Rangiroa & Mo'orea (French Polynesia)

Tuesday 18 June

We’ve got a little over a week in French Polynesia and, up until the last minute, we haven’t really been too sure what to do with ourselves.  With 118 islands to choose from I guess it’s not that surprising.  We know we want to spend some time in Mo’orea, but don’t need 10 days there.  Just before we flew out to Easter Island Nick finally decided to take a flick through the guidebook.  He sees a picture of Rangiroa in the Tuamotus and that’s it: it’s decided.  To be fair, the pictures are pretty persuasive.  From the air it looks like a string of pearls flung out into the ocean.  It’s a coral atoll consisting of a delicate loop of islets surrounding the second largest lagoon in the world. 

Officially, the lagoon has it’s own horizon – which I think just means that you can’t see the other side.

It’s a 1h flight from Pape’ete, so after a lazy morning we drag our suitcase (singular, we’ve dumped the other into storage for now) back to the airport.  I’d love to say it’s a peaceful, scenic flight – and we do get some spectacular views – but for the majority of the time we’re bumping our way through thick cloud.  I’m quite happy when our wheels touch down again.  We’ve arrived mid-afternoon and it’s a little overcast and windy with the odd spot of rain.  We’re picked up and driven to our hotel – a cluster of bungalows on the edge of the lagoon.  Once we’ve unpacked we stretch out on our porch and relax.

We’re staying in Avatoru – Rangiroa’s main village.  It’s not a big place, but it’s spread out along a central 12km road that spans the narrow strip of land between the two main passes into the lagoon.  We’re roughly in the middle, so with about 6km of quiet, tarmacked road stretching in each direction I pull on my running shoes and go for an explore.  There’s sea on one side, lagoon on the other and - apart from the odd shop or pension – not much in between.

We’d planned to self cater while we were here, but there’s not much that doesn’t come in a tin in the shops and we don’t have any cooking facilities.  There’s a lovely little restaurant almost directly opposite our hotel though and we’re soon tempted in there for delicious pizzas (goats cheese and local honey for me…mmmm).

Wednesday 19 June

We’ve come to French Polynesia in winter.  We didn’t think they got winter, but apparently they do and this is it.  With the temperature hovering between a minimum of about 25 and a maximum of 29 it’s not exactly cold, but there’s a steady wind coming in across the lagoon and stirring up quite a chop.  In summer, we’re told, the temperatures are closer to 35 and the lagoon is as calm and clear as a pond.

There’s meant to be excellent snorkeling (and diving) in the Tiputa pass.  But, as it’s a fairly narrow pass into a big lagoon there are big currents to contend with.  With the sea as rough as it is we’re not going to just throw ourselves in and see what happens.  Luckily one of the dive companies nearby offers guided snorkel trips.  We’re picked up at 9.30 and driven to the pass where we’re kitted out with thin skins and lifejackets.  Then we’re loaded into a dinghy and taken out of the pass.  It’s just the 2 of us on the tour, with a guide.  On the count of 3 we push off the boat, link hands and let the current pull us back through into the lagoon.  Once we’re through, the boat picks us up and takes us back for another go, and then another.  It’s a fantastic ride and there are so many fish – normally there has to be someone throwing food in the water to see this many fish in one place. 

We see loads of barracuda, black and white tip reef sharks and plenty more.  With the swell it’s a bit like being in a jumparoo for adults.  We finish up with a calmer snorkel in an area called the aquarium, which is full of colourful reef fish. 

We’re dried off and driven back to our hotel before lunchtime.  The sun has kind of been in and out today, and it looks like it’s going to stay that way for the rest of the day.  We walk up the street to a little snack bar for some sandwiches and then walk down the street to Gaugin’s Pearls.  This is a working pearl farm producing cultured black Tahitian pearls.  They offer free tours and we’re just in time for one.  It’s way more interesting than I’m expecting it to be and the oysters don’t seem to get too bad a deal out of it either.  We’re shown how the oysters are operated on to introduce the seed for the pearl.  The farm cannot use wild oysters but has to capture them as larvae and cultivate them.  An oyster cannot produce a pearl until it is three years old and then it takes 2 years for each pearl to develop.  An oyster can produce a maximum of 3 pearls – so for 9 years they are looked after and protected from predators.  Oysters that are no longer producing pearls are eaten and shells are sold for their mother of pearl, so nothing is wasted.  I’m even given the opportunity to harvest a pearl myself.  Usually an expert does this from a live oyster, but as this oyster is already dead I simply squish it out with my fingers. 

