Lifou

Lifou is a slab of uplifted coral around eighty kilometres long with no rivers and no permanent surface water, so rain sinks straight through the limestone into a lens beneath, and the coast is a mix of cliffs and small white beaches in bays cut into them. Around ten thousand people live there in villages under three customary chiefdoms. Vanilla is grown, and much of the land is under customary tenure with access arranged locally.

History

The first Europeans to meet the Lifouans were whalers, and sandalwood traders reached New Caledonia around 1841. Anglican missionaries worked on the island by the mid-19th century and French Catholic missionaries arrived in 1843; Lifou came under French rule in 1864, and in 1866 the chapel of St Anne was built at Inagoj (Wikipedia, Lifou).

What to look for

• The raised coral - a limestone platform with no rivers and no surface water.
• The cliff coast - vertical rock broken by small white bays.
• The customary chiefdoms - the three districts the island is organised under.
• The vanilla - the crop grown across parts of the island.

When to go

April to November is the dry cooler season. Cruise ships call at Easo and fill the beaches on those days. Cyclone season runs November to April.

Good to know

Much of the land is under customary ownership and access needs permission and a customary gift. Cruise ship days transform the island's quiet bays. Accommodation is limited and books out.

Nearby

Jokin Cliffs are north, and Luengoni Beach is southeast.