ROUTE FROM POUÉBO TO HIENGHENE

It is certainly the most beautiful road in the territory. The Melanesian villages and huts, built on the lawns and in the middle of fruit trees, are leaning against the mountain range and are facing the lagoon which declines its incredible shades of blue. The concessions are often surrounded by hibiscus that sow points of red light in a vegetal ocean of green colors, multiple and powerful. Encounters, even by car, are often punctuated by a hand gesture, a brief greeting of recognition or a simple sign of welcome. The roadside is punctuated with small self-service stalls where handicrafts (wood, soapstone) or edible products (bananas, pineapples, mangoes, papayas, letchis...) are displayed. Prices are written on signs or on the underside of boxes that act as piggy banks for payments. This surprising trading practice dates back to the time when the seaside tribes traded with the mountain tribes. The narrow road, and not always in very good condition, winds for kilometers between the sea, high peaks, waterfalls and dense tropical forest (giant kaoris, mountainous araucarias, ferns...). The first important peak after Pouébo: Mount Ignambi at 1,311 m. Once past the village of Yambé, the track goes along the massif of Mount Panié. The beautiful waterfall and Mount Colnett (1,505 m), to the north, gradually give way to the highest peak in New Caledonia, Mount Panié, which culminates at 1,629 m.