Koumac is the last proper town on the road north, and it knows it. A few thousand people live here, spread around a main street with a supermarket, a bakery or two, a petrol station and a handful of restaurants, and beyond it the sealed road thins out and the Grande Terre narrows toward its northern tip. The town sits on the dry side of the island, where the mountains hold back the clouds and the plains turn brown in the dry season, and the Tiébaghi massif rises to the west with its red mining scars, once the site of a large chrome mine that gave the district its livelihood.
What makes Koumac pleasant is the sense of arrival in a different New Caledonia from the one that tourists see around Nouméa. People here are mostly Kanak, with farming and mining families beside them, and the pace is slow, the language is French and the life is outdoors. A few kilometres from the centre a limestone cave, the Grotte de la Troisième, is open to visit, and the coast has mangroves, small beaches and a lagoon that is part of the great barrier reef system that wraps the island and is listed by UNESCO.
The riding here is straightforward and open, with the RT1 running north through savanna, low ridges and coconut palms and offering long, easy bends with the lagoon glinting on one side. Trucks and the odd horse are the main hazards, and you should always expect an animal on the road at dawn or dusk. Fuel is available in town, and you should treat it as your last reliable pump for a while. Carry water as well, since the north is hot and exposed.
The best season is the cool dry months from May to October. From December to March cyclones can bring heavy rain and flooded river crossings, with roads closing at short notice. Spend the evening in town, eat something simple, and notice how quiet the night is, with the frogs and insects loud and the stars very bright.