24-23 Apr: Flight to Papeete
Today is an unusual day! We were up at 6 am, quickly
got
dressed
and loaded
our
luggage
into the
rental
car.
Fortunately
Hélène and
Pacome
were up so
we were
able to
say
goodbye.
Hélène
offered
us
each a
beautiful
shell
necklace,
the
traditional
P
olynesian
departure
gift. The
girls were
absolutely
delighted,
but sad to
leave
their
new
friends.
We boarded an Airbus A330 with a flight time of 5 hours 10
minutes to
Papeete.
We left
Noumea on
Friday
24th April
and
arrived
in
French
Polynesia on
Thursday
23rd April
at
17:30!
We will
live
Friday
24th
of April
twice; Try
explaining
that to
the
girls!
If
only
François'
brother,
Philippe
had been
with us,
he could
have
celebrated
his
birthday
two times!
We were greeted at the airport by Christian, the father of a
friend
from
Grenoble,
Corinne.
He
welcomed
us to
Tahiti in
style;
we were each
offered a
beautiful
necklace
of fresh
flowers.
Then he
drove us
to our
hotel for
the night,
the
Manava. Undoubtedly
the
most luxurious
hotel
we'll stay
in
during
our
6
month
trip!
It's
a
brand
new
4 star
hotel,
with
nicely
decorated suites
and
a gorgeous
swimming
pool
overflowing
into the
sea, with
Moorea in
the
backdrop. We
were able
to
offer
ourselves
this much
appreciated
luxury
thanks to
Christian
kindly
booking us
a suite
with a
special
resident
price.
After quickly doing the girls' homework, we were
invited to
Christian
and
Jacqueline's apartment
for
dinner.
They have
a nice
apartment
with
fantastic
360 degree
views over
the coast,
Moorea and
the
mountains. We
spent a
lovely
evening
with
Corinne's
parents
and were
treated to
a
delicious
dinner
on
the
terrace. A
big thank
you to
both
Christian
and
Jacqueline
for their
hospitality.
 |
 |
 |
| Bye bye to
Hélène
and
family |
Air Calin
flight
to
Papeete |
The beautiful
flower
necklaces
offered
to
us
by
Christian
and
Jacqueline |
24 Apr (again!): Papeete to Tahiti Iti
We had a lie in this morning followed by a lovely
buffet
breakfast.
François
collected
a hire car
from the
airport,
whilst
I tried
in vain to
extend our
room for
an
extra night...
Unfortunately
even the
night of
9th May,
the
night
before our
flight to
Easter
Island,
was fully
booked...
We all went
for a swim
in the
hotel's stunning
swimming
pool. When
in the
swimming
pool, one
has the
impression
that the
water
extends
into
the
lagoon
all the
way across
to Moorea.
The
setting is
awesome!
We
regrettably
had to
check out
at 11am,
else we
could have
quite
easily
stayed put
all
day.
We headed to an Air Tahiti office at Carrefour to book our island
flights;
Pepeete
-> Moorea
->
Huahine
->
Raiatea
->Bora
Bora ->
Rangiroa
->
Papeete. Then
we reserved
a rental
car and a
bungalow for
the 3
nights
in
Moorea. The
difficult task
was
finding
somewhere
to
sleep
for
the
night!
After
many, many
phone
calls we
eventually
found a
room in a
B&B in
Pueu, on
the
presqu'île
of
Tahiti.
Before leaving Papeete, we visited the interesting Pearl Museum
which has
an
impressive
collection
of large
pearls
and exquisite
jewellery.
We then
started
our
clockwise
tour of
Tahiti,
stopping
at a
lookout
and
blowhole
on the way
to the
B&B.
What a
disappointment
when we
saw the
plain and
poky
room
at
the
B&B
with its
shared
bathroom
at the
other side
of
the
garden...
Quite
a contrast
from the
previous
night and
frankly
not good
value at
90€ a
night!
