Mo'orea, one jump from Tahiti...

Now in the Windward Islands, Mo'orea is another iconic destination in the South Pacific. Frommer's travel guide described Mo'orea as "the most beautiful island in the world". Like Bora Bora, the first thing that strikes you is the startling skyline of the island. The highest point is Mont Tohive'a at 1207m. Moorea is a volcanic island (2M years ago), only 17km from Tahiti. Mo'orea, and the Society Islands generally, was first settled by migration from Samoa and Tonga around 200AD. The early settlers separated into tribes or clans divided by the various enclosed valleys of the island. Alliances developed, including with nearby Tahiti, but there were bloody conflicts too. Current population on Mo'orea is 18,000. Most access to Mo'orea is by regular ferry - it's only a 5 minute flight from Tahiti.

The setting sun shines on the NatGeo Orion at anchore in Opunohu Bay on Mo'orea. [1062]

Mo'orea's most impressive Mt Tohive'a has jagged a cloud, early in the morning. [5907]

Mo'orea is triangular shaped, each side being scarcely more than 10km. As our Lightroom photo-map shows, Moorea is surrounded by a fringing reef, enclosing a shallow but narrow lagoon, with numerous entrances. Wikipedia says that "Charles Darwin found inspiration for his theory regarding the formation of coral atolls when looking down upon Mo'orea while standing on a peak on Tahiti. He described it as a "picture in a frame", referring to the barrier reef encircling the island."

The NatGeo Orion anchored in beautifulOpunohu Bay and we Zodiac'ed about 2km to the village of Papeto'ai, the birthplace and childhood home of our cultural specialist Matahir. He was visibly happy to be here. We explored the northern part of the lagoon, and were able to bus into the highlands at the centre of the island. The map shows a road right around the island, and it's plain that there will much more beauty on Moorea than our brief visit exposed.

Captained by an able seaman, a Zodiac makes its way to Papeto'ai. [5913]

One with a wind-turbine, two waterfront houses in Opunohu Bay. [5906]

Selfie, a reflection in the sunnies of a willing guest. [5917]

We made landfall on Mo'orea in the village of Papeto'ai. [5923]

A welcome reception for us at Papeto'ai. [5924]

Mahati, the NatGeo Orion's cultural specialist feeling at home here, having been born and bred in Moorea. [5777]

Once the site of a marae founded with a stone from the most sacred one in Ra'iatea, Protestant missionaries established a home here in 1808. [6005]

The bus from Papeto'ai climbed into the hills behind Tohive'a affording a spectacular view. We called in at a local school, the Lycee Agricole but the main reason for this stop was to visit the bathroom and buy ice-cream! It was hot, so hopefully the school raised some needed funds. The bus tour included a flying stop at what the guide said was the "most beautiful view of Mo'orea". It was indeed breathtaking, a great view of the reef, the lagoon and the Sofitel Hotel's overwater bungalows.

Mont Tohive'a as seen from Belvedere de Opunohu on Moorea. [5932]

View of the Agricultural School on Mo'orea. [5974]

Supposedly Mo'orea's best view with the Sofitel's over-lagoon bungalows. [5987]

Our physical activity for the day was to "swim with stingrays" near a sandbar at the northwest corner of the lagoon. This was certainly a different experience! We were ferried to the location by catamaran and were instructed to don snorkel and facemask but no flippers. The water was chest deep, so we stood on the bottom but there was a ferocious tidal flow which seemed somewhat dangerous. (Mahati told me he had to rescue someone here on a previous visit.) In the water, the guides somehow attracted the stringrays (food in their pockets?) which swam all around us, so close we were able to pat them (watch out for the barb!), but it was hard to get far enough away to take good photographs. We managed not to lose anyone either due to sweep-away or sting.

Crowded in the water where we tried to resist a tidal current and look at the stingrays. [1037]

Pair of stingrays in the shallow waters of the Mo'orea lagoon. [1034]

Just how does that guide attract the stingrays? [1043]

What's in that pocket that makes the stingrays so interested? [1025]

After all that excitement, we adjourned to a private motu for a cocktail party. There was good shade, fortunately, and the water was so inviting that no-one could resist a swim in the turquoise water. It got a little crowded in the obvious spot, so we found a secluded place around the corner where we could enjoy the peace and quiet and have a nice chat in the water with Jill Hilty, the ship's doctor from Colorado, a professor of medicine and a volunteer in third-world situations, and her buddy, another, Jill. Jill, the doctor, was very conscientious on this expedition, never losing touch with her radio, but we don't think she had that much work to do on the NatGeo Orion.

The Papeto'ai welcoming committee transformed to live entertainment at our cocktail party. [1058]

A boat parked in the pristine waters next to the motu where we enjoyed a NatGeo Orion cocktail party. [1055]

Lightroom map of Mo'orea showing where photos were taken.

