Goodbye Moorea and Hello Tahiti Nui

Our last day at Sofitel was spent swimming and lounging until pick up at 4pm. We had received our bill the night before and found that they had charged us for our accomodation even though we had pre paid. Lucky for sisters, Lance's sister Jo was at the end of a text and sorted it for us. I must admit that we did have a little moment of panic thinking that we had an extra,extra charge to pay. I say extra,extra because there is resort tax to pay and then a reef tax which is voluntary. But how could you not donate to the preservation of such a marvel. Anyway, it was all sorted and we had a last lunch and cocktail before heading down to wait for the transfer to the ferry. Out little yellow bus arrived on time, however it was spewing smoke out of the front grill and smelled terrible. The driver got out and said to us all "ten minutes, just ten minutes". Sure enough in ten minutes another bus arrived and scooped us up and off to the ferry. 

I must mention the similarity to the Maori language here. Tahitian has some letters that the Maori alphabet doesn't have but we can easily work out what most things say. 

Once again a seamless exercise for luggage on and off, and a transfer back to Manava Resort for a night and a bit. More about the bit later. 

At 5:30pm anywhere in world I guess you are going to strike traffic, and sure enough it was rush hour. But that just gave us more time to take in Papeete. Like any tropical island people appear to live a simple life and there is an array of housing from apartments to shanty type constructions. 

We dropped our bags in our room, well not quite because the lights were not working in the corridor and we had to use the phone torch to see where the lift button was. 

Well we had to use Lance's phone torch because my phone has had a bit of a glitch. Yesterday all of a sudden the top half of the screen stopped working. I then restarted it, which is the universal fix it for anything, and the bugger still won't work. I can't even put my password in because some of the numbers are at the top of the screen. Grrrrrrr. 

Once again we have a very nice and spacious room, but we didn't stop to enjoy it, we jumped into a taxi and headed back into town to the roulette. Do not be mislead into thinkinf that we were about to go on a gambling spree.  Not at all, the roulette are food trucks and we had heard great things about them.  And sure enough right by the water were about a dozen of them cooking and serving food. Plastic tables and chairs made this a comfortable eating exercise. As we strolled past a caravan a delicious sort of nasi gorang smell wafted out and so the feeding frenzy began. I had steak and chips and Lance had the chow mien special. This was all in French so we did pretty well with the ordering. It was all great and Lance's chow mien gets special mention with chicken, pork, steak, prawns and duck! 

After dinner we wandered over to find a taxi and popped into a pharmacy. I purchased some Zovirax. If you don't know what I am talking about then you are obviously one of those people who are blessed with a cold sore free life. In New Zealand we pay over $20 for a teeny tiny tube of Zovirax. In Papeete I paid $10. How does that work? I have got it even cheaper in London and cheaper again in Fiji. Just a little travellers' tip for you. 

The taxi fare to town from the Manava was 2300 xpf, about $35NZ. The driver told us this price before we got in and it tied in exactly with what I had read on Trip Advisor. 

Next morning we were up and ready for adventure. When we were at the Manava on our way to Moorea we had the buffet breakfast and were astonished to find that it was around $100NZ. So this time we chose from the menu and it was a third of the price. 

We had booked to go to the Belvedere restaurant which is located at the top of the mountain. When our hotel phoned to book the restaurant warned that it may be cloudy and we may not see the view. We thought we should give it a go anyway. The whole process was flawless. She arranged a taxi and he took us to a small gravel car park halfway up the mountain. When we got there he passed us over to another driver to take us up the mountain. This guy was the owner of the restaurant. He said he and his wife came here from France and ended up buying the place and fixing it up. I felt very comfortable with him at the wheel as we winded up the mountain on a sealed road that was just a little bit wider than a footpath. We came across a few people on the way and he stopped and had a few words and off we went again winding up and up. Finally we were there and to our surprise so were many other people all jostling for a park on the side of the mountain. 

This was a quirky little restaurant. It was rustic but had big floor to ceiling windows into the kitchen and pieces of art and old furniture scattered around. We were placed on the balcony and we trawled our way through the French menu. Lance's mother had been here many years ago and had,had fondue, so we felt that we should do the same. Our three cheese fondue was just delicious. We had the traditional bread to dip into it even though I don't normally eat bread. Actual I feel pretty bloated, but it was worth it. I just hope the seat belt on the plane fits around me tonight. 

This was enjoyed with Heineken and a couple of red wines. I'm not sure what, but it was delicious. 

 Toilet update

What a toilet! Floor to ceiling plate glass window looking out over the mountain. In the ladies when you sat down you had an old Singer treadle sewing machine in front of you.  It had note books open like someone had been working there whilst doing their businesses. I guess it is doing business whilst doing business. I tried to get a photo but when I went back with Lance's phone (remember that my phone is broken grrrrrr) someone was in there. Anyway Lance got a snap from the men's. 

We gave the restaurant our taxi drivers phone number and the whole thing happened in reverse. Down the mountain. We went, only this time there were afternoon walkers walking up for fun! And again our taxi was waiting and we were exchanged like a good drug deal. 

