TRAVEL: NEW CALEDONIA WORDS BY BEN HORVATH, COURTESY OF THE PERFECT WAVE TRAVEL EXPERIENCE WWW.THEPERFECTWAVE.COM.AU PHOTOS COURTESY OF CHABAUD GILL.
Australian politicians of all ideological persuasions have been debating the merits or otherwise of the so-called ‘Pacific Solution’ for the best part of the last two decades in Australia. In case you’re not a follower of news and policy, the discussion has been an often heated argument about the humane implications of processing refugees offshore or in Australia. Whilst the refugee debate has received blanket coverage across many media forums, the prime ‘Pacific Solution’ I am putting forward is one of a completely different context, targeting Australian outbound surf tourists as opposed to inbound refugees. My ‘Pacific Solution’ suggestion will hopefully stimulate a more lighthearted, albeit slightly self-indulgent debate, bringing New Caledonia to the fore as a fresh alternative for Australian surf adventurers hunting down quality, uncrowded waves - a completely new surf travel experience. Coincidentally, New Caledonia shares some similar historic parallels with Australia. It was originally inhabited by indigenous Melanesians around 1500 to 2000 years ago. Europeans, The French in New Caledonia’s case, took possession of the island under Napoleon III in 1853. Cook had discovered it on his 1774 voyage and christened jul/aug 2012
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