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Blacktip Reef Sharks (Carcharhinus melanopterus) don't bite people very often but when a couple of them come this close it does make you wonder if they are particularly hungry or if maybe you are in forbidden territory.
They are bigger than a big, dangerous dog and can be very territorial - especially when they are pregnant. Fortunately, humans are also big, dangerous creatures in a coral reef environment and are known to spear just about anything that swims by. The sharks in the New Caledonia World Heritage site - even in remote areas like Ilot N'da - have had close encounters with many humans and all it takes to get them to swim away at top speed is to mentally conjour up a vision of shark fin soup and then swim slowly in their direction, like you are trying to creep up on them.
This makes it really difficult to take close photos of them since that's what we photographers generally do. Point your camera at a shark and slowly approach it and zowie - it' gone. To get this image I just held my breath and didn't move at all. Well, not until after I took the photo; then I could not help but imagine a nice big bowl of shark fin soup and they were gone in an instant. In case you are wondering, I don't really eat sharkfin soup.
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Une Nation du Pacifique Sud, la plus proche de l'Australie et de la Nouvelle Zélande. Une chaîne de hautes montagnes, d'impressionnantes cascades et de nombreuses rivières avec une flore et une faune variée et souvent unique au monde - C'est le paradis de la randonnée pédestre ou équestre ainsi que de l'excursion en véhicule tout-terrain.Le plus grand lagon du monde, peuplé d'une faune tropicale endémique particulièrement riche, avec des récifs et des populations de poissons rares et protégées. Des centaines d'épaves sous-marines, des îlots, de nombreuses plages de sable blanc. La population calédonienne est issue d'un large brassage culturel : Mélanésiens, Européens, Polynésiens, Vietnamiens, Chinois, Japonais, et la langue et culture française. La Nouvelle-Calédonie est dotée de très bonnes infrastructures médicales et sociales. Une infrastructure touristique qui offre un large éventail de types d'hébergement allant de l'hôtel 5 étoiles au camping aménagé en passant par l'accueil en milieu tribal, les chambres d'hôtes, les refuges et l'auberge de jeunesse.