It’s a beautiful pearl and I’d buy it on the spot, but rules and regulations dictate that the pearl has to be sent off for grading etc. 

Nevertheless, the shop is open and pearls are available at heavily discounted prices. Best of all, I can pick my own pearls and have them set as I’d like them on the spot.  What’s a girl to do?

We spend the rest of the afternoon relaxing and then walk over to the hotel next door for some pasta.

Thursday 20 June

We’re meant to be gong out on a trip across the lagoon today so we’re up early.   At the very last minute we’re told that it’s been tentatively postponed until tomorrow.  Whilst the weather is looking better today than yesterday, the lagoon is still a little wild and tomorrow is promising to be better.

As we’re all packed up and ready to go we decide to hire some bikes from our hotel and explore the island. 

We cycle down to Avatoru pass.  This is where the heart of the village is.  There’s not much more than a bank, a post office, a school and a seaside church draped with oyster shells. 

We cruise through town and then set off back the way we came.  A bit past our hotel we stop to check out the posh-est resort on the island.  It’s nice, but then at £700+ a night you’d expect it to be.  There’s a little public access beach right next to the resort, which is sheltered from the wind.  The sun is out and we’ve worked up sweat cycling, so we stop for a swim and some sunbathing. 

Back on our bikes, we continue cycling up to Tiputa pass (where we did our drift snorkel).  It’s about lunchtime and there’s a lovely little snack bar right on the water.  We can eat our sandwiches whilst watching the fish below. 

After lunch we cycle back to the hotel for a bit of a rest.  Later in the afternoon I decide to take the bike for one last spin.  Dolphins are supposed to frequent Tiputa pass in the later afternoon and I’m curious enough to pedal against the wind for a look.  I’m rewarded with a quick sighting of a dolphin leaping out the water and then it’s gone.  I’m cycling with the wind on the way back and can relax and enjoy the sights a bit more.

It’s pizzas again tonight (being one of the few places that offers a veggie option), but they’re still delicious.

Janet adds: as I was typing up the blog this evening we were visited by a very friendly little gecko.  He hopped onto Nick and then came over to see what I was doing.  After having a little jump around the keyboard he hopped onto my dress.  He was thinking of crawling down my top when we managed to persuade him that perhaps he’d be happier elsewhere.

Friday 21 June

It’s the nicest day we’ve had so far, with just the gentlest of breezes and clear blue skies.  That means our trip is on – woo hoo!

We’re picked up a little after 8.30 and loaded into the back of a pick-up for the short drive to the dock where our colourful yellow and green boat awaits.  There are only four of us on the trip today – us two and an Italian/Brazilian couple who live in Paris and speak about a million languages between them.  Our guides are two local gentlemen who turn out to be very polite, hospitable and a good laugh, but unfortunately neither of us catches their names.

We’re going to a spot right on the other side of the lagoon and it takes a good hour to blast over there on a speedboat.  Although today is calmer than it has been, there’s still a good swell as we get out into the lagoon and it’s a bumpy, spray-filled ride.  On the other side we find the Rangiroa we’ve been looking for: crystal clear water in brilliant shades of blue and deserted white sand beaches fringed with palm trees.  It’s heaven.

We hop out of the boat and wade ashore.  First up we’ve got a drift snorkel.  There’s a swift current flowing from the sea into the lagoon through a shallow coral channel.  We wade in at the top end, lift our feet and bomb down to the other end where we run round to do it again.  It’s great fun and we spend some time floating about and enjoying the beach. 

Another local has wandered over to say hello and brought his two puppies – Roxy and Rocky with him.  We all share some fresh coconut (the dogs LOVE coconut) while Nick makes friends (yes, with the dogs of course).

