This was our first time to Noumea and we'd heard a few stories from passengers on one of our previous Dawn cruises recounting a violent encounter with some locals in Noumea one night so we were a little wary. To make the most of the visit we booked a P&O shore tour on board the day before to take a tour on the Tchou Tchou train. At $59 per adult it wasn't cheap but was well worth it. We had heard that there were several similar street trains (sometimes referred to as Bumble Bee trains) charging around $25 per head departing from the wharf area but we took the safe option. Our tour also included morning tea and lasted a little longer, around 90 minutes. We had quite a bit of fun with some of the other passengers during the tour, mainly at the expense of the tour guide ... an older pompous English lady with a very monotonous voice who had lived there for over 30 years. It was a great way to see the city, visiting a few lookouts, passing the grander homes, the back streets and plenty of the foreshore and beautiful beaches. Being Easter Sunday the streets were relatively quiet as not many shops were open. We stopped for about 20 minutes at the big cannon lookout where they served tea, coffee, soft drinks and a variety of very nice gateaus and petit fours. What better way to enjoy your stay in France!! The huge distant mountains, the biggest lagoon on earth, the undulating hills dotted with pines and the architecture make Noumea one of the prettiest cities I've ever seen.
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