Languages spoken

Walking in the streets of NOUMEA, You will hear people speak French which is the official language, but also many different dialects, 23 in fact. English and Japanese are also spoken in many shops, restaurants and tourist places.

Currency

The CFP Franc is the local currency (The French Pacific Community), whose price is now linked to the euro according to a set parity where 1000 Francs equals 8.38 Euros.

	November 2006 :
	1 Euro = 119.33 FCFP	1 Dollar NZ = 59.915 FCFP
	1 Franc Suisse = 71.557 FCFP	1 Dollar Australien = 69.421FCFP
	1 Yen Japonais = 0.760 FCFP	1 Dollar US = 90.495 FCFP

(See the recent exchange rate and its fluctuation)

The climate

There is a tropical and temperate climate all year long thanks to the immense ocean, in summer the average temperature stays around 27 C° and 30 C°. At night a simple t-shirt or blouse is all you need. There is never more than 5 C° difference between the day and night. The "cool" season stretches from June to September. During the day, the temperature is mild, between 20 and 26 C°, at night it is better to have a long-sleeve shirt or a light sweater. As with all islands on the hemisphere, light showers are anticipated and notably in the bush, so bring a light rain jacket.