This area is known as the reef islands.  If I’ve understood correctly, it was formed because the tectonic plate that holds the Society Islands is slowly sliding under the plate that holds the Tuamotus.  That movement has uplifted a coral reef that now stands raised up like a wall, slowly getting eroded by wind and rain.  We walk over to take a look.  Here, clear blue pools are sheltered from the pounding ocean by weird outcrops of sharp rock.  It’s a beautiful and otherworldly setting, but the pools are wonderful for cooling off in.

It’s about lunchtime but our lunch is being served on the next island over and the only way to get there is to wade through a channel of swift flowing water.  This is fine for the tall-ies, but for a shorty like me it’s a bit of a strain.  More than once I’m convinced I’m going to end up in the middle of the lagoon, but I make it across more or less in one piece.  Our lunch is served on another beautiful beach.  In the shallows dozens of little reef sharks are buzzing about.  I try to make friends but don’t get very far.  The highlight of the meal is the freshly baked coconut bread.  Mmmm.  The scraps go to the sharks, which leads to a bit of a feeding frenzy – fun to watch as long as you keep an eye on your tootsies.

After lunch Nick has a nap in a hammock while the girls get a lesson in weaving.  We both manage to make an about passable bag out of palm fronds, thanks to our patient teacher. (We didn't make the hats!)

It’s time for the journey back across the lagoon, but we’re so relaxed that it feels like we’re back in no time.  We’ve got time for another snorkel in the aquarium and some food scraps have been saved for the fish – so again it lives up to its name. 

As we’re drying off our guides serenade us with some traditional music – accompanying themselves on guitar and ukulele.  It’s magic, but impossibly the day gets even better.

Our last stop is a quick trip into Tiputa pass to see if we can spot any dolphins.  It doesn’t take much trying: almost before we know it the dolphins are leaping and spinning all about us, jumping high out of the water and surfing through the waves.

We’re cheering them on and I can’t help think they’re showing off at least a little bit.  We hover in the waves as 7 or 8 dolphins put on a show for us – sometimes with as many as three jumping through the 6-foot swell at the same time.  The trip would have been worth it for this alone and it’s a wonderful end to a wonderful day.

Saturday 22 June

It’s a beautiful day today: the sun is shining, the wind has dropped and the lagoon is a sparkling, flat expanse of blues.  Unfortunately we’re leaving this morning so we won’t get to enjoy it, but as we’re moving on to another island we can’t really complain.

By 10.30 we’re back at Tahiti airport where we grab a taxi down to the ferry terminal.  Mo’orea sits just across from Tahiti – a quick 35 minutes on the ferry.  It’s a dramatic island – jagged, steep mountains falling away to a gentle lagoon. 

There’s pretty much just one road that loops round the island.  Rather than get a taxi over to our hotel we hang around for a bit and catch the public bus for a fraction of the cost.  It’s a scenic half hour drive round to where we’re staying, on Hauru Point.

We’ve tried to keep it fairly budget here, but are pleasantly surprised by our bungalow.  It’s tucked away in the garden and has a kitchenette as well as a big porch.

We unpack and then wander up the road to a grocery store for supplies.  Once we’re set up we take a beer to the beach to watch the sunset.

Sunday 23 June

I’m up early this morning for a quick run up the road.  I run into town, following the road past a serious of pearl shops, curio shops, hotels and tattoo parlours (for the ultimate souvenir).

Apart from that the day is decidedly lazy.  We spend the morning on the beach soaking up the rays and exploring the coral outcrops just offshore.

We have a lunch of fresh baguette with French cheese on our porch and sit out the heat of the day for a couple of hours.  Much to my delight there are plenty of chickens to entertain me.  Later in the afternoon we take a stroll up the beach and cool off with a swim before settling in for a quiet evening.

Monday 24 June

I’m getting used to waking up to the sound of cocks crowing – I’m going to have to get me some chickens.  I go for another run this morning – this time heading out of town.  Soon the shops give way to towering palms and rows of mango trees dropping with fruit.  The path is paved with flowers and their perfume fills the air – it beats running through the pre-dawn gloom of a York winter.

We were hoping to take a kayak out exploring this morning – there are 2 motus just across the lagoon from us – but the hotel is not renting them out this morning.    The lagoon looks calm enough to us, so cheekily we walk up the road to another (possibly less scrupulous) operator who happily rents us a kayak.   Although the lagoon looks calm we’re soon fighting a fierce current – it’s a struggle staying in one place, let alone making any forward progress.  Nevertheless, we battle our way across to the pass between the two motus where we find a bit of sand to beach our kayak. 

