NAVIGATION

Despite the very lethal look of these clubs, Captain Cook on his second Pacific Voyage experienced very little hostility from the indigenous people of New Caledonia. Men brought their weapons to sell and trade for European goods, especially metal axe heads, and Cook spent two weeks on New Caledonia collecting ethnographica.
Completely encircled by barrier reefs, New Caledonia is mountainous with peaks rising to 5000 feet. The natural flora is outstandingly rich in unique species indicating a prolonged period of isolation since remote geological time. The fruit bat or flying fox was the sole resident mammal before the arrival of man. Unlike other areas of Melanesia, a system of hereditary chieftainship operated and although many diverse dialects were spoken there was a general cultural homogeneity throughout the area.