Life's better in Bora Bora!

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From the moment the plane touches down on a small outer island that plays host to the airport of Bora Bora, travellers know they've arrived at a special destination. This place is famous throughout the world, and the first glimpse of the magic of Bora Bora after exiting the airport building is completely off the charts. In order to get to the settlement of Vaitape on the main island, we were required to take a shuttle, but in this case the airport transfer certainly doesn't have the usual connotations. In fact, passengers on arrival are treated to a stunning ferry ride through brilliant blue waters with tropical fish swimming right up to the jetty. This is a one of a kind introduction to a tropical paradise, and rest assured things only get better from here!

The journal left off at the end of a second week island hopping in French Polynesia with my travel friends. Once again it was time for a fond goodbye on the island of Raiatea, where I boarded another Air Tahiti flight to the final island of this trip Bora Bora, which also happens to be the finish point for the annual va'a multi-island canoe race. The paddlers arrived on the island just a few days earlier to complete the biggest sporting event on the French Polynesian calendar. As mentioned in previous blogs, I was lucky to see the paddlers racing in both Huahine and Raiatea, but they paddle from island to island on a daily basis, so it's not practicable to try and keep up with them. As soon as the ferry arrived on the main island I was greeted by the driver and manager of the lodge, and so commenced six glorious days in paradise. When we arrived at the lodge I felt immediately comfortable with the accommodation, as it's surprisingly spacious, with a verandah looking out to sea with stunning views, and sufficient shower and toilet facilities for all the guests. The manager Marie Claude and her staff are lovely, and the location right on the water is ideal.

The lodge is 15 minutes walk from matira beach, which surprised me with it's sheer beauty. Most of the five star bungalows perched on the water that make Bora Bora world famous are on private motus, where only the guests are allowed. I expected good things from the main island of course, but matira beach is absolutely breathtaking. It's hard to describe the brilliant colours of the water on the island, which can suddenly and dramatically change under various light conditions. But most of the time under a typical blue sky there's a brilliant blue close to shore, and crystal clear aqua further out in the lagoon. It's reminiscent of the colours at Aitutaki in the Cook Islands, and absolutely stunning to behold. I spent the first few days in the absence of my travel friends going to the beach in the mornings, and having a bit of an explore in the afternoon, as I settled in to this island paradise.

For the third day I rented a scooter from the team at the lodge, and headed out on a tour of the island. My drone flying friend is expected in the afternoon, so I wanted to make the most of the morning exploring the beautiful main island. It was peaceful and relaxing riding with stunning views, and as the island is quite compact I decided to embark on a second lap. When I arrived back near the lodge I bumped in to my Japanese friend on the street for yet another reunion at an incredible fourth island in French Polynesia. He has been doing things a little tough over the last several days, having contracted dengue fever from mosquitoes, and also dealing with the discomfort of an aquatic run in with a sea urchin. But he's coming good with the help of medical professionals on both counts, and it's great to be back together. We still had some time to kill in the afternoon, so I suggested he jump on the bike and do a tour of the island while there was still daylight.

I arranged a lagoon tour for us on the next day, and it was a memorable and unforgettable experience. There are two young guys working at the lodge, with boundless energy and calm dispositions. Anyway, we headed down to the water and waded out to a speed boat with the boys leading the tour. The skipper plays his polynesian guitar while piloting the speedboat with his knee, it's all part of the service in Bora Bora! The first stop on the tour is the coral gardens, for stunning snorkelling featuring indescribable colours. It's reasonably deep but the water is crystal clear, and the beautiful tropical fish swim so close to snorkellers you can almost reach out and touch them. And of course the colours of the coral are equally stunning. From there we headed out to the shark and stingray feeding area near the reef. There were over 20 large reef sharks in the shallow water, and they aren't shy like the sharks in Moorea tend to be. There were also stingrays swimming around, but with these particular sharks it's the closest I've come to these magnificent sea creatures. I was looking in to their eyes and watching their gills as they glided by, and at one stage I counted 15 sharks as they swam closely past.

Next we shot off towards a channel known for eagle rays, and the guys explained they often swim in to the strong current at this particular spot. Incredibly, as soon as I dove in to the water I was stunned to see 7 eagle rays swimming together. The current felt very strong, but the boys on the boat ensured we went in to the deep water one at a time and just trailled us in the speedboat. It was an incredible and truly unforgettable experience, I've spotted eagle rays already on this trip, but to witness 7 swimming together was totally out of this world. We were then taken to a private motu for lunch, where the boys prepared raw tuna with coconut milk and vegetables, which is a polynesian speciality. We assisted in the preparation ... husking coconuts, scraping out the meat, and squeezing out the coconut milk as part of the island experience. After lunch we headed to our final spot in the ocean to swim with stingrays, which are equally amazing marine creatures.

Finally I have to bid farewell to my friend for the last time, after more than two weeks travelling together, where I consistently marvelled at his freakish drone flying abilities. And now it's time to draw the curtain on three unforgettable weeks island hopping in the Society Islands of French Polynesia where, basically all of you should be here now!

"Follow your heart but take your brain with you." Alfred Adler

It's home time, so until next time I'm signing off for now

Tom

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Comments

[D MJ Binkley]

Love this one.
And... look at that water.