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We were among good company judging from the feedback from other travellers we spoke to who thought it would be a great idea to stop in Tahiti for a beach holiday on the way from NZ to South America to discover three alarming things. Firstly, the cost of staying there (no income tax so major charges levied towards the influx of tourists), secondly that Tahiti itself is perhaps not your most idyllic spot and thirdy, many of the Motus (islands) aren´t really covered in beaches. So we reduced our stay by a few days and after some searching we found a [View Full Entry]

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I changed my mind... here's where my blog is really... http://troublewithaaron.blogspot.com/ [View Full Entry]

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Day 56 - Thursday 30th March The Facts: Flight to Bora Bora Shark and ray feeding Grey sharks diving The longer version: An early start took us back to Papeete Airport where we had an Air Tahiti flight to Bora Bora via one of the smaller islands. The views were spectacular with all islands having some beautiful green multi- coloured lagoons around them. Bora Bora itself was just as spectacular as it is in all the brochures, although some cloud covered the highest peak. Straight to the Hotel Maitai Polynesia, where after several reminders, we were picked up for our [View Full Entry]

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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 [View Full Entry]

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Right then, this one is for Caz who is grumbling that we haven’t put on enough entries, hope this one pleases you?! Last time we spoke we were just leaving Mo’orea which is an island in French Polynesia, the observant ones amongst you will remember that we were just about to set off on an inter-island adventure so here it is.. Our first stop was Bora Bora which is a picture postcard kinda place, very famous for its sandy ‘motu’ (ring of sand banks which surrounds the island) which in this case it has been turned into a string of 5* [View Full Entry]

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After all that hard work travelling around South America we decided we needed a holiday and where better than French Polynesia. We had already booked our flights from Papette in Tahiti to Rangiroa and accomadation once we got there. Rangiroa is, as you would imagine an idylic tropical island except it's got coral beaches and not soft sand, however it is still beautiful. The second thing you notice in French Polynesia after the scenery is how expensive it is, we were told this is due to there being no income tax here and all government income is generated by their equivalent [View Full Entry]

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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 [View Full Entry]

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We arrived in Papette airport to the sound of strumming guitars and singing, flowers in the hair for all the visitors, what a good way to start! A bit of cash machine trouble but after going through all of our cards we managed alright… The French Polynesian coins – French Polynesian Francs - are massive, they look a bit like pieces of eight, real pirate country, the notes are pretty special too. We took the boat in the rain to Moorea and then this American school bus around the island to our camping. It is all so tropical! Campsite right next [View Full Entry]

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Captain Dag has suggested that we all be awake at 6am to view our departure from Raiatea. Alan and I sit on our balcony with the usual coffee and breakfast as our ship glides slowly down the lagoon between Raiatea and Tahaa. We can see the Tahaa side and the early morning light provides wonderful photo opportunities. We pass so quietly that we can hear roosters crowing and dogs barking on the shore. At the end of our passage, we come to a motu off Tahaa with over-the-water bungalows standing in aquamarine colored water. The mountains of Bora Bora rise in [View Full Entry]

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