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Having found the location of all the usual services we need - laundry, grocery stores, diesel, petrol, propane, etc, it was time to become tourists in our new home. New Caledonia, surrounded by coral reefs, bathes in the world's largest lagoon and has been listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 2008.

First stop was La Baie de la Moselle et Le Marche (Moselle Bay and Noumea's Market) where we browsed the large selection of fresh fish and produce available, as well as all the handicraft stalls. From there we wandered along the waterfront to La Sorbetiere for chocolate crepes and mid-morning coffee. By then we were ready for our walking tour of La Ville de Noumea (the Town of Noumea) which took us to the beautiful La Cathedrale Sainte-Joseph (Saint Joseph's Cathedral), high on the hillside overlooking La Baie de la Moselle.

When the tiny church of Sainte-Clotilde near the hospital could no longer accommodate the growing Catholic congregation in Noumea, a plot of land, known as "Cap Horn", was purchased in 1874 to build the Cathedral. The foundations were completed in 1876, following which funds were raised by Father Pionnier for the construction which started in 1888 using convict labour. It was blessed by Father Montrouzier in 1890 and eventually completed in 1909. There is also a statue in the grounds, dating back to 1901, dedicated to Joan of Arc.

Next stop was Maison de Higginson (Higginson House), a beautiful chateau-style home that was occupied by one of the many affluent families in the 1900s. Our takeaway lunch was enjoyed under the trees along with many of the town's workers on their lunch break in Place des Cocotiers et Ses Jardins (Coconut Square) before making our way to Le Musee de Nouvelle-Caledonie (Museum of New Caledonia), which depicts the history of the indigenous "kanaks", who still reside in the villages scattered around New Caledonia and continue their traditional lifestyle.

Our wanderings also took us through the Quartier Latin (Latin Quarter), Polynesia China Town and along the high-end streets of Rue de L' Alma and Rue de Sebastopol with their upmarket clothing, perfumery and cosmetics stores.

It was a very interesting day and, although we spent most of the day touring, we barely scratched the surface of places to see and things to do here in Noumea. Still plenty to look forward to.

The day ended with another beautiful sunset and an amazing "green flash", given the crystal clear horizon.

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