Paradise Found? Bora Bora in the Society Islands...

Outrigger racing is the national sport in French Polynesia. Everywhere, we saw individuals and crews training and recreating. This Bora Bora crew needs to synchronise their strokes![5846]

Back in the Society Islands, on the leeward side, is the iconic South Pacific destination of Bora Bora. Its an atoll, a group of islands totalling 31km2 and a population of 11,000. The atoll comprises the remnants of an extinct volcano, and Bora Bora's skyline is dominated by two peaks, Mt Pahia and Mt Oteman. It's fame as a tourism destination must in part be due to having been "given" to the US military by France in WW2 for use as part of the Pacific defences. The US built an airstrip, and it remained the only (then) international standard strip until 1960 when another was opened in Faa'a on Tahiti. The base here never saw action.

Louise, dive-master for the French Polynesian section. SCUBA diving in this country requires a local guide for safety. [5731]

We originally thought that that incredible skyline may well have been the inspiration for the fictional island of Bali Ha'i as seen in the musical South Pacific. The musical was an adaption of James Michener's 1947 Pulitzer Prize winning short story collection "Tales of the South Pacific", the author having been a WW2 historian based in Vanuatu and nearby. More reliable sources than our guesswork say that the true inspiration was Ambae Island in Vanuatu as seen from Esperitu Santo. Oh well, it sounded good when we first thought of it!

The twin mountains Pahia and Oteman of Bora Bora's central island. [5852]

The imaginary island of Bali Ha'i, a frame from the movie South Pacific.

That myth dispelled, Bora Bora remains a seminal place of Polynesian scenic beauty. It's an unusual atoll, about 10x10km, enclosing a picturesque bay. The fringing reef has only one gate, and the iconic mountains form an island within that bay. Within the day that we spent in Bora Bora, we explored the west side of the lagoon in a catamaran circumnavigating the isle of To'opua, having lunched on overwater tables on an exclusive motu and snorkelled in a beautiful Coral Garden. We did not visit either of the two villages in Bora Bora.

Lightroom map of Bora Bora showing where our photos have been taken.

The National Geographic Orion at rest in Bora Bora's lagoon. [5881]

Adam, our Aussie naturalist onboard, piloting a Zodiac from our motu for lunch. [5794]

Beautiful motu's like this one abound in Bora Bora and indeed everywhere we went in French Polynesia. [5783]

After lunch, underwater shots in the Coral Garden...

Bora Bora's Coral Garden. [71-2]

With a giant clam nearby, these blue-green chromis fish hang around the coral so they can hide quickly if necessary. [72-2]

Rachel, undersea specialist, getting video for her nightly recap, in Bora Bora's Coral Garden. [73-2]

Rachel told me the name of this unusual long yellow fish underwater, but of course I didn't write it down. [74-2]

Catamaran crew help expeditioners into shallow waters for our barbeque lunch. [5822]

On the private motu, live music accompanies the barbeque lunch. [5835]

Wine, beer and a barbeque overwater on this Bora Bora motu. [5826]

Overwater shed off a motu in the lagoon of Bora Bora. [5802]

Zodiac scooting across the impossibly beautiful waters of the Bora Bora lagoon. [5813]

Stingray escaping the photographer's lens in Bora Bora. [5815]

We gather the Hotel Bora Bora hosted the first ever overwater bungalows, but they now stand abandoned and have been empty since 2008, so not a COVID casualty. Wikipedia says famous guests here include Robert De Niro, Robert Redford, Martin Sheen, Raquel Welch, Sharon Stone, Keanu Reeves, Pierce Brosnan and Eddie Murphy. [5858]

We had said in advance of our visit to Bora Bora that we are sure to regret not staying longer than the single day allowed by the NatGeo Orion's itinerary. That came to pass. Bora Bora is unbelievably beautiful, and justifies much more time. We believe there are good accommodation options on Bora Bora, even if the Hotel Bora Bora is now defunct, and you can fly here from Tahiti. After a great day in Bora Bora, with all safely back on board the NatGeo Orion, the ship made it's way out of the atoll and headed for Moorea.

Getting near sunset as the Orion sails past the fringing reef around Bora Bora. [5883]

Wikipedia map of French Polynesia's Society Islands, divided into leeward and windward groups. Credit: Keith Pickering - Own work, CC BY-SA 3.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=19262781

Two islands, two days, all in one atoll...

