The light sticks to the mountainside as we weave deeper into the valley.
It's like we're magnetized, lured by the metals lying just below the surface. Miners made camp here in the 1950s, but now it is reforestation efforts contrasting the ochre soil that hold our gaze in the Blue River Forest Park. The scenery is from a motion-picture spectacular, preserved for viewing only when tickets allow. My ticket gives entry for just one day to glimpse rivers that you can drink from, earth that stains your fingers, and a bird that barks like a dog but cannot fly.
We’re shown around the park by Axelle Battie from Toutazimut – a guiding operator in the region. I relish her stories of long-distance hiking trails that cross the south of Grande Terre via pinnacles and peaks of the central mountain chain. An environment so different to hiking in NZ… much of the trails here are unmarked, unpaved and depends on locals to help navigate courses in unfamiliar territory. The locals New Caledonians are often hesitant to mark advanced trailheads as the steep influx of cruise tourism has led to many tackling trails beyond their means.
For us though, it’s sleeves rolled up, charging through the forest after Axelle in order to pack everything into one day. Hiking, kayaking the drowned forest, and topping it off with beers and baguettes by the river. We see mountain bikers emerging from black trail missions with mud-splattered faces and tales of near misses. There are adventures for everyone in this park and I vow to come back for extended camping exploration.
Arriving back at the Chateau Royal Beach Resort & Spa, I feast on fresh fillets of mahi-mahi before falling asleep with the abruptness of someone shot with sedatives.
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