We wandered just down the road from the B&B to
a black
sand beach
where
François
and the
girls
enjoyed
playing
in
the
waves,
surrounded
by children
surfing
the waves
on
body
boards. We
put the
kids to
bed early
to enjoy a
quiet
dinner
of
sashimi
and sushi
on the
terrace.
We were
lucky the
sound
of
the
waves
crashing
against
the shore
drowned
out the
noise of
the
girls
being
mischievous
in the
bedroom...!
 |
 |
| On the edge of
the
swimming
pool,
overlooking
the
lagoon
and
Moorea |
The hotel's
pool
and
bar |
25 Avr: Tahiti-Iti to Moorea
We slept well in the B&B and enjoyed a pleasant
breakfast
in the
garden on
the
water's
edge.
Our
hosts
kindly
offered
us a
bowl of
fruit,
freshly
picked
from the
garden to
accompany
our
croissants
and pain
au
chocolat,
which
distracted
our eye
from the
colour
of
the
garden
chairs
which must
have been
white in
the
distant
past...
We set off to visit the presqu'île of Tahiti-Iti,
starting
with the
north
coast to
Tautira,
where we
visited
the first
missionary
church of
the
island
which is
made
of
stone.
Then we
drove
inland
and
upwards to
"Le
Plateau",
from where
there is a
beautiful
view of
the
isthmus,
east and
west
coasts of
both the
island and
the
peninsula. Next,
we drove
along the
south
coast of
the
peninsula
to visit
our first
Marae:
archeological
remains of
royal
residences
and/or
places of
cult for
the
ancient
Ma'ohi .
It's
very
difficult
to get an
idea of
what the
complex
looked
like in
it's
hay
day as
only
ground-level
stones
remain...
Unfortunately
no
artist
representations
of the
site are
on display
to
help.
The girls were getting impatient by now to bathe in the enticing
lagoons,
so we
stopped at
a small
roadside
beach of
white sand
(rare
in
Tahiti
as
most of
the
beaches
are black
sand). The
temperature
of
the
water
was
really
warm
and a
small
snorkelling tour
gave an
idea
of
the
wonders in
store...
but also
the
dangers:
there was
a
strong
current in
the pass
between
corals, we
cut our
feet on
the
corals
and
François
almost
stood on a
stone fish
(a venomous fish
that
camouflages
itself on
the
seabed)!
We
ate a
picnic
lunch on
the beach
whilst the
girls
made
friends
with
a
couple
of
Tahitian
girls.
We continued our drive along the west coast of Tahiti Nui,
stopping
at a few
curiosities
indicated
in our
guide. The
most
interesting
was
certainly
the
Arahurahu
Marae but
unfortunately
as
we
approached
the ruins
the
heavens
opened and
it poured
down with
rain.
We
first
took
shelter
under the
leaves of
a banana
tree
which
didn't
prove
sufficient
with the
lashing
rain,
so we
ran the 30
m between
us and a
solid
shelter,
arriving
absolutely
drenched!
After
a 30
minute
wait for
the
tropical
storm to
subside,
without
avail,
François
bravely
ran back
to the car
to come
and rescue
us.
The
roads
looked
more like
rivers
when we
drove
away,
disappointed
at
not being
able to
visit the
Marea and
wet. At
17:00
we boarded
a small
plane for
the
20 km
flight to
Moorea.
Probably
the
shortest
flight of
our whole
trip; less
than 5
minutes
in
the
air!
Upon arrival in Moorea we picked up a Ford Fiesta and drove to
our vast
bungalow
Motel
Albert in
Cook's
Bay. The
bungalow's
decoration
hasn't
been
changed
since the
early
80's, but
it's
functional
and
spacious;
2 bedrooms
(luxury!),
a shower
room, a
large
living
area, a
kitchen and
a big
terrace.
 |
 |
| Tautira
church |
Drenched and
taking
shelter
from
the
tropical
storm |
26 Apr: The tour of the island of Moorea
Today we decided to tour the island. From our starting point in
Cook's Bay
we drove
around the
coast to
the
picturesque
Opunohu
Bay
and
then
inland
to
Opunohu
Valley,
which many
say looks
like the
countryside
in
Normandy.
