A slice of tropical heaven

There are no crowds or heavy development to detract from the beauty of the beaches. Picture / New Caledonia tourism

A travel article can change your life - just ask Hilary Roots.

New Zealander Roots, a successful political journalist, abandoned her career and home in Australia after reading a single line in a newspaper's travel pages.

"It said: 'If you want to get away from it all, go to where there's warm sun, white sand, French food - the Isle of Pines,"' she remembers. "I came for five days, and that was that."

Thirty-one years later, she still calls the tiny South Pacific island home. It helped that on the night she arrived, she met a dashing scuba diving instructor, Albert Thoma, who remains her partner today.

But even without the added charms of a holiday romance, the island's serenity and natural beauty are enough to seduce any visitor; in the middle of a grey winter, its sunshine and irresistibly blue waters make it an even more enticing getaway.

The Isle of Pines is a 20-minute flight, or a couple of hours by catamaran, southeast of the New Caledonian capital Noumea. Known as Kunie by its Melanesian inhabitants, it was given its English name by Captain James Cook for the towering pine trees that dot the island. Later, it was colonised by the French. In the 1870s, more than 3000 political rebels deported from Paris were held at Ouro, where the remnants of the convict settlement still stand.

The island's solitude once made for a painful exile, but now it offers visitors a revitalising escape from the stress of modern life. Just 14km wide and 18km long, the island is easy to explore by car, bicycle or on horseback. There are no crowds or heavy development to detract from the beauty of the beaches and the relaxed pace of life.

In fact, few of the island's attractions are man-made, apart from the weathered colonial buildings and impressive convict-built church in the main township of Vao.

Many locals live in grass-roofed huts, selling wooden carvings and other souvenirs from their front gardens. Chief among the island's attractions are the powdery white sand beaches that stretch along the coastline.

The warm, clear waters and coral reefs offer a visual feast for divers and snorkellers, while visitors can get a closer look at the bays and surrounding islets by glass-bottom boat, yacht or pirogue - a traditional wooden sailing canoe.

A popular spot, and one which may be familiar from the New Caledonian travel brochures, is the natural swimming pool at Oro Bay. Formed from coral limestone, its waters are teeming with colourful fish which mostly graze on coral but will expand their diet to include baguettes brought by visitors.

Accommodation ranges from beach bungalows and gites - or guest houses - run by the local tribes, to the indulgent luxury of Le Meridien resort.

As you might expect, seafood and fare with a French flavour feature high on the local menu.

Roots, who worked as a journalist for the ABC and the Ten Network, was 29 when she moved to the stunning tropical island.

Now a local historian, she writes books and has set up a website about her adopted home. "You can only live in one place at a time and we choose to live here," she says.

"We're very privileged - what more could you want?"

- AAP