Caledonia became the US Navy head quarters. The South Pacific Army fought against Japanese Navy during the Coral Sea Battle.
Geographical info
The island is part of Zealandia. New Caledonia was believed to be part of Australia before it was separated 66 million years ago. The position today, was formed roughly 50 million years ago. The highest peak of New Caledonia is Mount Panie with the lush vegetation sets on the eastcoast area.
On the west side, there were large savannahs plus a dry area with ore found massively here. New Caledonia has tropical climate with a very humid season comes between November and March. Dry and cool season comes around June to August with temperature between 20 to 30 degrees celcius.
With the oceanic influence strongly moderate the island, the most extreme temperature is at 39 degrees of celcius. The dry periods sometimes lead to hurricane like El Nino. Some cyclones cause the wind to speed up to 100 km per hour. The previous cyclone was in 2011.
With its unique vegetation, New Caledonia has numerous of plants growing richly in the land. The botany has biodiversity of various niches of birds too. The tropical climate lets ancestral species lock in New Caledonia. The generations can be up to 10 millions.
The island is also a home to crows. The bird is popular for its ability to make tools. Crows are also intelligent and the most complex species of bird to be studied. Caledonia lake owns averagely 14 crustacean species with 11 fish species in the river.
Things to do in Caledonia
Taking a Boat trip
With the massive beauty, hop on your canoe and take boat trip to the coral reefs. The boats have glass bottomed – making you witness the beauty of underwater without your goggle. There are also sail boats that you can rent.
For those who are fond of fishing, you can also take expedition to the coral barrier reef with excellent underwater experience in Loyalty island. it is rich of fish with freshwater fishing site.
Grande Terre
Grande Terre and its hustling and bustling city lies in the Noumea capital city. One of the largest natural harbours has an attractive architecture on museums, cathedral, market, and buildings. There are many colonial houses still in their good condition.
Mont-Dore
Mont Dore offers magnificent beauty of the coast. The view of Melanesian village lies at the Plum Lookout that’s surrounded with reefs. There is also a beautiful panorama in Blue river Provincial Park.
Cultural heritage
With its rich culture, New Caledonia has loads of handicarfts, maritime history and artefacts of the lost and found. There were also local ship wrecks that become a sightseeing spot and also culture center that becomes home to concerts, culture celebration and exhibitions.
Windsurfing
With the constant strong wind, the windsurfing becomes a popular activity i9n New Caledonia. Noumea owns 2 areas to do windsurfing, Cote Blanche and Anse Vata. Try the challenging board and be part of the world’s windsurfing competition. There were top surfers trying out the New Caledonia speedy wind. Some events include Trophee Des Alizes.
Watching whales
The New Caledonia ocean is home to whales. During the mating season, humpback whales will be seen in the south lagoon bay. It’s an organized activity done from the mainland.
