The first thing that the locals opened up to us was their hearts as we learned so much about the beauty of the country, its culture and its people as we journeyed on the little train.

The bright colours of the train excited us for the trip ahead, the nice guide bringing us a reminder of home by chanting ‘Aussie Aussie Aussie, oi oi oi’!!!

The train trip gave us a brief historical tour as we drove through the city, waving at friendly locals and calling out ‘bonjour’. Not only that but we were able enjoy the natural beauty of the island, with the reef being part of the UNESCO world heritage protection programme. One interesting insight into local history is the fact that a significant proportion of their architecture was built by the Americans.

In 1775, Captain Cook discovered this beautiful country and declared it part of the British empire. The English colonisers soon found out that the native peoples were cannibals as they thought that the British were gods and wanted to aquire the powers of the gods with a tasty meal!!!

It was a fun experience and we learned so much about New Caledonia, named after Scotland.

A quote from our wonderful tchou tchou guide – ‘time is life’.