The long distance bus in New Caledonia is quite a horror. Firstly they are never on time and if you arrive at the station, you will be totally confused by the disorganised and unlogical manner of both passengers and drivers. I arrived early and still didn't get a proper seat because everything was so messy. Thank God that Bourail was not too far. At least I have learnt that I needed a rented car to explore New Caledonian Bushland or brousse. It was so stupid that I haven't brought my driver's license with me. I arrived in Bourail about 8.30 pm.
The bus was full of indigenous people whose way of thinking and behaviour I found difficult to follow. But they were very polite, good French speaking and friendly. After we arrived at Bourail bus terminal it was time to say good bye to them. A gentle nice young Frenchman approached me and said:" Soraya, is that you?" Well, Oliver looked like a daring playboy on his profile picture but in real life he just looked like the Frenchie next door. Oliver's friends were already waiting at the nearby cava bar, a really cosy place where people sat outdoors around the crackling fire chatting their time away. They asked me whether I knew cava and I told them about my experience with Alain.
Soon I felt quite comfortable among these people and I was treated more like a friend than a stranger sleeping over. In multi-ethnic and -cultural New Caledonia you hardly stand out as a tourist, especially if you speak French. I began to really understand why French people liked to live in New Caledonia despite the extremely high cost of living compared to the infrastructure or economic standard of the country.
We arrived at Oliver's house which was about 3 km outside of Bourail. Zita, the dog truly welcomed me with her strong temperament. Mimi, the cat couldn't stop caressing her body to my legs. Olive's business partner and housemate Fred was as hospitable and friendly as he was. He had a simple but catching humour, exactly the contrast of the more serene Oliver. He was as much a host as Oliver to me and made me feel rather like a friend than a stranger sleeping over. Couchsurfing really gave me the opportunity to make instant friends and this extremely positive New Caledonia experience gave me the feeling that all hosting and surfing experiences were as wonderful as this one. I slept in Olive's office and later I heard that Fred used to sleep here but took the guest couch instead.
Olive's friends felt more like friends than hosts to me and I had the feeling that I knew them for a long time. As a surfer I would behave exactly as I would at a friend's place. The kitchen was not particularly organised and I cleaned and washed the dishes. Fred was very surprised and happy because I did this but it is just something very natural for me to do.
The next day Oliver and Fred helped his friend Pierre to build a party shack on his private property. He invited me to join. The property was in the middle of the bushland and provided an amazing view over the Ile de Verts or Green Island in the mmiddle of the ocean. While they were working, I went to the beach but walked back soon to help them taking photos of their construction work. The photo shots started from the first stone laid with Pierre's signature and date of construction. We also visited Pierre's brother's party shack and private beach in another part of the bushland. How amazed and surprised I was by the shack because it provided a kitchen and shower next to a sheltered party shack. This beautiful private bay area with mountains in the background was called Baie Tisse or the Bay of parties. A very tricky wordplay because the French word betise which is pronounced the same means stupidity.
I was so impressed by the vast space of the private bushland. Similar to Queensland we had to pass a barrier to enter this huge private property. We had so many parties and I enjoyed their company so much that I nearly cried as I had to leave Bourail. The bus was 2 hours late as usual.....
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