Back at the resort we had our last swim before packing and waiting for it to be time to go to the airport. Our flight is at 2am and our pick up is at 12:15am so we really needed a room. When we checked in they couldn't tell us whether we could book a late check out or not until this morning. We fortunately do have a late check out but are paying through the nose. But hey, it's better than sitting I the lobby twiddling our thumbs. So here we sit at the end of a fantastic week. I think I should finish with the words that a wise man once said "I'll be back". 

Out and about in Moorea

On Monday we hired a car so that we could visit some favourite spots of ours. 

When asked the lovely lady at Avis to show us on the map where 'Snack Mahana' was she wrote it on the map but said "it's closed on Monday". Bugger, this was one of the main reasons for hiring a car; we had, had such a beautiful lunch experience there last year. 

Buzzing off in our little hire car Lance manoeuvred carefully on the right (but wrong for us) side of the road. Suddenly the heavens opened like only tropical skies do and huge puddles appeared. There was only one road for us to take and it circumnavigates the island. Any in roads are out of bounds for most hire cars because they are bumpy and all head up to the mountain. 

Familiar sights greeted us and despite the rain showers we managed to take a photo of our resort from   up above. 

 

When we finally came to Snack Mahana we thought we would just stop and reminisce and whaddya know? It was open!

We got a table right by the water again! This place is in an old house and there are plastic tables and wooden slapped together booths for eating at. But in every other expect it is a restaurant. We had the same delightful waitress as last year but were dismayed to find that they had no mahimahi fish so we had to have tuna. Lance had the most delicious tuna sushimi and I had poisson cru, which is raw tuna with cucumber, tomato, and a few other yummy things all marinated in lime juice and coconut cream. It was huge and so fresh. 

Speaking of coconut cream, my new friend Sonia had some freshly squeezed and gave me a cup. I drank some and rubbed the rest through my hair and over my face and body and I felt a million dollars after I rinsed it off. Anyway, I digress.

As we were sitting in the sunshine waiting for our orders the rain came down again in bucket loads and we, and others had to run to some undercover tables. 

We left a little damp, but extremely satisfied. 

Back on the road we were on the lookout for a little place that I had bough a pearl choker from last year. I was after some earrings to go with it. Once again we were successful and found Lendroit without a problem and I purchased some nice pearl earrings. 

We also stopped in to the resort that we had stayed at last year, Bali hai. We had heard that it had been sold and were interested to see what was happening. It is now Aimeo Lodge and looks like nothing has changed apart from the name. 

Our last stop was the supermarche or supermarket (sorry I know, no accent on the e). We picked up some cheese, salami and macaron to snack on later with the wine that we brought in from NZ with us. The supermarket has more non consumables than consumables. I'm talking clothes dryers, clothing and more! 

Back at the resort we had more lazing on the beach and invited Steve and Sonia for a drink before dinner. It was lovely entertaining on our wee balcony. Kiwi ingenuity was at play when we realised we only had cups and saucers. Saucers quickly became cheese boards and teaspoon handles became cheese knives. 

We had dinner together at the resort, and all agreed that some live music would have been pleasant. Anyway, it was a nice evening. 

Another day rolled over and really we are just reading in sun loungers and swimming. We brought our own snorkelling gear with us and sum swimming goggles. We just use the swimming goggles as we don't have to swim anywhere to see the coral life. The tide hardly moves so the beach is always ready for us. I can't stress to you how perfect it is; straight out of a travel brochure. 

   

We decided to leave the resort for our last dinner and invited Steve and Sonia to join us. Moorea Beach Cafe sends and small bus around to pick you up and then delivers you home again.  In fact most restaurants here offer this service. 

The Moorea Beach Cafe is set on the water's edge in a tasteful and nautical way. They are very attentive and have a great menu. Lance had surf'n turf, and I had parrot fish on gnocci. This was after an entree of fois gras for me and can't remember for Lance. Lance said his surf'n turf was delicious,mine was just okay. The company was great and we shuttled off home to bed. 

Moorea Day 2

After a lazy breakfast we organised ourselves a snorkel tour to swim with the sharks. We have done this before, but this was a half day tour as opposed to a full day and sounded a bit different. It would be hard to match our last experience but we thought we would give it a go. 

Whizzing out and around the bays we came to a very small island, our group of eight hopped off the boat down some precarious steps and into water thigh deep. It wasn't until I was in the water snorkelling around that I realised that I still had my clothes on over my togs. I put it down to excitement and not at all to dementia. 

There was a web of thick ropes with buoys hanging off them and we all put our heads under and hung on to the rope. There were plenty of beautiful fish and stingrays but only a few sharks at that stage. The stingrays came right up to us nudging us out of the way, they are like thick velvet. 

The ropes provided a sort of pathway around the area we pulled ourselves around we found that there was quite a swift current tugging at us. I have never seen such an array of tropical fish, of course they were coming in to be fed, but they were beautiful and plentiful. More sharks start to arrive and then the feeding frenzy began at one stage a shark came straight at me and I quickly whipped my fingers off the rope in case it thought they were tasty. At the time it it quite sureal that we were in the water with these creatures. Lance said "you need to take everything that you think you know about sharks and throw it out the window". The guy who was doing the feeding was free diving down and around the fish for long periods of time, even tempting a moray eel out of its hidey hole. The whole thing was great, and very different to what we have done previously. 

