Tales of Tails & Travels

Tahiti & Moorea

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Toni Skinner

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A year ago we headed to paradise for our honeymoon. When we first started dating Jake had asked me if I could go anywhere, where would it be? The rapidity of my answer has become a joke between us for years to follow. The answer was French Polynesia, a collection of islands in the South Pacific.

After our week on the Isle of Mull where we eloped in the stunning Scottish west coast we swapped wind and hail for sun and sand.

The journey started with a flight to Barcelona then onto San Francisco where we had a 24 hour layover. We did not get to see the best side of San Francisco. We caught the BART (subway) into the city with some drunks and folk evidently on drugs. We also had to step over or walk past a lot of homeless individuals on the sidewalks. We made the best of it though, wandering around the city checking out pier 39 with the seals and eating the most humongous portion of pancakes in an ihop. We also stayed in a hotel that we now use as a marker for the worst place we have ever stayed. It was the kind of place that you don’t sleep in the bed, you stay in your clothes on top of the covers. You pop your ear buds in and you wonder if the shared bathroom has made you dirtier not cleaner. We had this vision of us as a couple in our young 20s clubbing and then wandering to the pier at sunrise. But yeah… with the travel we were absolutely shattered.

The image shows seals on wooden pontoons stacked on top of each other. Some asleep, some sitting up.
Pier 39 San Francisco, early morning.
Seals are stacked up on each other, the middle one is eyes shut and looks to be smiling.
How I slept after a long flight.
There is a moody misty scene, in the distance is a building on a stony island outcrop.
Alcatraz in the moody morning mist.

Then it was onto Papeete in Tahiti. We decided to try to see as much of the main island and its sister Island Moorea as possible. French Polynesia is a collection of over 100 islands in the South Pacific, not all are inhabited and there is sadly no way in 2 weeks we were going to be able to see everywhere. Which means we will have to go back at some point. We booked 4 different Airbnbs and hired a car.

Upon landing we hadn’t sorted a car yet so we got a taxi to where we were staying for the first few days. There appeared to be maybe 3 taxis which we had to wait to come back from their previous drops off. Tina was the lovely taxi driver who helped us find our Airbnb, which was hidden away.

Looking out across the water there is an over water bungalow to the right and the whole scene is orange in colour. The sun shows a shining streak across the still water.
The first sunset in paradise, this was a couple of minutes walk from where we were staying.
Brunette female and handsome man smile into the camera, in the background can be seen a beach, early sunset and the coast line.
Our faces when we realised this was us in paradise for the next 2 weeks.

We were a short walk from a boulangerie and supermarket which allowed us to stock up and buy a sim card for when we were out there. Useful for arranging picking up a car, contacting the hosts for our Airbnb’s when we were out and about. There was plenty of fresh fish and fresh fruit on the island, but the thing that surprised us the most was the amazing baguettes. Freshly baked daily and available in all the supermarkets for insanely cheap. We ate bread most days!

A man is silhouetted against a sunset.

The beach was a narrow strip of coarse sand and volcanic rock. The beach was adjacent to the abandoned Tahiti Hotel by Sofitel. It turns out a few hotels closed down during covid and didn’t reopen. The main attraction though was the stunning sunset.

Dusk is setting in as a woman walks across the shore line from the left of the screen. Golden sunlight covers her skin.
A man is standing in front of a sunset smiling into the camera. In the background between his legs is a rock in the water.
Sometimes you just have to get the shot, sometimes you have to frame it so that it looks like he has dropped a boulder.

We drove a loop of Tahiti, mainly sticking to the larger northwestern part of the island. We stopped off at anywhere that caught our eye on our way. The first stop was Grottes De Mara’a – a beautiful cave formation and series of waterfalls.

A man walks away from the camera under a large tree. Climbing up the tree is a golden pothos with leaves over 30cm in size.
Look at the size of the golden pothos in the top left of this picture!
Brown Noddy

After we carried onto Taharuu beach, a famous surfing beach. We didn’t get into the surf, I did not want to show them all up because obviously I am a pro. Well, if you consider 2 days in New Zealand 7 years ago where I successfully stood up once for 5 seconds and got a picture…

A wave with a down surfer, the water is blue.
Jake asked that I inform you all that he took this picture.
A surfer kicks up on a wave in an action shot.
And this one.

