My mother and I recently returned from a week in Tahiti, visiting the islands of Tahiti, Moorea and Bora Bora. I was asked to share our impressions and experiences rather than provide another report on hotels, so here goes.
We arrived in Tahiti at 6:30pm from Los Angeles and were quickly whisked away to the Intercontinental Tahiti. At the hotel we were greeted by a Polynesian warrior bellman and escorted through the flower strewn path on the floor to the front desk for check in. This is their standard greeting and after the long flight this was a special treat to get us in the mood of the islands. We were escorted to our room and immediately went to the window to see the view. Not much, since it was already dark at that hour. No matter, we had dinner reservations for the Saturday Bounty Night show that night, so off we went, wandering along the torch lit walkway through the gardens toward the restaurant.
Dinner was a fabulous buffet mixed with a huge variety of local dishes as well as a few more continental dishes for those not wishing to experiment. Mom and I were feeling adventurous and, between the two of us, tried a little bit of nearly everything on the tables. The show was an entertaining reenactment of the romance between Fletcher Christian and one of the King's daughters, inspired by the story of the Mutiny on the Bounty. There was also lots of dancing and toward the end Mom was one of the crowd pulled up on stage to learn one of the dances.
The next morning we woke up early and were greeted with a stunning view from our balcony. The view from our panoramic view room was of the gardens, waving palm trees and the sandy bottom infinity pool in the foreground and the mountains of Moorea in the background. What a wonderful way to wake up in Tahiti! I highly recommend it. Breakfast was another amazing buffet with dishes catering to the many diverse cultures that visit the islands, as well as many local dishes.
Our quick flight from Papeete to Moorea gave us just enough time in the air to see the water, the island and the new golf coarse, then land. Here we stayed at the Intercontinental Moorea which I'm guessing was about 30 minutes or so, maybe longer. We were all chatting and enjoying the scenery along the way so it really didn't matter.
Moorea and the Intercontinental in general, has so many things to do. We had positively perfect weather and could not be kept in our overwater bungalow for long. We started out at the Dolphin Center for a swim with the Dolphins experience. This was quite a thrill, getting in the water with the dolphins, learning a bit about their behaviors, the training program, etc. Since mom had never been kayaking or snorkeling we took advantage of the complimentary activities and spent several hours exploring the lagoons above and below the water. We even commandeered a 10 year old boy to join us since his mother would not get in the water with him. Together we enjoyed the safety of snorkeling in the lagoon. After lunch we opted for the Snub (helmet) dive, which was quite a treat. We were the only ones in the boat who did not speak French, but the guide and crew was more than willing to give bi-lingual narratives and instructions during the excursion, making us feel very welcome. We took a short boat ride out to the nearby motus where the reef allowed for more variety of fish and sting rays, and the largest eel I have seen in my life. This one was easily 7 feet long and about 10 inches tall at the head. Our guide pulled out a canister of fish and that monster came right out of his rock hole to get it.
By the time we arrived in Bora Bora, we were ready for some other experiences. While we stayed at the Intercontinental Le Moana we took the shuttle into town for some sights and shopping. Well, the sights of the town were dismal. Just a muddy little road with lots of traffic, a few shops and arts & craft huts. It took about 2 minutes to walk from one end to the other, but we did get some t-shirts and local trinkets for the kids. The weather was a bit hot that day so when we arrived back at the hotel we took advantage shallow water beneath our bungalow to cool off, and play for a few hours before sunset. The wind at this end of the island is quite strong and the incoming waves, though small, were quite strong and made kayaking too difficult for those without great arm strength. Even the wind surfers were having a tough time at it.
Not surprisingly, we enjoyed the Intercontinental Bora Bora & Thalasso Spa the most. All the overwater villas are the same size and décor. We were given a Sapphire villa with the most beautiful view of the lagoon and other villas stretching out and, in my opinion, the more stunning view of Mount Otemanu. We could see it from the bath tub, the bedroom and from our balcony, however not while sitting down in the living room. Still, it was such a contrast between the calm of the water and the dramatic landscape of the main island and reminded me of movie South Pacific and the views of Bali Hai.
We also enjoyed the shark viewing and sting ray feeding excursion. I honestly thought we would just be viewing the sharks. To my surprise we were encouraged to get into the water and swim with the reef sharks for up close viewing. I'm pretty adventurous, but the idea of swimming with sharks was a bit unnerving for me. The guides assured us the sharks were safe and very well fed, so they would not need to nibble on us much (haha). Anyway, since mom got in with them I just had to as well. Honestly, I'm glad I did as it was so much more amazing and visually stimulating below the water than it was just looking down on them from the boat. Mom even got to feed one who grazed her hand, ever so lovingly. Our next stop on this excursion was the coral garden for a quick swim and snorkeling, and another large eel encounter. This one only about 4 feet long, but still quite a site as it reluctantly slithered out of it's protective rock to get the bait fish being offered by our guide. We moved on around to another location in the lagoon for a swim with sting rays. This was overwhelming. They were everywhere around us, must have been about 30-40 of them, very willing to vacuum suck the fish from our hands, and butterfly bash us around when we ran out. I'm not sure how to describe the thrill and fear at the same time. I've always been fascinated with sting rays, but this was something else. Once bull-nosed me from behind, while another felt like it was trying to fly up my front to give a kiss, while still another started from my ankle and fluttered all the way up my side. Stories from the other passengers were similar, although we were so surrounded individually that we really didn't get a chance to see what all was going on with everyone else in the water. After this we boarded back on the boat and headed for one of the motus for a brief demonstration of pealing and opening a coconut. Since we were still in the water, our guides decided to use the boat anchor to help with the peeling. I'm sure this is how all young men were taught in the old days ...."First, pick a coconut. Second, get an anchor.." Ok, maybe you had to be there, but in the moment we all thought it was funny. After the exhilaration of the day we took a leisure cruise back around the rest of the island, our guide pointing out sights and hotels along the way. Comparing this excursion to the others we had experienced, I have to say I enjoyed this one the most. I'm glad we did them all, and would encourage others to do as many as possible, however if you have to limit yourselves to one, I would choose this one.
The Deep Ocean Spa was such a wonder to me. While they offer the usual massages and beauty treatments, etc. what I enjoyed the most was the wide variety of hydrotherapy water treatments. The water used comes from 9000 meters below, thus called Deep Ocean Spa. I enjoyed the Experience showers, sauna and deep sea chiller pool for a quick (very quick!) "rejuvenating dip" and the swimming spa. However, my favorite by far, was the chiller walk. This is a Phlebological course about waist deep with jets shooting from both sides of the walkway. As you step in you feel the jets on you ankles and calves. As you continue walking there is a set of jets on your knees and the last set if jets at thigh level. As you slowly walk through this water pathway the jets alternate the various levels. This is such an invigorating treatment for tired and weary legs.
After a week of paradise we were ready to go home, and thought the 3.5 hour layover in Papeete would be plenty of time. Well, just barely. We spent that entire time queued at check-in line. As we reached the counter we were advised that our flight was now boarding, so we frantically headed toward security and heard them calling final boarding for our flight. We made it in what we thought was the nick of time, only to watch another 20 or so people file in behind us. Moral of that story, allow at least 4 hours or more to connect or check in for the International flight home.
Teresa Chilton
