Moorea...we're mammals like on the discovery channel, sweetheart

---

I woke up and had a consult with the hotel security and conceirge about last nights problem with the drunken wanna be rapist who I imagine is still nursing sore balls and deservedly so and decided to not let that spoil things. Im a pretty brave person. I try and remain upbeat and decided what happened couldve been a lot lot worse and to give Moorea a go. I had spent half the night wondering about changing plans and trying to get a flight to Fakarava but security put extra watch on the rear of the property and on me. I wandered up to Caramelline Creperie to have the most divine breakfast and decided to go and find my tattooist and work through a design with him, have a dive and take a little bit of a look around Moorea. Moorea like the rest of Polynesia doesnt like cruise ships so it turned on a few days of wind and pretty much constant rain, which was ok by me, i live in a city where the forecast is FINE for 99.9% of the year. After my breakfast I grabbed a beautiful patisserie and headed out to find the dive guy at the resort only to find he had finished for the day..dives at 7.30am and thats it. Hmm.

I checked for the tattooist - he hadnt turned up that day even though i had made an appointment months ago. Hmm. Come on Moorea!. Still not getting disheartened i headed for the tours desk. Everything was booked out by the cruise shippers, except for Te Moana Dolphin and turtle centre. At $150 for 15 minutes in the water with a dolphin. While id had a small encounter with dolphins in the wild this was about the only thing to do it seemed so i enquired more. The cab fare was $70. The concierge suggested I hire a car. Ive driven in thailand and indonesia but ive never driven on the other side of the road...the one Australians drive on is the right one ;-)

But..I was being all grown up and intrepid on this trip so why not! I hired a little ''stick shift'' hatch from Avis for $55 for 3 hours. The avis lady explained I couldnt get lost because there was only one road and other than the fully sealed road up to the belvedere (lookout) I couldnt go wrong..really. Not having driven a manual/stickshift for years I lurched off uncertainly after i had grabbed my bikini and camera etc and pottered off down the road. It was fairly easy to not drift onto the wrong side of the road because every car coming towards you is on the wrong side. I started enjoying myself..cruising along stopping for pics at Cooks Bay, where Cook did not actually land..before deciding this belvedere thingo might be worth a look. Gently winding road suddenly turned into a hill climb from hell. There was nowhere to turn around and chicken out even if id wanted to - and i did, many times. The first stop was the Marae, one of the few the missionaries didnt build their churches on..before i stupidly continued up the hill...only to encounter a huge jeep full of tourists taking up all of the tiny narrow road above me on hairpin bend no. 354. Shit..I pulled over onto a tiny cliffside grassy area and let him past...

As mentioned, i dont drive stickshift on the wrong side of the car which is on the wrong side of the road. And now I had stopped.....I had to do a hill start on slippery wet grass on the side of a bloody extinct volcano in a stickshift....I tried...the car slid precariously backwards sliding towards a spectacular and probably fatal sommersault which would blow the car insurance at the very least. I absolutely crapped myself. Ok. Turn off engine. Get out of Car. Inhale exhale. Chain smoke. Think it through..I finally got the guts up to get back in the car and pull the handbrake on and gently creep forward until i felt the wheels grip onto the slippery road as best they could...phew...survived another adventure. I crept up to the top of the belvedere and found the carpark full of tour buses and jeeps and tourists..from here you can see both bays..Opohonu where Cook actually DID land and Cooks Bay plus the amazing mountainous jungle...it really is a beautiful place. The flowers and ferns and waterfalls give Moorea a particularly beautiful smell. I breathed in the clear air looking around me when a lovely man came up and gave me mango slices and a drink of water. I explained I wasnt with the tour group and he smiled laughed and said, oh well, take two shares!. I did, and crept back down the road my heart in my mouth before rejoining the main road.

I stopped at a little town around Cooks bay and bought some more pearls for friends and the obligatory tshirt. Ventured down the road to Snack Mahana which is rightfully famous around Moorea and ordered crevette when a french guy riding a bike in the heavy rain pulled in and ordered his food so I invited him to share my table as there were no others. He was a lovely guy and I enjoyed chatting to him about what bought you here...I love asking people that question.

