Swimming in Amongst the Sharks and Stingrays

---

Today we‘ve signed ourselves up for a full day boat tour out into the lagoon. As we wait for our craft to arrive we’re serenaded by a highly entertaining local four piece band who it seems we’ll have for company for the whole day. Most Polynesians we’ve come across seem to have a real gift for harmonious singing and these guys are certainly no exception.

First stop is at the mouth of Cooks Bay, which we’re told, perhaps unsurprisingly, is named after the great navigator. He apparently first landed in Moorea in 1777. This was his third voyage which I think also turned out to be his last - something about a bit of a misunderstanding with the locals in Hawaii. We’re told his first landfall was in the other of Moorea’s two major bays, the slightly smaller Opunohu Bay, where 30,000 local villagers from around the shoreline paddled out to greet him. The slightly worrying thing about this fact is that the current population of the entire island is only 19,000. We’re not told anything about the reasons for the decline, but if what we’ve heard before about first European visitors is anything to go by I suspect their kind gifts of smallpox, measles, syphilis and other similar nasties might have had more than a bit to do with it. Anyway, the locals were pleased to see him, but Opunohu Bay was sacred, so they couldn’t name that after him, so his second stopping point got the gong instead.

We motor on and our craft now seems to be making a beeline for a long line of luxurious looking overwater bungalows. … well they looked luxurious from afar. Closeup’s a very different story. The windows and doors are all boarded up, and the whole place looks decidedly dilapidated. It seems that this was the Intercontinental Hotel; it closed when the pandemic hit and never reopened. Very sad. We spy some luxurious looking villas up on the hillside which it seems also used to be part of it. We’re told that these were sold off and are now rented out as Airbnbs, so at least something’s been salvaged from the wreckage.

We plough on with a school of dolphins for company. We’re told that these are spinner dolphins which would look just like the ones back home, if only someone hadn’t shrunk them.

Issy and I did a tour similar to this when we came here back in 2014, and next stop is what for us was the absolute highlight of that particular expedition - feeding the stingrays and swimming in amongst them and the sharks. We moor in a shallow sandy part of the lagoon, and then it’s everyone overboard to join in the frenzy. The rays come up to the guys with the food and seemingly ask to be patted, and then we get to pat them too. This is a slightly otherworldly experience, one of the very best. We’re warned only to pat them on top, ‘cos the bottom’s where their mouths are. …and we’re also told to keep clear of their tails; they might be friendly, but their tails are still barbed. We’re feeling comfortable, but in the backs of our minds I think us Aussies will always associate stingrays with the demise of poor old Steve Irwin. And what about the sharks? Our guide tells us that they’re vegetarians, but swimming amongst them does feel slightly strange. It’s been drummed into us in our homeland since birth that all sharks are man eaters, so how can the locals be so absolutely sure that these guys are totally harmless. Hmmm. The rays sure are keen to get a feed. Our skipper’s got food in his hand and they’re crawling up all over him as he tries to get up the ladder back into the boat.

Then it’s off to a small island or “motu“ for a traditional Tahitian beachside lunch. There’s no shortage of rays and sharks here either. Some of the picnic tables have been dragged into the shallows, and the rays are constantly coming up to the people sitting at them in their endless quests for food. One young lady keeps patting them with her feet.

We get a demonstration of how to make the traditional Tahitian dish of raw fish. Next up is a lesson on how to open a coconut, how to grate it up, and how to squeeze the grating to make coconut milk. And it seems there’s not much that coconut milk isn’t good for. You can rub it in on your skin as a moisturiser, and it seems you can even use it as a hair restorer. And how will I never forget this fact? Well there’s probably a hundred people watching on, but the guy doing the demonstration points straight at me with “see that gentleman there ... if he rubs this on his head, in five days he’ll have long hair”. Hmmmm. Issy and Scott are now killing themselves laughing. Very funny; not.

Next up are demonstrations of how to wrap yourself in the local one piece dress cloth for both guys and gals. And then it’s time for dancing. We were all offered rum punch when we arrived and some of our dance volunteers clearly haven’t been holding back. It’s all good fun, but I hope none of them are ever tempted to give up their day jobs.

It’s started to rain and by the time we get back on the boat it’s turned into a tropical downpour. We make the fatal mistake of sitting up near the bow. We’d be undercover if the boat wasn’t moving, but as we motor off the rain’s driving in under the cover, and we’re now beyond saturated. The upside is however that the spectacular peaks are now looking even more mysterious than ever shrouded in thick cloud. We opt to walk the kilometre or so from the dock back to our lodgings. This proves not to be a great decision. Before we only had to worry about getting mown down by cars, but the gutters are now flowing like rivers, and drowning‘s starting to feel like a distinct possibility.

We head out down the dark busy road again in search of dinner. It’s more dangerous than ever. There’s a cavernously deep storm drain right next to the side of the pavement and it’s flowing a torrent. One mis-step and we’ll be washed out to sea never to be seen or heard of again … well that’s what it feels like. And the hazards just keep coming. We nearly trip over a dog sleeping a few millimetres from the edge of the traffic lane. I wonder if it does this often. Anyway, it’s all worth it in the end - sensational five star restaurant quality food at a local eatery.

---

Comments

[D MJ Binkley]

Living the dream
I love this! The perfect picnic.

[DaveandIssy]

The perfect picnic
He certainly didn’t look too stressed.