One of the things I love most about New Caledonia is the great treking. Every weekend thousands of Noumea residents leap in their cars with their friends and drive to one of the hundreds of trails that criss-cross Grande Terre. The southern part of the island is largely uninhabited and most of it is wilderness - some in protected reserves - some just sitting there. New Caledonia treking is second to none in the South Pacific. 

This sphere image was taken from a watchtower on top of the easternmost of the Deux Tetons (that's French for "two tits"). It looks down into the valley of the Riviere des Pirogues. The government set up a series of watchtowers like this one for volunteers who keep a lookout for fires during the dry, hot season.

This trek followed an old mining road to the now-abandoned mine on top of the Deux Tetons. It was great exercise, and by the time we got back down to the river valley we were ready for a cool swim in the cascades.