A little further down the coast we come across water gardens Vaipahi. With curated gardens and the wild foliage that put my tropical plants at home to shame.

A man stands in front of a waterfall, his reflection can be seen in the water and he is framed by foliage.
Jake also thinks he took this one too…
A large Alocasia leaf fills the screen.
My Alocasia is dead, whilst this one has a leaf taller than me!
Water lilies with purple and cornflower coloured petals.
Red hibiscus flower.
Jewel orchid.
I got way to excited to see this jewel orchid just growing alongside some ferns.

After reading the slightly out of order boards in the garden that told the story of a spirit reborn & forged in the Island, purified in the water to then fight a dragon (imagine making sense of that out of order). We head further along the road to Vaihi, 2 cascades in Faaone. We grabbed our lunch then turned to the waterfall. Jake suggested we take the ‘path’ to the top, which consisted of some crude steps in a sheer wall. Although I will confess now it was worth the climb, at the time I was suitably dramatic about the situation. At the top we found a small pool and the waterfall which made a natural infinity pool. We had the place to ourselves so I got my pale booty out and went skinny dipping.

A man sits in front of a small pool of water with a waterfall falling away from the right of the picture.
And no, there is not a picture of me in the pool. So here is Jake sitting in front of it instead.
A waterfall cascades down a craggy front.
The waterfall in question, the path didn’t look that much different to the part the water was coming down over.
A fig tree frames a seafront view looking back onto a mountainous lush green island.
The view back towards the northwestern part of Tahiti
A two level building filled with market stands and people walking through the middle.
Looking back into Papeete market from the upper floor.

After our first 2 nights we headed to Papeete so we could get the ferry over to Moorea. We hit the 7am commuter traffic into the city, parked up then checked out the market. The market was incredible- it was bustling with so much to see; black pearls, flowers, food, straw items, fresh produce. After wandering around we head to get our ticket for the ferry. We had been told it was easy to get tickets for the same day, as it was we got the last tickets available for crossing for the day. There was an interesting moment when boarding where I was gestured at in French, turned out passengers aren’t to be in the car when loading and they have to go through the terminal to get on the ferry. The crossing had a notable swell, but it was thankfully only a short 30 minute trip. After we arrived we drove a lap of the island which took an hour, circling back around to the marine store to buy snorkels.

The ferry over with Moorea in the distance.
A lush green island with mountains with a ring of sand bank and corals.
Looking towards Moorea.
A line of the shallow water around the island can be seen.
Passing through the break in the coral ring to get to the island.
A bird of prey swoops in front of the blue clear water.
Looking across the clear blue seas, a couple of sail boats are moored within the coral line.

Our second Airbnb was STUNNING, hosted by the lovely Maea we had a sea front bungalow overlooking Tahiti. Orea the stray dog made our stay here. A cute black and white large cross breed. When we relaxed in the hammock, stepped outside or came back from kayaking she was there to greet and chill with us. From the bench outside our place we got to watch black tip reef sharks and so many different fish.

A tree frames a view overlooking a couple of yachts, clear blue water and a rainbow.
The view from our kitchen.
A yacht framed by a tree.
One day that will be us anchored here.
Our view every morning at breakfast.
A man lounges in a hammock whilst a dog is lying beside him eye closed and looking content.
The cutie Orea.
Sun beams cut through the clouds and the faint outline of an island can be seen.
The early sunrise shows pinks mixed in with yellow/ green and the mid blue of the higher sky. Lights of the island can be seen below the cloud line.
A woman in sunglasses smiles at the camera, she is next to a man squinting and smiling at the camera. In the background is a white same back and blue seas.
Post morning snorkel at Plage Temae.

Our bucket list item for the trip, was whale watching. Humpback whales migrate to the South Pacific for the autumn so we knew the timings would hopefully line up. And it did not disappoint. There was the option of swimming with whales but personally it is not something I felt on a commercial scale should be promoted, so we stayed on the boat. If you feel like reading a paper on this I have added a link here. It was incredible watching the whales playing in the water and the baby learning to breach.

A baby humpback whale can be seen leaping out of the water ready to flop onto their back. Larger humpback whales can be seen causing splashes and a pectoral fin is out of the water.
Look at this cute little baby.
The dorsal fin of one humpback can be seen clearly and the tail fin of another in front.
The tail fin can be seen out of the water.
Two dorsal fins and a tail fin of a humpback whale can be seen.

