On 22 April, in the early hours of the morning, we left Christchurch for Auckland and then to Noumea. There were 12 students, Mr Cox, and our French teacher, Mr Mouhica. Many were nervous of travelling by themselves, and for some it was their first time overseas.

When we arrived in New Caledonia, we all immediately felt the full effect of the heat of a tropical island. On our first night, we stayed at a hotel, the next morning we were picked up by our host families and were then taken to what would be our home for the next five days. An important part of their culture is family and friends and that day we had the whole family over for lunch.

Monday, the next day we awoke at 6:00am to make our commute across town to Creipac, the french school we would spend three hours at each morning. Students were disgruntled by the fact we would be doing three hours of french each morning, not to mention while we were on holiday! We quickly learned that the school was more focused on interactive and engaging activities that would improve our ability to interpret and speak the language. We also learned about the History of New Caledonia and traditions of the indigenous people of the Kanak Island. After lunch, consisting of baguettes and pâté, we went on a tour around the city learning about the monuments, history of the country and seeing the sights. At 4:30pm each day we would be picked up by our host families.

During the week we went to visit the Tjibaou Cultural Centre, which was a museum built for the Kanak the museum displayed artwork from New Caledonia and other countries in the Pacific including New Zealand, and learned more about the rich culture of New Caledonia. On Wednesday, after our three hours of school in the morning, we went for a swim in the Baie des Citron and enjoyed a lunch on the picturesque beach then we visited the Aquarium where we viewed strange, exotic, and also some very creepy fish and creatures that we had never even seen before. The next day, we had a whole afternoon to do some shopping and exploring the centre of town. We found it challenging but also very helpful to speak french to the locals, the town was very clean and busy.

On Friday, our last full day, we said goodbye and thanks to our family who accommodated us and helped us with our french. We were then taken on a boat to the Amédée lighthouse, a fascinating small island about 24 kilometres from the mainland. Approaching the island we saw a huge lighthouse on an atoll and as soon as we descended off the boat, a turtle was sighted swimming by. The island was very beautiful and the water was clear with plenty of fish and remarkable coral. We went on a glass bottomed boat to see some of the aquatic life further out. For lunch there was a variety of fresh foods, delicious salads, fish and scrumptious desserts, we could eat as much as we wanted to. After lunch we were encouraged to go up on stage to learn the native dance and perform the haka for the locals. We then went to the top of the lighthouse after walking up the long staircase. The view was fantastic and we could look over the entire island.

On Saturday, we departed in the late morning and arrived back in Christchurch at 8:00pm that night. It was clear from the trip that even after only a week of being immersed in the language and culture, our french skills had improved. The New Caledonia trip was a fantastic experience that we will never forget and was highly beneficial to all of us.