It was time for me to go to the Dolphin Centre..the type of activity I usually do not condone..but hey, id booked it. The dolphins here are seperated from the open ocean by a net. They were bred in captivity by the US defence force and have had daily human interaction. They cannot be released into the wild. They would not survive a day. Dont blame the dolphin centre for this, blame the US defence force and aquariums around the world that have captive bred dolphins they need to dump somewhere when they are no longer needed. If the lagoon surrounding the overwater bungalows at the Intercontinetal is the best option for spending their requirement its not a bad option considering the alternative. I do not agree with the get video while being towed along hanging onto a dolphins fin but hey, while this is a commercial operation, I really enjoyed my 15 minutes with the male dolphin who seemed to really like me. I was so engrossed in having cuddles with him i didnt notice the 50 or 60 cruise shippers watching and snapping pics from the viewing bridge.

Theres something about seeing dolphins in the wild thats amazing, and theres also something about cuddling a dolphin and softly clicking to him while he kisses you thats also amazing. I even bought the photos..of course you were not allowed to take your own camera in. Total love, how you doing my mammalian cousin, come lie in my arms and let me tell you a story. If a picture tells a thousand words then I guess these pictures sum up my dolphin encounter.

Just as I was leaving one of the Intercontinental bell boys ran out and yelled OI MATE GDAY come with me!..I cracked up laughing at his fluent aussie but asked him 'where' this time and he said that the turtles were hatching and he could sneak me down to the beach without me having to pay. DEAL!. I watched these amazing little guys make their dash for the sea and wished them luck, feeling a bit teary at the beauty of the moment.

I suddenly realised the time and knew I had to get moving to get the car back in time. I was driving along, taking pics, even pics of myself driving on the wrong side of the road (Avis..if you read this..i made this part up) and stopping here and there to stock up on fruit from peoples garden stalls, hit the marche for more baguettes and cheese, fuel up the car and get it back a half hour late and covered in mud but undamaged.

I looked at the pics and thought what an wonderful day I was having and still buzzing from the adrenaline and dolphin lovin I had a dip in the pool and a quick shower then changed to go and get some gateux from Caramelline and a fresh juice. As I walked up the road from the Pearl a rather nice looking guy cycled past me and did a U turn to come and say hello. I was obviously still wary but he was very polite and said he simply wanted to say hello as I looked friendly and happy and he did not see many happy tourists. I explained I wasnt with the cruise ship and told him where id been as he walked beside me. It was broad daylight so I did not feel at all threatened. I asked him about the tattooist and he explained which tattooists where were and I also told him about the dive centre and he said he dove daily with his son and brother to catch fish for the local restaurants and for the fun of diving ...and he had a spare tank. He asked if I wanted to go for a dive, the whole time calling me madam and saying he would like to show someone his islands reef and before i know it he was back in a beat up ute with his son, brother and dive gear. I raced back to the pearl and grabbed my gear and they showed up a few minutes later. His brothers boat was just down the road and in a few minutes we were above the coral gardens site. So I went diving with the locals. It was awesome even though Moorea probably has just above average diving and nothing on Rangi. They didnt do any catching just were happy to take someone out diving for fun..didnt cost a cent.



My faith in Moorea restored, they dropped me back at the pearl. I had needed to do that dive. Doing it with locals, not a dive master in sight was probably a good idea..diving at its simplest. Felt like I finally could feel Moorea. I liked it.

---

Photos

Cooks Bay
Taken while driving.

Oh, yes the road is fine
Does it LOOK FINE to you!!!

Rivers turning the lagoon brown
The cruise shippers complained

Selfie while driving
Im an idiot

Comments

[Home and Away]

What a wonderful day...
I wwas expecting that everytime you met a guy, you would check whether their family jewels were hurting. I'm pleased with how your last adventure went...faith restored. And it's especially good to see pictures of you with a smile and having fun.

[littlewing]

Thanks :)
Id actually never had anything like that happen to me while travelling before and it did rattle me. I couldnt let that me spend the rest of my time hiding inside a resort so venturing out that day - while a hugely expensive day - turned out to be the best thing I couldve done.

[The Travel Camel]

Bliss
Absolutely love this photo - it is one (of many) from this blog to treasure!