( CNN ) -- Until a few months ago , Denmark 's Greenland North National Park was the world 's largest nature reserve at 972,000 square kilometers -- bigger than all but 30 countries on Earth . There are now two spots that eclipse it . For a few short weeks , the French semi-autonomous territory of New Caledonia in the southwest Pacific held the top spot , having established the world 's largest marine managed area in May . Covering 1.3 million square kilometers ( 502,000 square miles ) -- the territory 's entire economic zone -- the Natural Park of the Coral Sea protects the world 's second longest double barrier reef and the world 's largest marine lagoon , an underwater coliseum where the level of endemism ( the number of species found nowhere else on earth ) is off the charts . `` Because it lies in a temperate zone , the marine biodiversity of New Caledonia 's reef is very peculiar , '' says Richard Farmer , director of the Aquarium Des Lagons in the capital Noumea . `` So we have an obligation to humanity to keep the reef pristine . '' On June 17 , the United States outdid New Caledonia when it declared an even bigger national park in the central South Pacific Ocean measuring 2 million square kilometers . But getting there is difficult . The U.S.-controlled islands lying between Hawaii and American Samoa that are incorporated into the new Pacific Remote Islands Marine National Monument are mostly uninhabited or off limits to all but a handful of scientists . New Caledonia 's park , however , is open for business . Here are three novel ways to experience the world 's largest `` accessible '' national park . On a surf board . On the east coast of the main island of Grande Terre , La Roche Percee beach is a long strip of sand edged by an extraordinary cliff formation that looks like a giant chess piece . It 's the only known place in New Caledonia where one can surf off the shore . The waves are for beginners but the real action lies three kilometers out to sea , where the swell hits the outer reef to produce thick and hollow waves . Manu Hernu runs Nekweta ( Respect for the Ocean ) , a small surfing and fishing camp set in the mangrove forest behind La Roche Percee . A typical day starts with breakfast at 6:30 a.m. followed by a half-hour motorboat ride to the outer reef . There , guests spend the next five hours surfing two different reef breaks , snorkeling or fishing for snapper to be baked back at the camp . `` We saw four- to five-foot ( 1.2-1.5 meter ) waves , but it can get up to six to eight feet , '' says Nicolas Sarian , a surfer and recent visitor from Argentina . `` But the best things about it is nobody was there . Just Manu and me . '' Nekweta Fish & Surf Camp ( +687 784 026 ) offers seven-day surf camps and bungalow-style accommodation with communal meals from $ 1,386 . Book via The Perfect Wave or World Safaris . On a yacht . Each June , a dozen or so monohulls and catamarans sail out of Noumea 's Port Moselle to compete for glory at the Great Lagoon Regatta . The friendly three-day , 90-nautical-mile yacht race heads along the west coast of Grande Terre to Ouen Island for a night , then through the Woodin Canal and south to Ua Islet for a second night at sea before heading back to Noumea . This is n't an event filled with wind-burnt sailors who wake at the crack of dawn to swab the decks and raise the sails . The crews -- families and groups of friends from Noumea plus a few ring-ins from Sydney and Tokyo -- spend race nights at sea eating paella , drinking punch and dancing to '80s hits on the beach . They are n't early risers . For those who are , the late-morning starts present an opportunity to borrow a kayak or tender to explore the outer reef and its rich marine life . Or to walk around a tropical island all by themselves . `` In this small part of the lagoon you have at last 50 little islands , '' says Herve Moal , a super-yacht agent in Noumea who co-founded the regatta in 2011 . `` Even on the weekend you can find a place to be alone . '' The Great Lagoon Regatta ( +687 795 601 ) is held on the first weekend of June . Entry is free for foreign boats . Dream Yacht Charters ( +687 799 118 ) in Noumea rent 43-foot catamarans that sleep eight to 10 people for $ 900 a day . Add $ 275 per day for a skipper . Through a snorkel mask . Less than 20 kilometers from Noumea , Signal Island Marine Park is a campground straight out of `` The Blue Lagoon . '' On weekends , rangers visit to leave chopped wood for people to enjoy campfires on the beach . Camping is free but most visitors sleep on yachts and motorboats moored around the island on floating buoys designed to protect the reef from anchor drag . More alien than the edge of space and more spectacular than an exploding supernova , the coral here is free of the bleaching and crown-of-thorns starfish infestation affecting reefs throughout other parts of the South Pacific . The rich coral creates habitat for an extraordinary number of marine species : leopard sharks , green turtles , dugongs , shoals of rare bump-headed parrot fish and yellow sea perch , poisonous but friendly banded sea snakes , clown fish , big sweetlip cod , huge toothy groupers , delicate feather starfish and the serene butterfly-shaped fish from `` Finding Nemo '' known as Moorish idol . `` It 's incredible to have this quality of water and coral so close to the city , '' says Bernard Andreani , a diver who runs small group snorkeling tours to Signal Island . Bernard Andreani Snorkelling Treks ( +687 779 072 ; bernard.andreani.nc @ gmail.com ) offers half-day snorkeling , walking and birdwatching boat tours to Signal Island Marine Park for $ 170 for two people . Bookings essential . Tours depart 8 a.m. from Noumea 's Kuendu Beach . Getting there : Qantas and Aircalin offer codeshare flights to New Caledonia from Australia and New Zealand . Flight times from Auckland and Sydney are less than three hours . Tontouta International Airport is a 45-minute drive from the capital , Noumea . Ian Lloyd Neubauer is a Sydney-based freelance journalist specializing in adventure travel . He 's the author of two travel novels , Getafix ( 2004 ) and Maquis ( 2006 ) .
New Caledonia 's Natural Park of the Coral Sea covers 1.3 million square kilometers . Signal Island Marine Park , less than 20 kilometers from the capital , is great for snorkeling . The Pacific Ocean has a lot to offer in terms of marine life and coral reefs are just one part of it.