From New Caledonia to Micronesia – Noumea to Guam

Located along the Bering Strait at the westernmost point of Alaska, Nome offers the rustic charm of a former gold-mining town, set in the middle of magnificent wilderness. As you weave in and out of the brightly coloured houses, you will discover the pioneering legacy that still marks local traditions. Fishing, reindeer rearing, sledge-racing… People here live from their manual labour. The surrounding plains provide stunning vantage points for observing Arctic fauna.

You’ll land around 100km east of Grande-Terre. An ancient coral atoll atop a collapsed volcano, Lifou is today the largest and highest of the Loyalty Islands. This is an outstanding natural site, waiting to be explored: to the north, the coastline ends abruptly in sheer cliffs, while to the south lie expanses of long white sand beaches. Lovers of wild plantlife may well be tempted by a walk further inland, where the rich and authentic Kanak culture is proudly upheld by the local community.

Santa Ana is a city in Orange County, California. It’s home to the Santa Ana Zoo, with its monkeys, mini-train and walk-through aviary. In a Mission Revival–style building, the Bowers Museum displays a large collection of Native American art. The Discovery Cube Orange County is a children’s museum with hands-on science exhibits.

Honiara, on the island of Guadalcanal, is the capital city of the Solomon Islands. Its buzzing Central Market sells local produce and handicrafts. Traditional frescoes adorn the conical National Parliament building. The National Museum has WWII relics and cultural artifacts. The Botanical Gardens includes an orchid house. Outside the city, the waters of the Mataniko Falls thunder down a rocky cliff into a canyon.

Rabaul is a township in East New Britain province, on the island of New Britain, in the country of Papua New Guinea. It lies about 600 kilometres to the east of the island of New Guinea.

Pollap in the north, Tamatam in the south, and Fanadik at the western fringe of the reef.

In the Western Pacific, you will call at Guam, the largest volcanic island of Micronesia and the Mariana Islands. Here, the crystal-clear waters and white sandy beaches create a picture-postcard setting, ideal for relaxation and a break from it all. This little-known island, today under the administration of the United States, also offers you the opportunity to visit a number of historical sites, vestiges of Spanish colonisation, and to discover the culture of the Chamorros, the first inhabitants of the islands, talented craftspeople who have preserved their traditions.