Blogs from Tahiti, French Polynesia, Oceania - page 9

After our honeymoon we headed south east to Teahupoo to catch some of the Billabong Pro. The contest was put off for a few days due to lack of swell. We thought we would seize the opportunity to do some exploring and find the waterfall that our hosts told us about. 15 minutes into the hike we had to turn tail and run for fear of getting eaten alive by the most mosquitoes the both of us had ever seen. So this meant that the rest of the waiting period was spent out on one of the many reef passes surfing alongside the pros and plenty of tanning time. The swell finally picked up for the final, we were lucky to be out in the channel to watch Damien Hobgood beat Mick Fanning in the ... read more

16/03/07 - 17/03/07 Tahiti - Bijou of the South Pacific - Non, je ne pense pas A 2-day stopover in French Polynesia turned out to be plenty of time. Tahiti is expensive and from the moment we stepped of the plane, we met moody, sultry people. The taxis from the airport to the hotels are ludicrously expensive for the distance traveled and have the cheek to charge you a set price for the distance and then and additional charge per piece of luggage that you are carrying!! Tip - use one huge bag!! It was strange to sit in a smoky, Parisian decor café in the middle of the Pacific Ocean, ordering a Croque Monsieur and Café Au Lait and it really did feel French. The Inter-continental Hotel was constantly busy. The lobby area was like ... read more

Time for a surf Story!!!! I arrived in Tahiti early in the morning. Kendal was to arrive later that night. I had a day to kills so with swell forecast for rather large surf at what is considered to be one of the worlds most dangerous waves, and with my new acquaintances in tow, a couple from South Australia, that was exactly where we headed. I hired a little open top 4WD headed to the wave at the end of the Road: The notorious wave of Teahupoo. With my little reef experience this was an interesting proposition. After a number of surf checks along the way we discovered that the swell wasn't quite so large. But none the less we waxed up and paddled the 30 minute mission out to the wave. There were quite a ... read more

Bonjour tout le monde! We're in the Archipel de la Société, where Polynesians ride bikes whilst clutching baguettes, eat croque monsieur, play pétanque and listen to accordian music (well, sometimes...). The laissez faire attitude comes naturally to Polynesians so it seems to be quite a good match. Indeed the Polynesians here voted to maintain their association with France in a referendum in 1958 (mind you, that was five years before the French started detonating nuclear bombs in the Archipel de Tuamotos). As far as the French are concerned Polynesie Française is another part of France itself and a fair number have decided to follow Gauguin and start a new life out here in the cyclone zone. One thing that immediately strikes you about French Polynesia is that there are flowers everywhere. Many of the locals wear ... read more

What can I say about Tahiti..... Expensive! It cost me nearly 3 pounds for half a beer the robbing gits! Other than that it's a beautiful Island, I stayed in the capital Papeete but there is not much too do here. If your planning on visiting the the area you really only need a night here and then get yourself to the smaller islands. Ideally bring yourself a friend and plenty of cash also. Although there isn't much too do I'm not complaining as my sun burn from the Rarotonga was quite paingful and so I tried to stay away from the sun as much as possible. I 've started to peal and it reminds of the guy from the Austin Powers movie - It's not a pretty sight! French is the main langauge on the ... read more