Tahiti – Oh island in the sun

This title is clearly misleading as we saw the sun only for a short time, but anyways, I hope you still have Harry Belafonte’s song in your head.

Initially French Polynesia was not on our travel itinerary when we planned our trip back in London. However, when we watched the videos of the Tahitian tourism agency we were blown away by the beautiful images of the turquoise lagoons and golden beaches. We could not resist but booked twelve days on these islands, also as a way to relax a little bit after three months in South America.

What you normally do on French Polynesia is island hopping either by boat or airplane. We decided to spend most of our time on three islands:

Mo’orea: Not so touristy but with lots of hikes and mountains.

Ra‘iatea: The spiritual center of Polynesia.

Bora Bora: The pearl of the pacific, one of the most beautiful islands in the world (according to experienced travelers).

The sunset on Ra’iatea. The little islands are called “Motu”

Tahiti

Our first island was Tahiti, the main island and also where the international airport is located. French Polynesia is part of the French overseas territories and it was strange that we entered the Schengen area although we were as far from Europe as it gets. We arrived at midnight and were lucky that our hotel (Fare Suisse, very recommendable) offered an airport shuttle. Interestingly the owner of our hotel called Beni is the consul of Switzerland and the honorary consul of Germany and Austria to French Polynesia and he himself welcomed us at the airport. Our plan was to just spend one night in the main town of Pape’ete before leaving for Mo’orea.

Mo‘orea

On our first day we left our hotel for the morning ferry to Mo‘orea. The ride on the ferry took less than an hour and Christine was happy that there were almost no waves. In Mo‘orea we marvelled at the beautiful green mountains and the clear water.

We took the public bus to our hotel, which was located on the other side of the island. Unlike Easter Island there is no real city on Mo‘orea, all the houses and hotels are spread all over the island. Fortunately our hotel was close to a number of small shops and we were able to buy our food so that we could eat in our room and on our terrace. Our kitchen was very poorly equipped and once again we needed all our cooking skills to prepare our food.

One of the beaches in Moorea

On Mo‘orea we spent a lot of time working on our job applications – something we also had to take care of despite the beach and palm trees. Still, we took our time and rented a car for one day to explore the island. We drove up to one of the panorama peaks but had no view as it was raining heavily. Again we were (unfortunately) able to confirm why these tropical islands are so green – it is NOT because they only enjoy the sun all year.

The St. Joseph church at Cook’s Bay in Moorea

The positive thing about Mo‘orea is that if it rains on the Western side of the island the sun might shine in the East. Therefore we drove to Temae Beach, had lunch and afterwards enjoyed a swim in the beautiful lagoon. Many of the islands in French Polynesia are surrounded by a lagoon and the waves break far away from the beaches, which is why the waters are usually very quiet close to the beach.

Of course our car was French. I quite liked to drive it. By the way, the orange sticker in the front (and back) is the official mark of all rental cars, so that everyone knows that you have no idea where (and how) to drive.

Ra‘iatea

After three days we left Mo‘orea and took the Air Tahiti flight to Ra‘iatea. Many see this island to be the spiritual seat of the Polynesian Triangle (the region in the Pacific Ocan between Hawai’i – Easter Island – New Zealand). We stayed in a very calm and remote place situated at a beautiful bay. We were the only guests there and felt a little bit like in the jungle as there were many animals moving around, including a lot of crabs (the floor was moving) and insects.

The kitchen this time had better equipment, but was also full of challenges. Cockroaches lived in the stove and when you turned the gas on to cook they came out and sometimes walked directly into the fire – more proteins, optimists may say. Also mosquitoes loved the humid place and were showing up frequently.

Once it stopped to rain we took advantage of the available kajaks and went out to a very small island called Motu Oatara, which was completely deserted. We were the only ones on the island and enjoyed our bananas before we went snorkeling around the island. There was a reef and the water was full of exotic fishes – it was magical. Unfortunately, it started to rain and we went back to our bay, seeing stingrays floating under our kajaks on the way.