SCUBA divers heading off to a site. [4989]

Pearl farm in the lagoon of Ra'iatea. [5024]

On a fine and hot day, we anchored in a beautiful bay in Rai'iatea in the Society Islands. A traditional name for this island is Havai'i, homeland of the Maori people. Ater a long 17 minute Zodiac ride, we landed within an easy walking distance of Taputapuatea, maybe the holiest place in all of Polynesia, as explained to us by our Cultural Specialist, Matahi. This flat 6ha site includes several marae (sacred ceremonial and political places of worship, physically stone covered rectangles) for various purposes (one of them was human sacrifices), the first marae dating back to 1400-1500AD. Ra'iatea is more or less the centre of the Polynesian triangle, and significant meetings of all the peoples (chiefdoms) within that triangle took place here. Taputapuatea is listed as a UNESCO World Heritage site. One historical map of Polynesia shows Polynesian islands as lying on the tentacles of a giant octopus. Rai'iatea is at its heart and body.

Matahi, our Tahitian born cultural specialist introduces us to the sacred site of Taputapuatea. [5010]

Raiiatea is a populated island with several villages and scattered houses, all clinging to a paved ring road around the coast. [4988]

A view of marae Taputapuatea, reserved for cermonies of political alliance and some religious rites. [5014]

After contemplating the importance of this place, for exercise in blistering heat, we then hiked about 2-3km up steep and muddy Matarepeta Hill, a place also steeped in Polynesian mythology, being a part of Mount Rotui in Mo'orea stolen by pwo (master) navigator and demi-god Hiro. It took some time to get the clay-like mud off our walking boots after this climb.

At Taputapuatea, the most significant of the marae. It is dedicated to the god of peace and war. [5016]

The marae Hauviri is centred by an Investiture Rock, known as Te-Papa-tea-o-Ruea. [5028]

Taura'a-tapu Beach where canoes of younger chiefdoms would pull up. [5033]

View over the marae, and the lagoon and reef, from the climb up Matarepta Hill. [5042]

Kilometer-post on Ra'iatea ring road. A broken street lamp hosts some budding foliage. [5059]

Sunrise over a motu (islet) near Taha'a. [5069]

Half a dozen divers leaving for an early morning SCUBA. [5078]

Visited on the next day, a close neighbour of Ra'iatea is Taha'a. Both islands share the same coral reef. Taha'a is known for vanilla beans and pearls, but the fertile valleys of the island grow watermelon and copra, which is the dried white flesh of coconut, used for aromatic and cosmetic oils. Taha'a was of strategic importance 2-300 years ago when there was conflict between Bora Bora and Ra'iatea.

A gnarly old farmer explains the intricacies of vanilla bean production. [5095]

Vanilla beans being dried in the hot sun, on corrugated iron sheeting. [5092]

Nearby the vanilla farm on Taha'a. [5098]

A random flower in a Taha'a garden. [5099]

Girl and her dog relaxing in precious shade on Taha'a. [5101]

A peek at someone's bedroom getting aired in Taha'a. [5103]

Fishing odds and ends on a rustic pier on Taha'a. [5104]

On Taha'a, we had a fantastic barbecue lunch, and many hours to relax, on a private motu (small sandy island) which had white sandy (finely broken coral, actually) beaches, swimming and snorkelling, as well as facilities and, most importantly, lots and lots of shade. The NatGeo Orion hotel team worked hard to enhance this paradise for us, and after they had fed us, many of them cooled off in the sparkling clear water.

The French Polynesians refer to the little islands in atolls as motu. This one had sandy beaches and clear water and coral for swimming and snorkelling. [5115]

We spent a whole afternoon at this privately owned motu, looking for sting-rays in the shallows. [0692]

Stingrays patrolled the shallow waters of our motu off Taha'a. [0722]

Catamaran anchored offshore our motu, little coral bombies in the clear water. [5145]

A small school escaping the gaze of a pursuing snorkeller. [0716]

These tiny blue-green chromists disappear into the coral if they feel threatened. [0704]

The highlight of the day was a chance to snorkel with black-tipped reef sharks. The previous night Rachel, the expedition's underwater specialists, exhorted us to ditch our preconceived notions about sharks, and to accept that these local guys were harmless. A lot on board remained unconvinced, but by the end of the day, all were happy that these black-tipped sharks were benign, curious but rather aloof. A private operator took us to a secret place within the atoll's shallow waters, where we could slip in and view these handsome beasts, maybe 1.5-2m long.

The highlight of this particular dive, the black-tipped sharks. [0738]

Boat of the private operator who took us out to snorkel with the sharks. No doubt he feeds the sharks on other days to keep them interested. [0754]

NatGeo expedition staffer with his GoPro. [0755]

This shark is cursed with a large fishing hook in his mouth. [0756]

There must have been a dozen black-tipped sharks with us in this dive. [0771]

Getting in for a closer look. [0787]

Deckhand on the shark snorkelling boat as we return to the Orion. [0823]

Two islands, Taha'a and Ra'iatea, encompassed within one atoll, and both very close to Bora Bora.