How many people do you know who can say they have been to Tahiti? I’m very happy and lucky to be one of them! Leaving the Tuamotus behind, we set sail for the last of the three archipelagos that French Polynesia is comprised of, the Society Islands. We had an uneventful two night sail from Rangiroa to arrive in Pape’ete, Tahiti’s capital city, in early May. For once we moored in a marina instead of anchoring offshore, which was great! Firstly it meant Rob and I could get on and off the boat whenever we wanted without inconveniencing Captain and First Mate, and secondly and more importantly, we could have proper hot showers using the marina facilities! The only downside was the marina was adjacent to the main road so getting used to the rumble of traffic was quite challenging after the peace and quiet of the more remote islands we had already visited. Our time in Tahiti was spent mostly ashore wandering the streets of the city. The municipality has developed a seafront boulevard and it was wonderful to see the locals making full use of it, running, cycling and generally strolling and enjoying the twilight hours out with their families. Our first full day was spent exploring the president’s residence, the court buildings and town hall. Us being who we are, we also wandered off the beaten track into a residential area to see how the other half lives. Rob and I also caught a local bus to a village down the way called Papenoo. There wasn’t much to see on the bus ride; Tahiti seems to be a bit run down but it was not complete squalor and nothing compared to some of the shantytowns back in SA. We caught sight of a few beautiful black sand beaches which we were unable to photograph and also got great views of the reef surrounding the island when the road climbed higher up the mountainside. Exploring the area once we got off the bus, we came across a set of waterfalls completely by accident so we got a short hike in to go and have a look. We had an idea we were in an area where there was a blowhole when looking at the local map so on the walk back to Papenoo we managed to find it. The sound of the water being sucked into this hole in the rock below us was phenomenal, real horror movie stuff! It scared us each time it happened as we couldn’t predict when the water would come through! That evening Rob and I took Captain to a local brewery to sample some Tahitian beer, but First Mate declined to join us. I admit I had a light blonde brew just to say I had one, but it was a struggle to get down!
After a couple of days in the marina, we moved to an anchorage just off the Tahiti Yacht Club. There isn’t much to report on while we were there, only that we were close to a grocery store so our days were spent grocery shopping, reading and playing board games. We moved on after that to a marina near the airport where we anchored, and again it was a case of reading and using any opportunity to go ashore while waiting to move on to the next island. We found the prices in Tahiti ridiculously expensive, for example, a pineapple on the side of the road cost R85, and broccoli in the supermarket was R150 per kg (USD8 and USD15 respectively at the time)!
Ten days in the capital city was more than enough for us and in middle May, we happily moved on across the way to Moorea, another island about 15 nautical miles from Tahiti. As we approached we saw it was a little more rustic that Tahiti, it was only when we turned a corner to enter Cooks Bay that we saw the huge cruise liner anchored! Luckily it moved on later that night so the town wasn’t infested with tourists! The next day was spent ashore exploring the town and Rob and I enjoyed an impromptu braai (SA speak for barbeque) on the side of the road where locals were cooking chicken. It ended up being a huge meal but it was absolutely delicious to have meat cooked on a fire! A couple of days later Rob and I caught a local bus together with a Swedish couple from another boat. We spent the day on the bus driving around the entire island, getting off at the ferry terminal to have a look around, and then spending some time at another “resort” district. Here we found another local eatery on the side of the road (which seems to be the favourite place we find food!) before catching another bus back to the boat. It was a great day out and also good to hear the perspectives of another sailing couple on the pros and cons of the lifestyle. Here were two individuals who saved up and bought their boat, moored it in Sweden and lived on it for an entire winter (fur blankets and all) while continuing to work, then cast off the bowlines and set sail into the tropics. Now they are full time sailors, going home occasionally to give motivational talks, more often than not at sold out events, to raise money to continue travelling! After a couple of days we picked up anchor and headed further down the coast to another bay (Opunohu Bay) which was much prettier and more protected. The anchorage overlooked a beach which was well frequented, and the water was crystal clear with a lot of coral around so we had a great couple of days snorkelling and swimming. We managed to see a lot of manta rays, even a rare spotted ray (leopard ray), swimming past the boat while there. We also had two occasions of seeing huge eels poking their heads out of the coral while snorkelling. Feeling fit and with the urge to go further inland, we chose a day where Rob and I packed a backpack and headed out for a long walk to a view point overlooking both Cook and Opunohu Bays. We had a great strudge and on the way back saw a turn off onto a dirt road which we decided to follow and this took us way off the beaten track into pineapple plantations, through forest and past a horse ranch. We ended up walking 20km that morning! And wanting to keep fit, we found that the initial part of the walk was a great running route too!
