23 September 2024 – Moorea – a Touring Day

Before I start today’s blog -I am delighted to say that I have found a crew member from Tahiti to Tonga and I will be delighted to introduce him soon. Thanks to my network for helping to resolve this.

It was a nice morning when we woke and we had to be at the snack bar at the end of the bay for 8.00am as the car hire company was picking us up. We planned to tour the island for the day. I have done this before but Keith had not. The bananas that Keith had bought in Tahiti, when green, had just started to go yellow and were now ready to eat. We had mango and banana and yoghurt which hit the spot. The fruit is so good and fresh here and is some of the most tasty I have ever had.

We went ashore on time, secured the dinghy and met the car hire man. We went to his office and did what was necessary and then we headed off about 8.30am for our tour. The weather was lovely and Moorea and its flowers, shrubs, palm trees and rain type forests looked stunning with the peaks rising up steeply as if to frame it all. As we drove east we saw threatening clouds and skies to the west which we tried to ignore and we just looked ahead. We drove on the coast road and like before I think the housing and cleanliness is better here than Tahiti and of many of the Society Islands. It is Tahiti’s more Chique cousin.

We drove past the ferry port which provides a number of ferries to and from Tahiti each day. We came to Tamae Beach which is a nice public beach inside the reef and a good swimming spot. We then stopped at a good viewpoint as it is high and you can look down on the water and the reef and really see the blues of the reef. The weather was still good but if you looked west it was very dark. We carried on round the island enjoying the scenery and what was going on. The Tiki Village was closed that I had stopped at before (they give an insight into old traditions) so we continued round the south of the island and then started to come up the west side and then came to the Hauru area which has a number of beaches and hotels and is quite a touristy area. There is lots of diving and surfing here.

We eventually came round to Opunohu Bay (which Cook apparently visited first) and the headed up the road which gives a good viewpoint over Opunohu and Cook’s Bays which is quite dramatic. Luckily the weather still held and we were able to get some good pictures. We then stopped off on the way down to see some Marae. These were created to sanctify and for the glory of the land. They were their palaces presented to the gods and are religious.

We came down the road and went off road slightly on the Rue de Ananas- the route of Pineapples. This was a dirt road and from which we saw quite a few pineapple fields of fruits and shrubs. I wrote about how they are produced in an earlier blog. This track joins Opunohu and Cook’s Bays without having to go round the coast road and you go through lots of trees and forest as well.

We went slightly back on ourselves and went to the Rotui Fruit Juice Factory where you can tour the factory with a number of explanatory signs where you are rewarded at the end with some tasting. This was good and interesting and we got some more rum.

It was time for lunch and we went to the Moorea Beach Café which was right on the water just after Cook’s Bay and we had a lobster and shrimp sandwich which was good although a bit pricey. It was a lovely setting and the weather was kind.

We then wanted a swim and went to Ta’ahiamanu Beach which had lovely sand and then coral and was not far from the yachts anchored just inside the passe at Opunohu Bay. We had a good snorkel and saw lots of fish and we could see the reef dropping off into the depths. After our swim we went back to Paopao – which is the community at the end of Cook’s Bay. We found the old market which had a mural by a famous Polynesian Painter Ravello – which was of a Polynesian theme.

As we had really done our tour we returned the car and we were given a lift back to the dinghy. The clouds to the south looked angry and so we got in the dinghy and headed back to Stormbird quickly. We had a quick cup of tea and the heavens opened. We had been so lucky for our tour that we had good weather and did not encounter the rain which had threatened most of the day. We had planned on going ashore to the Ti Honu Iti restaurant but due to the rain we decided to give it a miss.

We therefore had pasta pesto with a nice salad including a nice avocado we bought yesterday.

We reflected on our tour of all the Society Islands. Bora Bora has the best lagoon by far and is a beautiful island but we were disappointed by the amount of rubbish and abandoned vehicles etc that we had seen there. We liked Huahine and Moorea as the most attractive islands and for a bit more peace I would suggest Huahine. Keith thought if he had to live in one it would be Moorea with easy access to Tahiti. It has been a great few weeks exploring these islands which are lovely, green, tropical and in the middle of nowhere and which are difficult to get to. However, it has been an amazing experience and a really scenic and remote one. If you have never been then you should come. They are really a fantastic set of islands.

We will decide tomorrow whether to return to Tahiti or stay one more day.

Today’s picture is looking east over Cook’s Bay and Stormbird is the boat on the left of the picture.      

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