New Caledonia is a special collectivity of France
located in the southwest Pacific Ocean, 1,210 kilometres (750 mi) east of Australia
and 16,136 kilometres (10,026 mi) east of Metropolitan France. The archipelago,
part of the Melanesia sub region, includes the main island of Grande Terre, the Loyalty
Islands, the Belep archipelago, the Isle of Pines and a few remote islets. The Chesterfield
Islands in the Coral Sea are also part of New Caledonia. Locals refer to Grande
Terre as "Le Caillou", the stone
