Blogs from French Polynesia, Oceania - page 17

The Vaipo Falls are meant to be the largest waterfall in Polynesia, outside of Hawaii and New Zealand, standing 1148ft tall. The journey to get to the falls, although not a very strenuous hike, was quite an interesting jaunt into a very isolated sector of a very isolated island. The falls are located in the Hakaui Valley, which is only accessible by boat from as far as I could tell. Nuku Hiva's coastline is very rugged, and so is much of the interior of the island. Our trip began as we took our tender from Taiohae Bay over to Daniel's Bay. We had read that Daniel was a local guy that helped out sailors passing through by giving them access to fresh water. As we found out an update later in the day, Daniel was dead, ... read more

Rangiroa is the largest atoll in the Tuamotus, and the second largest atoll in the world. There are less than 1,500 permanent residents though. The major attraction to Rangiroa is the underwater life that is enhanced by the strong currents brought by the tides. There are only two main, large, passes (channels) for water to enter the lagoon. There are over a hundred small ones, but only two that you can dive in. Current is life, and no matter when the current is incoming or outgoing, the current is ripping through these passes. The best dives are supposed to be during the incoming tide at the Tiputa Pass, the largest pass on the island. Unfortunately, during our two days in Rangiroa, the incoming tide never came to fruition due to the large south swell that was ... read more

In the morning we rent a car for the day. We set out for a circumnavigation of Tahiiti Nui, the main part of the island, with a detour to Tahiti Iti, the small part of the island connected by an isthmus. Along the way we stop at a beautiful park with grottos, ferns, and lots of tropical plants. There’s another place with a fresh water swimming hole where the spring just bubbles up constantly. The water here is refreshingly cool and just across the road from the beach. On Tahiti Iti, we stop at a waterfront restaurant right on the beach for a hamburger lunch, then go swimming to cool off afterwards. The view is great. Further along, we stop and hike to an area with three tall waterfalls. It is the very picture of paradise, ... read more

First of all, I'm not really into heights. I used to like jumping off of cliffs, 50'-60' was the highest I'd go, but that all changed after I jumped off the roof of this sketchy house perched on some cliffs on the west side of Maui--I haven't really jumped off of anything since then. I just don't do it anymore. I won't even jump off the sundeck of the boat. So, pretty much needless to say, I didn't really want to go skydiving either. But, I'll tell you what, I'm soooooooo glad I did. It was the most amazing thing I've done in a long time. I wouldn't say I was scared to go, but I definitely dragged my feet in getting to the airport. They didn't think that I was going to show up. The ... read more

Bora Bora. It is a place that I had always wanted to go, purely for the fact that it sounds like a faraway remote exotic tropical paradise. I can say that all of those adjectives describe it very accurately, except for 'exotic'. At one point in time, maybe 20-30 years ago it would have been exotic, but not anymore, not in a place that boasts Four Seasons and St. Regis-type high-end resorts, a runway that can land G550's, and an anchorage that welcomes cruise ships........nothing ruins 'exotic' better than a cruise ship. As we were taking the tender into shore one of the nights we were there, we heard the sound of the beating of a drum. As one of the guys put it, 'if you heard that sound in Papua, you wouldn't continue going to ... read more