Island hopping in French Polynesia
Having travelled throughout the Indian Ocean and Caribbean, French Polynesia appealed to me as offering something more. As it turns out, it offers a lot more. It is quite a journey to get there but let me tell you that it is absolutely worth it.
We stopped in San Francisco and Yosemite National Park, before flying via Los Angeles to the main island of Tahiti. We were met on arrival by the sound of the ukelele and a flower lei was placed around our necks whilst we witnessed a Polynesian dance performance. We had landed in paradise!
Our first stop was the island of Moorea, known for its pineapple, mango, and papaya, which we reached by catamaran. Sitting up on the top deck gave us a fabulous view of our surroundings and the excitement grew even further. We spent a number of nights in a beach villa just steps away from the shore and took a 4-wheel drive tour to Belvedere lookout with stunning views of Cooks Bay and Opunohu Bay. We visited the historic Marae Titiroa & as we travelled back to our hotel, the road winding around these bays was picture perfect, with freshly caught colourful local fish for sale on the roadside. There are hikes, ziplines, sunset cruises & plenty of watersports activities including surfing.
We flew to Bora Bora, where the peaks of Mount Otemanu and Mount Pahia are visible through the clouds, the only remnants of an ancient extinct volcano. Bora Bora is surrounded by a lagoon, reef and motus (tiny islands). The perfect place to say, ‘I do.’ I was lucky to have a window seat on this flight and did not budge from the view. Our traditional Polynesian villa had a private garden with a pool and gazebo. The morning of our wedding, we walked barefoot to the beach where we were taken by outrigger canoe to our ceremony site, greeted by the Master of Ceremonies, with local musicians beating drums and beautiful dancers. Our adventures in Bora Bora also included a lagoon boat tour, swimming with black tip reef sharks, rays, and lemon sharks, stopping at a tiny deserted motu for a BBQ lunch. We visited the mainland of Bora Bora one evening and dined at Bloody Marys. It is also possible to rent a jet ski or glass bottom canoe, take a helicopter flight, cycle on the main island and to hike the Valley of the Kings trail.
After Bora Bora, we travelled to the tiny island of Taha’a for our Honeymoon. Taha'a is known for producing Tahitian pearls & the most fragrant vanilla on earth. Our expansive villa was again Polynesian in style, had its own pool and gazebo, and it was right on the beach where we had our own hammocks. We witnessed a fire dance on the beach, snorkelled amongst colourful fish in the coral garden with the silhouette of Bora Bora in the distance, ate the most fabulous food and totally relaxed.
We stopped off in Los Angeles and New York on our way home for some sightseeing. But I really didn’t want this trip to ever end!