The following day we made our way up Mango mountain. The views at the top were stunning, the walk was more of a climb than a casual stroll. The majority of the walk was steep!! After the mountaineering we head onto Hauru public beach for some more snorkelling – it was wonderful, we were able to enjoy clown fish guarding their anemone, sting rays and a multitude of fish; I also saw a moray eel and octopus.

A lush green landscape with a blue water bay and paved road.
The view down the ‘path’, I cannot describe how steep it was. But I mean the main question is, who made this road?
A man sits on a bench looking out towards a green mountain and blue bay.
Enjoying the view. Code for stopping to breath.
A shallow pale blue ring around a lush green island can be seen with a small wave line and then open blue seas as far as the eye can see.
View from the top.
A man leans against a railing on a viewing platform.
Always here to take a picture of the back of Jake’s ‘head’. Always my favourite view.
Seascape shows a break in the shallow line of sand around the island a boat is heading towards the opening.
A medium sized bird with a mohawk and red bum can be seen sitting in a fiddle leaf fig.
Red-vented Bulbul.
The pastel blue, green, yellow and pinks of a sunrise can be seen relelcted in clear water. Two yachts are also reflected in the water.
Our last sunset at the beach side bungalow and goodbye to Orea, then it was time to move onto our next spot on Moorea. We stopped off at Tiki village which had displays on culture and the history of the islands.
A tree is silhouetted in the foreground. in the distance the pastels of a sun rise can be seen on the horizon with a golden glow where the sun is peaking up through some clouds.
The sunrise shows Tahiti back lit by the rising sun.

Our next Airbnb was a lovely place set back in the mountains that was in line with the tree tops. There was air conditioning, stunning views and a hot tub.

A lizard sits on a table with the reflection seen on the surface.
The welcome committee.
Walking into our next Airbnb.

The following day we head to the only thing we pre-booked before our trip: Coco beach- a motu with a cafe on it that you have to take a boat transfer to get to. The boat that took us over was maybe 1x4m, the small engine was haphazardly attached with will alone, the seats were balanced planks of wood, we made it though. The restaurant was lovely, although slow service, most went for a swim whilst waiting for their food. After eating we walked around the motu, onto a sand bank and then round to find 2 more cafes. One was rather flung together- think the gas canister piped into an oven.

A tiki glass with a pale green drink and mint leaves is pixctured in front of a blue sea and island.
My virgin Mojito and our view from the table.
Clear blue skies, meets a clear blue sea as a man walks out on a volcanic stone outcrop.
Exploring around the motu.
A man and woman take a selfie in swimwear in front of clear blue waters.
View from the sandbank.

Our last day on Moorea was spent relaxing in our accommodation, eating more good french bread, then packing the bags again to head back to Tahiti the following day.

Steep mountains fill the background, single story building are reflected in water in the foreground of a bay.
A sunset is reflected on still water with clouds creating contrast and texture.
Sunset onour last day on Moorea.

Our last Airbnb, a beach front flat in Puna’auia. We spent the last few days driving around the island again and headed into Papeete, where I bought myself a pearl necklace and a pair of pearls to have made into earrings. We also enjoyed a take away, which was brilliant because all of the locals come with their own dishes- think large saucepans and serving bowls to have their orders dished into, instead of using plastic. So simple and such a good idea, it is such a shame we do not do the same back home.

The view from the balcony of our last Airbnb.
Water sprays off blue waves, the haze partially hides the outline of the Tahitian coast in the distance.
More of that view and the stunning waves.
A man walks along a coast with a lush green island appearing in the background.
One of the stops on our tour around the Island.
A man sits on a vibrantly graffitied pillar box in the sea.
Carvings can be seen in the rock face, a waterfall cascades behind it.
A man and woman kiss in front of a waterfall.
Check out my pearl necklace.
The sky is filled with clouds and the scene looks out towards the choppy sea with a lone tree on a rocky outcrop.
A moody wet last day.

Then it was time to head home. I will finish this with the entry I wrote in my diary for this period of time.

Time is a blur. Who knows what time zone we are in- all I know is it has been 30 hours since I properly slept.

Two medium sized backpacks sit in front of a sofa. One has a headphones attached.
Our bags when we got home. We travelled with two backpacks as hand luggage and no holdall which made moving between Airbnbs and airports so much easier.

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