22 August 2024 – Moorea Tour

It rained in the night and we woke to a grey wet morning. We had a delicious breakfast of fresh tropical fruit of bananas, mango, papaya and pineapple all local and perfectly fresh.

We headed ashore in the drizzle to meet the car hire man by the snack bar. He came and took us to his office and we picked up a car and headed east along the Baie du Cook. We were going on our own tour of the island.

Moorea covers an area of 51 sq. miles. During the day we did a whole circumference of the island and consider that Moorea has more natural beauty than Tahiti and it seems a little smarter and more affluent. The houses are of better quality and they seem to have more pride in their properties and their surroundings.  From the road you can see more of the sea rather than in Tahiti where there is a row of houses between the road and the sea. Moorea is very lush and there are lots of trees -palms, chestnut, banana etc. It is also an island where you can see the reef around it more easily.

We started our tour going to Temae beach which was on the northeast side and we passed a lovely golf course called Golden Lake. It looked empty and I thought a round there would be good. However, would they put up with my lashing the ball and probably losing a few in the lake!! Probably not – best stick to sailing for the time being!!. Temae beach was a lovely sandy beach in front of blue water before the edge of the reef where you could see the waves crashing on it. It has palm trees at the back and looked inviting but we had just started and so we carried on. We next came to a viewpoint called Toatae – which was raised and had a lovely view over the reef from a height with great blue water and some huts in the water belonging to a posh hotel. It was a magnificent view and today’s picture gives you a sense of this.

We continued on to Vaiare the village where all the ferries come into Moorea and it was quite busy and I had noticed from Tahiti many ferries going across every day. We carried on south to the quieter end of the island which contained the administrative center and we passed through little communities and lovely views of the reef and sea. We stopped at an old church which had a flat stone outside with what looked like owl faces on each corner.  We came across Haapiti which is a surfing spot on the reef and was a little community and we could see the waves breaking but no surfers today.

We continued round the island and then came to the other bay on the north called Opunohu Bay (which is next to Cook’s Bay) and there were lots of boats anchored. At the end of the bay, we took a road which took us inland and up one of the hills to another viewpoint which looked over Cook’s Bay and Opunohu Bay with the reef clearly visible in the distance. It was a great view and there are a lot of hiking and cycling routes here.

We came back down and continued along the east side of Opunohu Bay and passed some more lovely sandy beaches inside the reef and then on to the Manutea Tahiti Rotui Fruit Juice Factory which makes genuine fruit juices and rum, wine and sparkling wine and still wine from pineapples. You had to put a net on your head but could wander in and see the factory in operation and they make a fantastic product here. They are concerned about their environmental impact and to allow access like this was impressive. You could then taste some of the juices and rum and wine. Mark and I bought some different things -sparkling pineapple wine, 2 different rums and a selection of juices. It was a great experience to see this.

We were hungry by now and found a place the road and had a quick lunch. They made some great juices too. Pineapples grow here in little patches of ground where the foliage is only a few feet and the pineapples grow quite low down. I had always imagined them growing in trees.

Once few we headed to Temae beach again for a swim which was nice but there was quite a current and there was not a lot of coral. However, it was refreshing after a day of touring. We returned back to Cook’s Bay and left the car and returned in the dinghy just before it got dark.

We had some tea and then later as we did not feel hungry some cheese and bread etc. We all agreed that Moorea was a very beautiful island and that the bay we were in was spectacular.

We will see what the weather brings tomorrow for our plans. It had certainly been a worthwhile tour and an enjoyable one and we now have a feel for this island. The people are lovely and friendly.

 Crewing Opportunity Year Two

In year two I will be going from New Zealand in early January 2025 across to Sydney and up the Eastern Australian Coast, Indonesia and then through Bali, Singapore and on to Thailand to end year two about the end of November 2025. I will need some more crew.

If there is any interest do email me at  hine.nick9@gmail.com  

The blog will continue as we move through French Polynesia and beyond. If you have any comments or suggestions about the blog do email me on hine.nick9@gmail.com