Mo'orea 20th - 23rd April 2009
Trip Start
Dec 28, 2008
1
48
90
Trip End
Jul 25, 2009
Moorea, Society Islands, French Polynesia
Tuesday, April 21, 2009
We had arranged to go to Mo'orea today which meant catching the ferry across. We packed up our stuff, grabbed some breakfast and then went to catch the bus, we were told that any time after 9.30am would be OK as before that they would be too busy and would not stop to pick us up with our luggage. So at 9.30am we stood at the bus stop and the 1st bus drove past, so we waited, luckily not for long before the next bus came along. This bus was half empty so it stopped and picked us up and then we rode it all the way to the final stop - Papeete. We got off and made our way to the Tourist Information Centre where we asked for directions to purchase our tickets for to ferry, we then made a base here whilst Daniel and Zoe went to get the tickets. Maybe French lessons would have been a good idea before coming to a French speaking country, but then both Daniel and Zoe did take French at school, how were we going to survive in Spanish speaking countries?!!
So we had return ferry tickets and also managed to fit in a spot of shopping before catching the 12.05pm express ferry to Mo'orea. Once we arrived we collected our luggage and so far all was going OK. Then there was a bus waiting but it looked full so we just stood to the side and thought we would wait for another, until a lady approached us to find out where we were heading, we pointed to our map and she instructed us to board the bus. The driver and some passengers passed Zoe's bag over their heads to the back and then Daniel and Laura's were left blocking the door, whilst the 3 of us shared one seat - cosy.
OK so we were on the bus, sweating like pigs, no idea where we were meant to be getting off and off we went. Luckily, once we arrived at our stop the lady pointed and off we got, well that was after somebody kindly escorted Zoe's bag off the bus as there was no way she was going to be able to move it. Now we are standing outside the resort we are staying at, in the middle of no where, well not quite, we were directly across from the beach but other than that, nothing.
We were greeted by an elderly lady who showed us to our bungalow, it was really sweet and cosy. The lady then talked to us for a while, in French as she didn't speak English. We then tried to get rid of the lady as we weren't really too sure what she was chatting about, and her interpretation of English was the same as Mick's French, things got very confusing. Just as we thought she had gone she brought us some fresh lemon juice and then 20 mins later turned up with some pineapple, she meant well but was scary.
As we were in the middle of nowhere with no shops about, the old lady offered to take us to the shop for supplies. The shop was no bigger than an corner shop with very limited choice. We made do and brought what we could, basically we will be living on spaghetti for the next 5 days. I say 5 days but I think we have made a decision to leave here a day early and head back to Tahiti and find somewhere to stay near the main town for the last 2 days.
Shopping packed away, we head to beach across the road. We found somewhere to lay our towels and went for a dip. The water never got any deeper the further you went out, which when you want to swim makes things rather difficult. The sand beneath our feet was like quick sand and felt really weird, we all got out and gave up on that idea.
So we had decided that we would write today off as a new experience and hope tomorrow would be better, with a few less mosquito bites. We chilled out around the bungalow, listening to music and making ourselves feel clean and fresh again. We ate our first meal of spaghetti and then finished the evening playing cards.
21st April 2009
With nothing planned for today, we decided to have a lie in. We got up and had brunch and then got ready for the beach, covering ourselves in mosquito spray. We walked for about 30 minutes in the blazing sun to a nicer beach area where we then spent the remainder of the day. The sea was deeper and there were benches to sit on, along with a nice sandy beach.
We stayed at the beach until 4.15pm and the temperature had dropped slightly to 30 degrees, making the walk back a little less painful. On the way back we stopped at the Hilton Hotel to try and find a dive centre, unfortunately it was closed, but we did get to nosy inside the Hilton's grounds. We realised after our short visit to the Hilton that the French Polynesian Islands would make a great holiday destination for anybody with money but not so great for the poor travelers. With that in mind we returned to our cosy little bungalow where we chilled out before tea.
Tonights menu was chicken nuggets and chips - 2 problems, 1st we brought a box of 30 nuggets to discover only 25 inside, we were not best pleased and 2nd the chips we had brought turned out to be frying chips and therefore didn't really cook. So after a successful meal we relaxed listening to music again on our porch and played cards.
