Takin' it to the Streets

In Nouméa, New Year's Eve is a serious party. It's a nonstop bass-pumping bacchanalia that takes over pretty much every major street in the city. Last night we went to our friends' apartment near Anse Vata, one of the livelier party districts. We arrived around 9:30 and the streets were empty. When we left at about 2:00, the streets were packed with dancing, drinking island revelers, many of whom had invested heavily in their cars' audio systems.

This video doesn't quite do it justice, but you can sort of get a hint of the mayhem.

Oh, and it took us an extra 45 minutes to get home (normally about an 8 minute drive) because the crowd from one bar had spilled out onto the highway, and we literally had to drive through a party in order to get back.