Mid September 2018 – Weekend “Whistle stop” to Tahiti (French Polynesia) to tour around the Island of Tahiti Nui and Moorea. Summary of the trip as follows.
- Crossing the Date Line, arrived at Papeete early on Friday Morning (Tahiti Time). Picked up a rental car and drove to our accommodation for the night, an Air BnB Style apartment “Chez Vous à Papeete”, around Rue Cook Residence Cook.
- Friday Morning, circumnavigated Tahiti Nui in a Anti Clockwise direction, dropping by Maraa Grotto, A few beaches, Cascade Vaimahuta (Waterfalls), before boarding the Aremiti Car ferry to Moorea.
- Saturday, Circumnavigated Moorea, dropping off at Lagoonarium de Moorea to swim with the Tiger sharks and stingrays (they’re perfectly tame!), them on to Belvedere Lookout before heading back to a beach near our accommodation to view the Sunset.
- Sunday, walked up Magic Mountain before heading back on to the Car ferry back to Tahiti Nui.
Definitely contemplating another trip back there in the coming years, to visit to the further flung islands such as Bora Bora.
Trip notes and observations further down below…
Intercontenental at Dusk
Intercontenental at Dusk
Cascade Vaimahuta
Cascade Vaimahuta
Cascade Vaimahuta
Cascade Vaimahuta
Swimming with the Tiger sharks and stingrays at Moorea Island
Swimming with the Tiger sharks and stingrays at Moorea Island
Swimming with the Tiger sharks and stingrays at Moorea Island
Swimming with the Tiger sharks and stingrays at Moorea Island
Swimming with the Tiger sharks and stingrays at Moorea Island
Swimming with the Tiger sharks and stingrays at Moorea Island
Swimming with the Tiger sharks and stingrays at Moorea Island
Swimming with the Tiger sharks and stingrays at Moorea Island
Swimming with the Tiger sharks and stingrays at Moorea Island
Swimming with the Tiger sharks and stingrays at Moorea Island
Swimming with the Tiger sharks and stingrays at Moorea Island
Trip Notes / Advisory…
- Being able to understand and speak French is an advantage.
- Traffic drives on the right.
- Cost of things can be up to twice as high than back in New Zealand.
- If taking a car across with you to Moorea island. Car Passengers, must embark separately as regular ferry passengers. At the other end, Drivers and Passengers are to disembark while in the car. Make sure you allow plenty of time to get back to the car deck. By the time the call over the loud speaker is made instructing people to go to their vehicles, it can sometimes be too late.
- Mobile Phone Roaming charges are murderous.
- The sandwich rolls at the Supermarket are perhaps the best value for filling your stomach.
- Tourist attraction “Lagoonarium de Moorea” do not have card payment facilities. Take some cash. At the time we got there, the charge was 3900 XPF for each adult.
Other notes, Observations and trivia…
- Upon our visit to Moorea, most people were from within the country (Domestic tourists), this was due to Tahiti’s school holiday period.
- A Dacia Sandero Stepway was the rental car assigned to us.
- Yes, 3 Days is perhaps a bit too short of a time to stay in Tahiti. My colleagues have all reminded me.