An Australian man stranded in civil unrest in the South Pacific island of New Caledonia has been repatriated on a French government-assisted flight.
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Katoomba hostel owner Ross McKimm, 62, left for a solo six-day mountain biking trip in the Pacific archipelago on May 10.
Three days later he got caught up in the fires and blockades near his AirBnB in Boulouparis, 70 kilometres from the capital, Noumea. At least six people died during the riots which broke out over electoral roll changes. A state of emergency was declared on May 15.
He was repatriated on Friday, May 31, a few days after the pair made an emotional plea for help through ACM's Blue Mountains Gazette.
His wife Wendy Gilmore, who spent many frustrating days trying to secure his return, said they were "very happy and very relieved it's all over ... it's been a terrifying experience for him."
The Australian government evacuated hundreds of stranded Australians after the international airport shut and commercial flights were cancelled. But Mr McKimm was advised not to make the dangerous road trip to the domestic airport in Noumea.
A group staying at a Sheraton Hotel about an hour from him were taken to Noumea by boat - a boat that sailed almost right past where he was staying. He had somehow fallen through the logistical cracks.
Men with machetes
Mr McKimm said he first found out about the unrest on May 13. He saw property on fire and was forced into a chicane of roadblocks, where armed men approached his hire car.
"There were guys with machetes who told me to stop. I just kept going ... I got back to my AirBnB and saw all hell had broken loose in Noumea."
Residents took shifts protecting the area after police left. While he was stranded, a man near his village, who was carrying a weapon, was shot dead in front of his children, he said.
Mr McKimm had run out of cholesterol medicine and was on house arrest from 2pm until daybreak. His AirBnB host offered him a gun. Everyone was armed at the barricades to their villages.
"My host asked if I wanted a gun to protect myself and I said no," he said.
"We didn't know that about New Caledonia, it seems everyone has a gun."
Ms Gilmore pleaded for help from Foreign Minister Penny Wong during the island's state of emergency. Once contacted by the Gazette and the family, Federal Member for Macquarie Susan Templeman tried to ensure "that everything possible was being done to support Ross and other Australians outside Noumea".
The state of emergency was lifted on May 28.
Mr McKimm is not sure what went on behind the scenes to secure his safe passage on the flight off the island.
He made it to the airport under the escort of his AirBnBs hosts - and kept safe because the hosts work as vets near the airport and look after the animals of the armed groups manning that site. His name was checked off a list, along with the eight other Australians who were some of the last to be rescued.
Mountains resident for 30 years, Mr McKimm and Ms Gilmore have friends near the village he was trapped in, including former Katoomba worker and now teacher Carla Zahn. The couple is concerned for their safety.
Just days before Mr McKimm flew home Ms Zahn was threatened. Her car was surrounded by armed masked men.
"She was crying and shaking afterwards - they pointed a gun at her head," Mr McKimm said.
The riots broke out over voting roll changes that propose French residents who have lived there for more than 10 years vote in provincial elections. It's a move some local leaders fear will dilute the Indigenous Kanak vote.
"The older Kanaks [Indigenous peoples] at the barricades were telling the younger Kanaks to attack. In the afternoons there were a lot of drunken guys and it felt unsafe. They were walking zombies," he said.
Mr McKimm left his bike at the AirBnB due to the emergency travel restrictions
"I get to leave, but they will have to deal with it for the long term," he said.
