When most of us think of the South Pacific, we are thinking of places like Tahiti, Bora Bora and Moorea. Hearing those words, we usually conjure up images of impossibly beautiful tropical islands. White sand beaches dotted with coconut palms, clear turquoise waters and verdant mountains jutting into the sky. It’s actually a pretty accurate picture. But that’s not all the area has to offer.
Those three islands are part of The Society Islands, one of 5 island groups that make up French Polynesia. Tahiti, and it’s capital city, Papeete, is the largest and most populous. But it’s usually just a stopping off point on the way to one of the usual tourist destinations. Arriving before dawn on a flight from LA, we spent just a few hours there before catching a connecting flight.
Our first destination was Raiatea, a short hop from Papeete. This was the starting point for our 10-day sailing adventure through the Leeward Islands of Raiatea, Tahaa, Huahine and Bora Bora.
Bora Bora
Bora Bora is probably the most well known of all the Polynesian islands. The clear lagoon, in various shades of blue, set against a backdrop of green volcanic peaks and surrounded by a fringing reef, makes it stunningly beautiful. That, along with all the hotels famous for their over the water bungalows, makes it one of the most popular honeymoon destinations on Earth.
Many of these hotels are on separate motus (islets), making a stay there very self-contained. Even the airport is on a separate motu, so the “taxi stand” outside the terminal is a boat dock, filled with hotel shuttle boats waiting to take you to their island.
For the independent traveler, there is a small village with a handful of shops and restaurants and some small hotels on the main island. Since most visitors stay within their hotel compound for their meals, there aren’t many restaurant choices outside of the hotels. We did eat at the Bora Bora Yacht Club one night, and another night at the Bora Bora Beach Club. Both were very good.
Since 2019, anchoring of private boats within Bora Bora’s lagoon is no longer allowed. You must instead use a mooring. Once we were tucked into our mooring in front of the Bora Bora Yacht Club, it didn’t make sense to move the boat around to see the various parts of the lagoon.
Instead, we signed up for a guided snorkeling excursion that took us to 3 spots. One to see Manta Rays, one for the coral reef and, finally, one spot where we stood in waist high water, watching our guide feed and pet stingrays while sharks circled all around our legs.
Beyond the usual water activities, there are a smattering of other things available to keep you entertained, like helicopter, jeep and ATV tours and some wildlife excursions. It’s your choice to stay busy everyday you’re there, or to do nothing at all except soak up the natural beauty all around you.
Humpback Whales
The last day of our trip included another short stop in Tahiti, but what a memorable few hours it was.
In planning this trip, we were so focused on the sailing and diving segments that we somehow completely missed the humpback whale experience. A few days into our trip, we had heard from virtually everyone we met that they had done a “swimming with whales” excursion in Moorea and that it was an exceptional experience. Not wanting to miss out, we moved heaven and earth and were ultimately able to book a boat out of Papeete the afternoon before we flew home. Things started slowly, with no sightings the first couple of hours out. We began to worry that all our efforts would be in vain.
Thankfully, a short time later, we found a mama and baby humpback whale that were resting on the surface and were not bothered by our presence. We slipped into the water nearby and then spent nearly 30 minutes within a few feet of these whales. It was an indescribable experience, floating on the surface, staring into the eye of the mama humpback 6 feet away, while the calf swam over, under and around us the entire time.
Michael
Love the Humpback photobomb !!