After exploring the local market, we decided to visit the zoological and botanical garden in Noumea. We were very pleasantly surprised to find an excellent zoo with large, well-kept and rather open enclosures for the animals. The zoo has an affiliation with the World Wildlife Fund and has excellent interpretation throughout. I was, of course, very excited to see a few endemic plants including Araucaria columnaris
and Acacia spirorbis
and a native Dysoxylum species.
The birders on the trip were slightly more excited to see the endemic and much celebrated Kagu (Rhynochetos jubatus).
Not being a birder, my favorite bird of the day was the horned parakeet (Eunymphicus cornutus). We will hopefully see both of these birds in the wild.