The end of May arrived and we left for an overnight sail to Huahine. Once there we had an afternoon stroll and if Moorea was the Cinderella of the Societies then I thought Huahine was the ugly stepsister. The village was still neat and tidy with mown grass verges and well-kept gardens, but everything just looked a little more run down. There wasn’t much opportunity for swimming as there was an extremely strong outflowing current and big swell coming into the anchorage. Needless to say the morning yoga sessions were a challenge! Rob and I took another long walk across the island just to explore a little more, but unfortunately aside from seeing ancient fish traps in the inland waterway, there wasn’t much scenery wise. We have also commented a lot about the lack of bird life, the only common denominator being miner birds which seem to be a pest all around the world! All in all we were a bit disappointed with Huahine; that is until we moved to another anchorage on the smaller of the two islands. What a contrast to where we had just come from, crystal clear water, minimal swell and no current. We had another walk ashore in very pretty surroundings, lots of colourful flowers and white sand beaches. We had a great swim but aside from sea cucumbers, there was no other fish life.
On 01 June we had a day sail to Raiatae and arrived to see two cruise ships docked. The Societies seem to be the place in French Polynesia for cruising! We did a bit of shopping in the main town but again there was really nothing to write home about. We moved to a couple of anchorages, tried snorkelling but the visibility was so poor and there was hardly any fish life to give it any “wow” factor. One highlight though was taking a dinghy trip up a river that flows into one of the bays, passing plenty of fruit plantations on the way. After five days we moved to Tahaa and anchored in a bay called Hurricane Hole. Again not much to write about but Rob and I did take another walk ashore over the mountain to another bay to have a look around. We unfortunately didn’t see anything of interest in Tahaa and only spent two nights around the island before heading to Bora Bora.
Approaching Bora Bora held a lot of promise for us because the island is absolutely spectacular when seen from sea. The lagoon especially is a deep aquamarine colour with clear water. After tying up to a mooring buoy Rob and I headed ashore with much excitement as you know, Bora Bora is the place everyone talks about as being THE destination in French Polynesia. What an absolute disappointment when walking out of the yacht club! It was dirty, dusty and generally unpleasant on shore. The roads were in extremely poor condition compared to the other islands and the people were definitely not as friendly, not greeting when we greeted them, and it felt like they tried their best to knock us over with their cars. We are pretty sure that if you fly in and get whisked away by boat to one of the smaller islands that Bora Bora is comprised of, where you can spend your week to 10 days cocooned in a fancy resort, you may have a different impression.
Although our initial impression of Bora Bora wasn’t great, we found some things to make our stay a little more pleasant. One of those was finding an anchorage just off the upmarket Hilton hotel where we woke in the morning to the lagoon as flat as glass and crystal clear; 10 meters deep and we could make out detail on the sea floor. We moved around quite a bit in Bora Bora, purely for a change of scenery as we were there for quite a while. We spent some time at an anchorage near a restaurant called Bloody Mary’s which has apparently been frequented by all the celebs visiting the island… so what… we were just happy to have a place for a cheap cup of coffee and some Wi-Fi so we could catch up with the family! From here Rob and I went for some long walks and found a wonderful beach where we spent a day swimming, wallowing and being serenaded by a local and his Polynesian guitar! After moving anchorages again, we met up with Richard and Geri from Panthera and they took us to a spot near the reef where we could swim with rays. I needed some encouragement to get into the water with them (flashes of Steve Irwin dying from a sting ray) but I was told they were harmless and were only looking for food. So after jumping in the water after Rob we had about 10 rays all over us. Their skin had the strangest feeling, slippery but velvety at the same time. No biting although they do have teeth of some kind, just a sucking feeling as they glide over your skin. Getting out of the water proved to be challenging as they completely surrounded and crowded us as we tried to get into the dinghy; they thought we were getting them more food! We met another Australian guy Steve who just loved being in the water with them, spoke to them like puppies and said he was getting his “ray cuddles” for the day! Richard got some excellent film footage of us in the water with them. A great experience but not sure I’d do it again! Especially considering that black tip reef sharks hang around looking for their share of handouts too!
Rob and I managed to get off the boat a couple of times for some good long walks. One of our walks had us searching for the old battle cannons left by the Americans from the war. After a slippery trek through muddy jungle we found them, it was just a pity they were covered in graffiti. One thing I forgot to mention about French Polynesia… as Rob and I were doing our walks through the towns and outlying areas we noted that the majority of properties have gravesites in the front garden, normally tiled and with some sort of shelter over them. The funny thing though is that these sites seemed to be the favourite snooze spot for the dogs as it was the coolest place in the garden!
While we were in Bora Bora, we were also lucky enough to be around for the yearly festival called Heiva, a mix of sporting and cultural events that went on for about three weeks. Our best was two evenings spent in town watching a traditional dancing competition… wow, can those girls really shake their bums! And while we were out Rob was extremely pleased to have had a photo opportunity with Miss Bora Bora! We did get a bit bored though. We were waiting for a weather-window so we were extremely happy when Captain said we’d be moving on via the last of the Society Islands called Maupiti. We weren’t originally going to stop there but decided to spend a couple of nights waiting for the wind to pick up. The pass through the reef into the lagoon was a bit tricky with the current but what a stunning island. We are not sure if our senses were just dulled by the dirt and grime in Bora Bora but it seemed we saved the best of the Society Islands for last by stopping in Maupiti. After a few days getting the boat ready for the next week or so at sea, we set sail at the end of June for Samoa, Rob’s favourite island of the Pacific. I couldn’t wait for our next island experience!