New Caledonia

Somehow I ended up on a flight to Noumea, the capital of New Caledonia with little clue of where or what I was doing there. So NC is a small island in the pacific, about 3hrs North east of Sydney. Its a French overseas territory, which makes the whole place a bit odd.

Its more French than France, in the shops all you can buy is Bordeaux wine, You can order frogs legs truffles and foie gras in the restaurants, and everyone including the locals don't speak a word of English. There are even these funny Gendarme policeman running around in tight short blue pants that should seriously be banned or confined to kings cross.



But I wasn't there to comment on the odd French or their customs, but to look below the surface with some radar tools. As I do. It was wet work, with the spot we were working getting 2m of rain a year. The earth was covered with this red dirt called laterite. It got everywhere and in the end I thew those jeans away, after causing serious embarrassment in the 5 star hotel where we were staying.



The drive in was an epic in itself a one lane dirt potholed highway with river crossings, hidden shortcuts and every opportunity to get "air" in the rental 4x4.

Odd one out in the parking lot.