What's on in Nouméa, New Caledonia through the year

Shoulder season — school holidays in 4 of the markets that fill it, an ordinary month

Nothing new starts in January.

Still on: Cyclone season (1 Nov – 30 Apr)

Quiet — one of its worst months for weather

Nothing new starts in February.

Still on: Cyclone season (1 Nov – 30 Apr)

Quiet — one of its worst months for weather

Nothing new starts in March.

Still on: Cyclone season (1 Nov – 30 Apr)

Quiet — school holidays in 3 of the markets that fill it, one of its worst months for weather

Nothing new starts in April.

Still on: Cyclone season (1 Nov – 30 Apr)

Quiet — travelers describe it as quiet

Nothing new starts in May.

Shoulder season — school holidays in 3 of the markets that fill it, an ordinary month

Nothing new starts in June.

Busy — 14 July, school holidays in 4 of the markets that fill it

• Nature

  Humpbacks in the southern lagoon

  1 Jul – 30 Sep · usuallyWhale seasonBook early

  Humpbacks calve inside the reef in the sheltered water south of Nouméa, an hour or two out by boat from Prony. The window is short and the licensed operators sell out on the good-weather weekends.

• Holiday

  14 July

  14 JulNational holidayClosures

  The French national day is a public holiday here, with a military parade and fireworks over the Baie des Citrons. It falls in the middle of the cool, dry stretch of the year. Source ↗

Shoulder season — school holidays in 2 of the markets that fill it, an ordinary month

Nothing new starts in August.

Still on: Humpbacks in the southern lagoon (1 Jul – 30 Sep (usually))

Busy — New Caledonia Day, school holidays in 3 of the markets that fill it

• Season

  The alizés blow hardest

  1 Sep – 31 DecWind season

  The south-east trades come in most afternoons from spring and turn the Anse Vata into one of the more reliable kite and windsurf spots anywhere. Anyone wanting flat water goes out early or crosses to the leeward side.

• Holiday

  New Caledonia Day

  24 SepNational holidayClosures

  24 September marks the 1853 French annexation, since reframed as a citizenship day, and it is read very differently across the territory. A public holiday, and not a neutral one. Source ↗

Still on: Humpbacks in the southern lagoon (1 Jul – 30 Sep (usually))

Busy — school holidays in 3 of the markets that fill it, one of its best months for weather

Nothing new starts in October.

Still on: The alizés blow hardest (1 Sep – 31 Dec)

Busy — one of its best months for weather

• Hazard

  Cyclone season

  1 Nov – 30 Apr

  The South Pacific season runs November to April and New Caledonia sits at the southern end of the track, where systems arrive weakening but still close roads and shut the airport for a day or two. Source ↗

Still on: The alizés blow hardest (1 Sep – 31 Dec)

Shoulder season — school holidays in 4 of the markets that fill it, an ordinary month

Nothing new starts in December.

Still on: The alizés blow hardest (1 Sep – 31 Dec), Cyclone season (1 Nov – 30 Apr)