We first
stopped to
admire the
view at
the
lookout
point of
the two
bays and
the majestic
peaks in
the centre
of the
island,
the walls
of the
former
crater. We
then
visited on
foot the
archeological
remains of
several
marae,
religious
structures
and
archery
platforms.
We walked
through
the
tropical
vegetation full
of Polynesian
chestnut
trees
(Mape)
from ruin
to ruin.
The
highlight
was
finding in
a
stream two
stones with
faces
carved on
each side,
not
mentioned
in the
guide. The
girls were
excited
and
believed
themselves
to be real
explorers
like
Indiana
Jones!
Next stop to look at another well restored Marae with two
platforms
each with
three
levels of
alternating
coral and
spherical
stone
walls. The
setting on
the sea
front in a
coconut
grove is
idyllic.
We stopped
to look at
a couple
of old
churches
on the way
before
arriving
reaching
the
waterfall
area.
After a
25-30
minute
walk
through
tropical
vegetation
we reached
the first
"waterfall"
at
Afareaitu.
In fact
it's an
impressive
wall of
black
volcanic
rock,
but you
have to
look
really
closely to
see a mere
trickle of
water
dripping
into a
small,
shallow pool
below.
What a
disappointment!
François
and the
girls were
determined
to take a
dip
despite
the
deception. When
they came
out
to dry
off
we
spotted
eels and
prawns in
the water.
We headed
for
the
next
waterfall
in the
guide
confident
that it
would look
more like
a real
waterfall,
but after
a 30
minute
walk we
came to
another
trickle of
water and
an even
smaller
pool of
water!
Gaelle
even
spotted
a
dead rat
in the
water! We
decided to
rectify
the
situation
by
heading
straight
for the
beach. We
swam and
did a bit
of
snorkelling,
before
watching
the sun
set over
the
sea.
We stopped at a local supermarket and bought a local speciality
for
dinner:
fresh raw
fish and
coconut
milk
salad. It
was
delicious!
 |
 |
 |
| Cook's Bay
from
the
lookout |
The carved
stones
in
the
river
at
Opunohu |
A marae at
Opunohu |
 |
 |
| The swimming
hole
at
Afareaitu
waterfall |
Sunset at
Cook's
Bay |
27 Apr: The beach at Moorea
Today was a beach day. We headed to a hotel at Pointe Hauru to
try and
hire a
kayak in
order to
explore
the lagoon
and
surrounding
"
motus"
(tiny
islands).
The kayaks
were small
and we
couldn't
all
squash
onto one
so we
decided to
spend the
morning on
the beach
snorkelling
in the
lagoon.
The water
was a bit
shallow
and we
felt
a little
uncomfortable
swimming
with the
coral so
close to
the
surface,
but
it was
like
being
in
an
aquarium:
the
visability
was
excellent,
the
colours
beautiful
and there
were lots
of coral
and
tropical
fish.
After a picnic on the beach we rented a pedalo for a couple of
hours to
try and
spot some
rays and
sharks in
the pass
and
navigate
to
the
surrounding
islands.
We stopped
off twice
for a spot
of
snorkelling
on our
way,
anchoring
the
pedalo.
The
waters were
a
bit
deeper
further
out so
snorkelling
over the
corals
proved
easier
and
more
enjoyable.
We were
lucky to
spot both
a sting
ray and a
black
tipped
shark, but
unfortunately
not whilst
we were in
the
water...
We
also
remembered
to bring
our
underwater
case for
our
camera
today, so
we have
some nice
underwater
photos as
a
souvenir.
We stayed at the beach until sunset and then drove back to the
bungalow.
Tomorrow
morning
we fly on
to
Huahine.
 |
 |
 |
| A Picasso
fish |
Jenny and
Gaelle
on
the
pedalo |
François and
Sophie
snorkelling |
 |
 |
 |
| A Moray Eel |
Jenny
snorkelling |
Moorea:
from below
and
above
the
water |
BACK
| 
