Plateau de Dogny

Distance: 15.2 km.  Elevation low/high/total: 116/1002/1170 m.

Difficulty: 8.5/10.  Scenic: 10/10

Paul has been trying to get me on this hike for years.  Why did I wait so long?  Pics linked above and the gpx track is here.

Best hike in New Caledonia.  Obviously, I haven't done every hike in this country but I can't imagine there's a hike with a better payoff than this one.  The hike itself is tough but fair.  We (well ... I) added an extra 1 hr/2 km side track to it that we didn't need to do ... and it went through private property apparently as we had to crawl under a barbed wire fence at one pint ... but the 4 hour journey to the top is never technically difficult and proceeds through a shady forest the entire way.  You suddenly burst out of the forest right at the plateau and the view literally took my breath away.  You feel as though you are on top of the world .... New Caledonia's part of the world, at least.  There is a 6 km loop hike that we didn't have time to complete, but we did do the section of it that leads to a view point  where you can see the north coast of Grand Terre.  the plateau itself is stunning ... rolling hills that almost appear to be farmland ... the trail seems to be cut into brush and dug into the soil a bit.  Next trip I'll plan on camping overnight.  On a moonless, cloud free night the star show must be without equal.  First hike we've rated as 10/10 for either Difficulty or Beauty.