We have a swim and a snorkel and then paddle back – considerably easier now that the current is with us.  The hire company is offering lagoon excursions tomorrow (which our hotel can’t do), so we book for the morning and then walk back.  The afternoon is much as before: lunch and a laze, followed by some sunbathing and sunset.  I could definitely go for this island life.

Tuesday 25 June

We’re up early this morning to make sure we’re on time for our boat trip.  At 8.30 we’re loaded onto a little boat together with a Parisian lady and our French tour guide.  It is (do I even need to say it?) a beautiful day. 

The first stop on our lagoon tour is to meet the stingrays and reef sharks.  A group of stingrays live on a sandbank in the lagoon. People have been feeding the rays for a number of years.  Now, it may not be the most environmentally sound thing to do, but it does meant that as your boat pulls in it’s greeted by a posse of big, eager stingrays. 

They’re lovely playful creatures and as soon as we’re in the water they’re brushing up against us.  Even if you didn’t want to touch them you’d have little choice, as they seem to want to touch us.  They swim in close, feeling us up with their soft, spongy ‘wings’. 

One is a pregnant mother and we even get to put our hands on her back and feel the little ones moving inside her.  I’m in love with these creatures and could spend all day here.  The reef sharks that live in the nearby channel have come to say hello too.  They don’t get fed (although a giant frigate snatches a fish out of our guide's hand) and don’t come in for a cuddle, but hang on the sidelines looking both menacing and endearing at the same time – occasionally popping a fin out of the water for Jaws-like effect.

We leave the rays behind and continue on.  Our next stop is to snorkel over some tikis.  When Christian missionaries arrived on the island they persuaded the locals to throw their idols (tikis) into the ocean.  Those ancient statues have long been lost to time, but some enterprising individual has recreated some tikis and dropped them into the shallow water as a kind of tribute.  Although they’re not originals, it’s still atmospheric swimming over them in the clear water.

From the air Mo’orea looks a bit like a dinosaur’s footprint – with Cook’s Bay and Opunohu Bay forming the gaps between the toes.  Our next stop is the mouth of Opunohu Bay where we stop to watch some spinner dolphins. 

They’re in rest mode, so they’re mostly just lazily looping through the water, but a few do put in good jumps.  We move on into the bay where we stop to enjoy some local pineapple juice and take in the scenery.

We round the corner into the equally picturesque Cooks Bay.  For the journey home we head out of the lagoon and make our way back through the open ocean.  It’s been a brilliant morning and we’re back in time for our usual lazy lunch.

We spend the afternoon at the beach and the evening on our porch – we’re in a routine already.

Janet adds: We managed to pretty much tame two chickens at the bungalow: as we sit down for breakfast they come running over, knowing that they’ll get thrown a handful or two of cornflakes.

Wednesday 26 June

We’re heading back over to Pape’ete today, but we’re in no rush and our hotel has kindly given us a late check-out, so we can take things easy.  We spend the morning sorting through photos and hanging out at the beach.

Since getting the bus was so easy (and cheap), we’re planning to get the bus back to the ferry terminal.  Mistake.  After an hour and twenty waiting in the heat of the day it’s pretty clear the bus isn’t coming.  Even if it did, we’ve now missed the ferry we’re waiting for and would have to wait another couple of hours for the later one.  A bus does eventually turn up, but the driver tells us he isn’t departing for another hour and a half.  Then he promptly shuts the doors and drives off.  There’s only one more ferry today so we’ve got to make sure we’re on it.  It’s way to late to arrange a transfer, but our hotel kindly calls a taxi for us (they’re few and far between if you’re wondering why we didn’t get one earlier).  Yes, it’s a bit pricey, but we do get a lovely spin around half the island and we’re in plenty of time for the ferry.

Back in Pape’ete we don’t even bother with the bus and just grab the first taxi we see.  We’re at the Tahiti Airport Motel again – it’s starting to feel like home.

Janet adds: We discovered tonight that you can’t buy beer in the shops in Pape’ete after 5pm at night.  Ridiculous.