Although we were disappointed to say goodbye to Bora Bora, we knew that we still had two more days to enjoy French Polynesia. We left Bora Bora in the morning of the 24th, and arrived at the Tahiti airport by 10:00 am. Given the time of day we quickly decided to ditch our gear in a hostel and head over to Moorea. Across the street from the airport is the Hostel Fifi (which is very reasonable on its dorm rates...but pretty high for what you get on its more private doubles...like shared bathrooms) and had our first experience with Tahitian public [View Full Entry]

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Now many of you may not understand the impact of the falling value of the US Dollar in the world market...but this past week we had a blast of reality, try a continental breakfast -- $50 for two (no omelettes or waffles; seriously, bread, butter, and fruit and that was it)....... French Polynesia is one of the those places that you must visit at least once in your lifetime. Pictures are of no use...this place is much more beautiful than any picture can show you. The water is more blue, the scenery is more amazing, and the time is SOOOO relaxing. [View Full Entry]

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The fact is that Johnny English didn't quite expect this. Lizzy didn't expect this either - and was gutted when there was no requirement to complete an immigration form (thus meaning that you don't get a passport stamp). French Polynesia is in Europe is seems. The history of these islands (and this is shorter so that SJB doesn't fall asleep this time) is as follows. Samuel Wallace (Britain) popped in in 1767. Kills lots of people and (in true Al Murray - Pub Landlord style) calls the islands "Island King Georges". Louis Antoine de Bougainville called in in 1768 and claimed [View Full Entry]

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After we left NZ we wanted to chill on a good beach in the Pacific for a few days and as the flight to Easter Island (our next stop) goes via Tahiti it made sense to stop there....and we were not going to argue. We arrived to Polynesian music and flower garlands but as it is a French island they had an EU channel believe it or not so we didn´t even get a stamp in our passport!!! How disappointing. As we had now crossed the date line we managed to have two March 10th´s, the 1st one was spent in [View Full Entry]

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'''Nothing on Tahiti is so majestic as what faces it across the bay, for there lies the island of Moorea. To describe it is impossible. It is a monument to the prodigal beauty of nature.''' - - JAMES MICHENER Moorea is, by far, the most gorgeous, peaceful and tantalizing island I have ever been lucky to visit. Following a three hour sail from Tahina marina, we sailed into Cook's Bay on Tuesday afternoon and anchored fifty meters off of Pao Pao, population two grocery stores and fifty dogs. Towering 900 meters to our right was Mt. Rotui, Mt.Tearai to our left; [View Full Entry]

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As the plane began its descent into Tahiti we caught a glimpse of what was in store for us as we flew past the neighbouring island of Moorea, with its lush green jagged mountains rising from the surrounding turquoise sea. Once on the ground we were given a native flower which we duly tucked behind our ears, before smugly cutting the queue and going through the EU channel, as it is effectively France. We then had to figure out how to get to our hotel. After a chat with a very helpful and extremely camp information dude who told us that [View Full Entry]

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Auf nach Bora Bora ??? Nach einem halben Jahr Backpacking in den billigsten Unterkuenften und Zelten, haben wir uns gedacht - wenn man schon in der Gegend ist - muss man auch mal in der Suedsee vorbei schauen. Mein Traum war es immer mal nach Bora Bora zu fliegen - wieso weiss ich auch nicht ganz genau, es muss wohl der magische Namen sein! Einen Flug hatten wir schon seid geraumer Zeit. Als wir uns dann den Lonely Planet gekauft haben, um genaueres zu Planen, wurde uns aber erst mal schlecht: die Preise sind einfach jenseits von Gut und Boese. Und [View Full Entry]

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The bustling capital of Tahiti, Pape’ete is also known as the “basket of water,” our first, and not very accurate, glimpse into Polynesian life. No idea why it carries that nickname but I’m sure there is some island legend behind the idiom as there is with all other things here. The mountains have legends, the lagoons have legends; even the dances have legends behind them. I learned this vital information from my, “Facts for the Tahitian Tourist” data sheet I picked up at the visitor’s center (they had free bits of pineapple too!). FYI - there are [View Full Entry]

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Leaving the stunning Lakes Hawea and Wanaka behind we headed south west to Te Anau. Amazingly we managed to coordinate itineraries with friends from home and fellow travelers, Andy and Clare. Much swapping of stories and wine drinking ensued leaving us going our separate ways talking of detoxing. Needless to say we haven't started yet! From there we spent two days cruising two of the main sounds of Fiordland. Milford Sound, in particular was breathtakingly spectacular with sheer rock walls going straight up (and down) for over a mile in places. Doubtful Sound, although less spectacular is [View Full Entry]

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Moorea, Society Islands January 22nd brings us to Moorea, the most beautiful island thus far. A local priest changed the name from Pao Pao to Moorea after a yellow lizard appeared in a dream he had. This is where South Pacific was filmed, and it is indeed breathtakingly beautiful here. The 1984 version of The Bounty with Mel Gibson and Anthony Hopkins was filmed here, not Tahiti as I may have said before. We took a tour around the whole island and up to Belvedere Lookout for a stunning view. I can’t wait to get to a place where I can [View Full Entry]

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