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Published: September 12th 2005
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We left New Zealand and headed for Tahiti with all the anticipation and excitement you could imagine. Even the anouncement on the plane before landing that it was raining did little to dampen our spirits (excuse the pun), and as soon as we got off the plane we felt that tropical temperature we had been longing for.
We jumped into a taxi and arrived at our 'BUDGET´ accomodation (US$90), where we spent one night before heading off to Moorea on the ferry the next morning. On arrival we decided to hire a car for a few hours so we could check out all the accomodation options. After neither of my Credit Cards working through no fault of my own Becky came to the rescue and we drove off in our new car. It wasn't long before the rain started coming down again as we darted in and out of hotels and Guest houses in search of our little corner of paradise. We soon came to realise that that little corner of paradise would cost the earth with rooms ranging from US$160 upto US$1000 per night!! We decided to have a drink and some lunch and think this over but even
that came to US$45 for a burger, chips and a drink x2.
By now we had realised that this is not the place for the budget minded traveller and so after speaking to a guy at a local dive shop we headed to a place called Fara Oa Oa, a fantastic little guest house with more rustic quality and charm than you could shake a stick at. It also only cost us US$60 which for this Island was a Bargain.
Having sorted out our accomodation it was time to get some money so we haded to one of the many ATM's on the island. We were somewhat supprised to find out that none of the four cards we possesed worked (Visa, Mastercard, Cirrus, Maestro) even though their signs were plastered all over the ATM, and this was the same at every ATM on the island! As the banks were closed (it was the weekend) we headed to a posh hotel to try to get some money from my credit card. Horrah, it worked!!! Finally things were looking up.
After a good nights sleep we decided, or rather had no choice but to get some more money, so
as the ATM's were still useless we headed back to the posh hotel where i was told that i could only get cash if i was a guest, and that the previous nights transaction had been a mistake. We got the same response from all of the other posh hotels on the island. We were also told by a local shop owner that cards not working in the ATM was infact not uncommon, and seemd to be a software problem.
Let me just recap, we are on a very expensive island, we have no money, none of our cards work in the ATM's and none of the hotels will help, oh and it was still raining. By now we were more than a little frustrated. Our last hope was US$140 in forgotten travellers cheques which Becky had found in her bag. At last we found a small hotel who would cash them for us, so wanting to enjoy some of this time we were paying so much for we rentd a sea kayak and headed off to snorkle with some Stingrays. At last the sun came out and for a couple of hours we really enjoyed ourselves as the
rays came right up to us as we were swimming in the fantastically clear waters of the turquoise lagoon.
The next day we were yet again in need of some more money, so rushed straight back to the same hotel to change the last US$40 travellers cheque. This time the response was 'I could do it for you yestrday, but not today' with no further explanation. So yet again, no money, expensive island, raining, you get the picture. Well that was breaking point, we got on the phone to get on the next flight out, which was that night. So, after driving up Mt. Belvedere to try to get a view of the island through the clouds, we took back the car, did a deal at the local airport to get on the next flight off the island at the locals rate (credit card worked at last), and arrived at Papeete International airport to wait for twelve hours to see if we could get on the 1am flight to Easter Island. Our luck must have changed as we managed to change our flight at the check in desk and board the flight (although an hour and a half late)
with no problems.
Perhaps one day we may return, as the Islands of French Polynesia have a huge amount to offer. But next time we shall be better prepared with alot more money and will try to avoid arriving on a weekend when the banks are closed! An island paradise? Not this time.
B & R
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