We also rented a car on this island and drove around tourist-style, which means we stopped for a lot of pictures. Ra‘iatea does not have too many tourists and is quieter so that you can much better experience the local way of living.

This is the main island route directly at the sea. The streets were very crowded, as you can clearly see in this picture.

A highlight of Ra‘iatea is Marae Taputapuatea, the most important traditional temple in French Polynesia. This was the centre of spiritual power in Polynesia at the time when the Europeans arrived and had international influence. When we visited the place we were completely alone and it did not feel like an important site, i.e. there were no cruise ship tourist groups (not that we missed them at all). There were several marae (platforms, sometimes with altars) and important trees that have a spiritual meaning.

This is the most important Marae in Marae Taputapuatea

We liked Ra‘iatea for its calm feeling and were happy to be relaxed when we boarded our 20 minute flight to Bora Bora.

Bora Bora

Bora Bora is called the pearl of the Pacific and is basically an atoll with a large mountain surrounded by a circular reef full of five-star resorts with countless overwater bungalows. Bora Bora was supposed to be the highlight of our time in French Polynesia and we looked very much forward spending our time there. However, the weather god was not in a great mood and we had rain every day. There was even one day where it only rained.

Anyways, we spent one day shopping and Christine bought what many women buy in French Polynesia – the famous Tahiti pearls. She got some earrings and I went for a white T-Shirt which says Bora Bora on it (it‘s quite nice I have to say). We were both happy when we drove back on our bikes to our bungalow.

The island of Bora Bora from the boat.

On our third day we did a boat trip where we stopped at three places. The first place was a reef garden with a lot of fish. Unfortunately, it was again rainy and we were not able to see much without the sunlight. Nevertheless, we saw a moray eel, a first for us both. On the second spot we were able to “cuddle” with stingrays. Our guide was feeding them, which we did not like much, but supposedly this is how they do the tours locally. On the third spot we swam with yellow lemon sharks, who were about our size. We both went into the water and it was a bit frightening when about 20 sharks swim directly at you because the guides started to feed them in the back. Luckily, we managed to survive this and then drove around the island for our own secluded motu to have lunch. There, we learned a lot about coconuts (the locals use all parts of it) and enjoyed the tasteful food. We had a great time and enjoyed ourselves.

Christine and I at the beach of our little lunch island. Check out the colour of the water.

Our guide did not only feed the fish and informed us about the animals and the island, he also sang songs while he played the guitar. In the same time he was steering the boat with his feet. And yes, he was wearing something (even though it was very little).

On our last full day we took the bikes from the hotel (20 USD each for rusty old bikes – everything is expensive on Bora Bora) and drove around the island. In this “slow” way we got to know how the locals live on this touristy island. We experienced them as very laid back people with a good sense of enjoying life, making music and singing traditional songs. After two and a half hours we were back at our bungalow where we packed our bags as we were leaving the next day.

However, we did not leave before seeing a traditional dance show. Therefore, we went to the neighbouring Intercontinental resort and had a drink at the bar in order to see the show. It was similar to the one on Rapa Nui, but the songs were slightly different. Filled with new impressions we went to sleep for our last night on the island.

When we left Bora Bora for Tahiti to catch our flight for New Zealand we were happy that we left, as the weather was still bad and because there is much more you can do in New Zealand on rainy days than on a small island like Bora Bora. Anyways, we were happy that we got to know another piece of Polynesia and were able to enjoy the hospitality and songs of the society islands.

Recommendations for interested travelers to French Polynesia

All in all we recommend to anyone going to French Polynesia to book a nice hotel. We only stayed in budget accommodations as we are on a world trip and needed to save some money. If you fly around the world only for these islands make sure you treat yourself to a nice hotel.

Also, even more importantly, make sure you don’t come in the rainy season, as it can really rain for the whole day. As there are not a lot of things to do inside this can be quite boring, unless you are treating yourself to a massage in your five-star spa resort.

If you want to do island hopping, have a look at Air Tahiti’s website. They have suggestions where to go and offer multi-island tickets.