We had booked the tour at the Sofitel and totally recommend it. Five stars from us. 




 At dinner we met up with a couple who had been on the tour with us, Steve and Sonia are from Los Angeles. We had a buffet that was okay, but were treated to a life musical performance from a young and very talented woman who appeared to be a bit famous around these parts. 


We went off home after another relaxing day. 


People

The people are a mix of French and English speaking tourists of a variety of ages. On the beach there are some beautiful bodies, with a couple of gorgeous topless bathers. There are also some who make Lance and I feel quite healthy. And all I can say is that anything that I have on show is what I was born with or I grew myself. Perfectly home grown, that's us. 

Tahiti 2018

Here we are again, beautiful Tahiti. This trip is in several parts as the WiFi is dodgy. 

We booked this trip online and found one week out from departure that Lance had booked accomodation to start on the wrong date (International date line and all that). A phone call to the company we booked through revealed that we had cancelled our accommodation? Very strange considering we had a confirmation number and had paid $3800. A quick plan needed to be hatched and this fell upon Lance's sister who is a travel agent. 

Our Air New Zealand flight left at 6:30pm and after a four and a half hour flight we arrived in Papeete at 2am. We had, had an upgrade to a sky seat on the flight so were well rested but also ready for a bed. The Manava hotel is reasonably central with a 15 minute drive from the airport. The room is large with lounge, kitchen and seperate bedroom and a large balcony with a peep of the sea.

A complication - I googled the plug type before coming and it said 3 different plugs, so I brought the 3 different converters. We always travel with a plug bank so that we can charge many devices at once. But! The converter that I brought only has 2 holes on the female side and our power bank has 3 prongs ahhhhh. Luckily our Apple charger has 2 prongs and we have a battery pack as well. Phew! And best of all my hair straiteners have only 2 prongs. 

Next morning we set off for the ferry to the magnificent island of Moorea. We felt pretty relaxed being amongst the organised chaos when we disembarked. Tourists stand staring frantically around looking for luggage and transport and the local people pick them out and gently steer them in the right direction. 

So far, so good, Sofitel.

We have stayed at many hotels and resorts in the past and have always had to stand at the counter for check in.  Not at the Sofitel, we were guided to comfortable chairs and given a pineapple juice whilst they ran backwards and forwards with the relevant paperwork.  Our room was not ready so we had lunch beside the water. Tuna tatare for me and croquet monsieur for Lance. 

Our room or fare (like whare) is fantastic, spacious with the bed aimed at the beach for morning views. The bathroom is huge with a wide shower that has glass doors leading to the outdoor tub with another rainforest shower. This is where I have to take my showers just because I can. It is 20 short paces to the turquoise blue beach. I am in heaven. 

Quickly sorting ourselves out we slipped into the water, the temperature was perfect not too hot and not too cold and of course crystal clear. Because it is quite salty, it is very easy to just lay on your back and float around. There are plenty of sun loungers so no need to squabble or save with a towel. Dotted around the bay are coral reefs and what are best described as clumps. Standing in the water we have had fish come within centimetres of our feet and legs with one even having a wee taste of Lance! We do have our goggles but hardly need to use them as the water is crystal clear. Further along the beach there are large canvas pillows to lie on and cabana style loungers. And it would be remiss of me to leave out the beach bar for cold beer, cocktails lunch etc. Funny enough though our first beers were from Samoa!

Wandering down to the restaurant we came upon a little place offering a 'Kberet. We booked a table and went for a pre-dinner drink; we had been told to return promptly at 7pm.

Gathered at the entrance were small group of people and we were welcomed into a small circular room with white curtained walls and a sandy floor. Hanging in front of us from long white fabric and sitting in a hoop was a beautiful woman pouring champagne as we shuffled by holding our glasses high. Sitting on a table was a guy in dark glasses playing some soulful jazz on a saxophone. 

Soon it was time to enter the restaurant, also swathed in white curtains and with a sandy floor. The elegantly set tables were scattered around the room creating an exotic and intimate feeling. 

Throughout the evening we were entertained by the acrobatic woman dangling from ribbons and the saxophonist. The food was fabulous and Lance was in his element when the huge scallop was served (especially when I don't like scallops so he got two). 

Toilet escapade

The toilets were located off the first curtained room and those that know me well know that I am terrible at finding my way in new or strange surroundings, especially with a few drinks on board. Needless to say I pulled back the white curtain that I presumed was the restaurant but ended up in the curtained kitchen, oops. 

The setting was great, however after a while both of us were getting a little twitchy, we turned to each other simultaneously and said "my feet are getting eaten alive". Even now a day later my feet a still rubbing against each other trying to satisfy the itch. Lance nipped back to the room and got the mozzie spray and we lathered ourselves. 

It was a great night and something very different to anything that we have experienced before.