Grande Terre, New Caledonia

Grand Terre is the name of New Caledonia's main island, and it really is big, as Pacific islands go.  It is approximately 400 kilometers long (as the crow flies, much more by windy road) and approximately 100 kilometers wide, with a mountainous spine running down the whole island.  Nickel mining (open cast) has destroyed much of the native forest and is still the country's  top money earner.  It was very interesting driving from the west coast over to the rugged east coast, even though it took us 6 hours and three wrong turns!  The wrong turns were due to the absence of any road signs and in no way the fault of the navigator! (namely me.)