22nd April 2009
Today was an exciting day, we were off on a day trip. We weren't too sure what the trip was going to include or even where it would take us but with our basic French we had managed to work out that pick up at 9am. It was like playing charades when talking to the lady in charge, even if you knew what she was saying she still tried to act everything out just to be sure and other times you didn't have the foggiest and just nodded anyway.
We woke up and got ready in our swim wear and on our dining room table was a French stick, so we ate it for breakfast with no questions asked and just hoped that it was meant for us. We then waited out on the road for our pick up. We were picked up at 9.20am and dropped down the road at a hotel resort where we had to pay for the trip and then board a boat.
Luckily we had an English speaking guide which made things alot easier. We set off on our tour, getting points of interest and facts explained to us on route. It was a really hot day again but there was a nice breeze and the boat sped through the ocean. We stopped after about 30 minutes and then got off the boat in to the sea where we were given snorkels, we then proceeded to feed the swarm or stingrays which had surrounded us. This was really cool but also a little scary as the stingrays climbed on your backs, got under your feet and tried to kiss you, they were all over us wanting to be fed.
After we had fed the stingrays we then fed the sharks which had been swimming around and amongst us. We were told not to touch the sharks or to get too close, not much chance of that happening, we all kept a save distance. The sharks looked rather fierce when they were eating and you did not want to get amongst it. Finally it was the moral eels turn to be fed.
After spending an hour in the water with the rays, sharks and eel, not to mention all the beautiful fish, we then boarded the boat and continued around to a little island just off Mo'orea where we stopped for 2.5hrs for lunch, snorkeling, sunbathing and generally relax. We were shown how to make coconut milk, how to marinade fresh fish and then eat it raw, how to peal and open a coconut and finally how to grate out the insides.
It was a really good day and showed us how beautiful Mo'orea and the surrounding area was, most definitely a glimmer of paradise. It made me understand why people come for their honeymoons.
We got dropped back at the Hilton hotel where we booked our diving for tomorrow and then walked back to our bungalow, making a short stop on the way at a little hut for crepes with chocolate and chantilly cream........a different type of paradise.
Being the most exciting and activity we have had in a couple of day, we were all rather shattered. We freshened up and then relaxed for the remainder of the evening by reading and playing cards.
23rd April 2009
Another exciting day as today we had booked to go diving. We were all really looking forward to it and were ready and waiting outside at 10am for our pick up. We completed some paperwork and then grabbed some fins, mask and wet suit before loading into the boat.
We were given a quick brief about the site we were heading too and how we would be entering and exiting the water. We were all relieved to see our tanks and equipment already set up for us which meant we didn't have to try and remember how it all went together. We were not so impressed that there was no where to jump off the boat which meant we were going to have to go in backwards off the edge, this we had not done before.
After our briefing we lined up on the side of the boat all kitted up, and over we went. The water was 29 degrees and so clear, about 30 meters visibility. As we first entered the water and descended by the buoy line there was a rather large lemon shark below us, it must have been about 3 meters long. The girls spent 45 minutes under the water whilst Daniel had a little more air so stayed down for about 50 minutes. It was by far the best and most interesting dive we had done, we saw sea turtles, 2 different types of shark and many different colour fish, too many to name.
As we returned back to the boat we were circled by 4 lemon sharks, this was a little scary as they had mean looking faces and large teeth, but they never made any attempt to come too close of attack us in anyway so that was a bit of luck.
We exited the water and waited on the boat for everybody else to finish before heading back to shore. We completed our log books and then thought we would hang around the Hilton and try and use their facilities. We headed to the pool where we picked three sun loungers and then jumped in the pool for a swim. We also helped ourselves to 3 beach towels and just as we were about to get comfy and lay down we were approached by a member of staff who asked if we were staying at the hotel. We tried to pretend we didn't understand but it wasn't working, so we pick up our stuff, leaving the towels and moved down to the beach area where we were told we could stay.
We stayed at the beach for the next 3 hours, it was a really nice beach with white sand and clear blue sea. It was even hotter than the previous days and we all got burnt, feeling dehydrated we headed back to our bungalow for a nice cool drink and some French stick, which had been delivered again this morning. We then had cold showers and had a rest before preparing tea.
Our last night on Mo'orea so we finished up the food, saving enough for a sandwich in the morning. Then, you got it, we played cards for the remainder of the evening before bed.
