Society Islands Part 1: Tahiti Tours & Magical Moorea

The Society Islands Archipelago… home to famous Tahiti and Bora Bora, where Captain Cook made port, and the most populated islands of French Polynesia.  We arrived from the Tuamotus to witness sunrise over Tahiti, as we radioed on Channel 12 to enter Pape’ete, as well as gain clearance to transit the water immediately off the busy airport runway. 

There was no room at either marina, so we anchored near Marina Taina for easy access to dinghy docks.  Later during our stay we were notified that there was one spot opening up and if we were there by 4pm we could have it; it ended with “Good Luck.”   This explains the marina situation very well…good luck!  Off we went to the famous Carrefour grocery store, smiling surrounded by piles of produce.  Lettuce?!  Yes, please. 

We filled up four grocery carts during our time in Pape’ete, which were then wheeled back to the marina on the uneven sidewalk, the wheels spinning wildly and making for a balancing act of keeping the very full carts upright and on track!  We enjoyed fresh tuna poke and a large salad for dinner; we haven’t enjoyed a lettuce salad or fresh-caught fish in over a month – SO delicious. 

There was an ocean “swell event” occurring with a massive 15-foot southern swell washing up over the coral reef, making the anchorage quite rolly.  Our friends had it worse tied up to the outer wall at the Marina itself, with the swell so violent it tore the mooring line off the set anchor point, ripped the cleat out of the concrete, and crushed their Med Moor walkway.  Tahiti has about 200,000 people and it definitely feels like a bustling city with traffic the likes of which we haven’t seen since Mexico. 

Cora and I spent the next day in the Emergency Room, obtaining an x-ray of her previously dislocated knee.  The staff was extremely helpful (and busy) and it took us 6 hours to obtain the x-ray after being shuttled around from doctor to doctor when one had to leave urgently to a rural island for a medivac and the radiologist looking at the image had to do an emergency procedure; I totally get it.  The 6 hours were spent visiting and soaking up the ER environment, patients in beds lining the hallway with too many patients and too little room.  Just like in our hometown of Petersburg Alaska, they are focused on building a new hospital to meet their growing needs.  We found out that Cora has a small avulsion fracture where a bit of bone was pulled off her patella when it was dislocated; this is actually quite common and requires no intervention besides physical therapy.  Whew! She continues to improve.  Meanwhile, the boys had a fun day, checking out and buying some wing foiling gear and boat parts from the chandlery.

The annual monthlong Heiva festival was underway with traditional dance, singing, and sports competitions.  We managed to get tickets for one event, enjoying the traditional impassioned singing before the rain set in and the staff used massive squeegees and leaf blowers to dry the stage; a hilarious spectacle in itself.

So excited to have friends Al and Jeannie join us for the remainder of our time in the Society Islands.  We rented a vehicle for an “around island” tour of Tahiti that included the excellent Museum of Tahiti & Its Islands, the Marae Marae Taata and Marae Arahurahu archeological sites, a picnic lunch at lush Mara’s Grotto, and barefoot beach play in black sand at Plage de Taharuu. 

We marveled at the famous Teahupoo wave on our side trip to Tahiti Iti, international surfers practicing for the upcoming Olympics. 

Back on the main road, we stopped at Pointe Venus and Matavai Bay.  Part of Captain Cook’s mission on his 3-month sojourn in 1769 was to record the transit of Venus here across the face of the sun in an attempt to calculate the distance between the sun and the Earth.  We ended our road trip at the Arahoho Blowhole, which startled us with its loud “whoof” as it blew at us.

At some point in our populated Pape’ete experience, I managed to pick up COVID which spread to all four of us sequentially.  It was a doozey and we all found ourselves with fevers, chills, cough, and fatigue.  Al and Jeannie had just gotten the booster and it worked excellently; 2 weeks on our COVID cruiseship and they remained healthy.  We persevered with our adventures, with some well enough to partake, while others slept the day away.

Next stop…the island of Moorea, less than a 20 km excellent sail across the “Sea of the Moon” from its big sister Tahiti. 

Moorea has a population of only 17,000 and felt immediately more mellow, as we anchored in turquoise waters off Cooks Bay reef; the barrier reef protecting the anchorages of Moorea splendidly.  Moorea’s main industries are pineapple growing and tourism.  Calder and Jeannie immediately into the water for a refreshing dip! 

The next day’s adventure at Tiki Parc Zipline and Aerial Adventure found us on a “self-led” zipline course (after a brief orientation), zipping from small tree platform to platform in the treetops.  It was surreal how much freedom we had in these treetops, as we hooked up our own zips, thankfully a safety line attached at all times.  Hilarious to look out in the trees and see family and friends crisscrossing the forest, the majestic peaks of Moorea as a backdrop. 

Next stop, Tiki Anchorage, where we dropped anchor than loaded into the dink for underwater adventure. 

Floating the Turtle Pass was beautiful, as we swam with massive green sea turtles and watched them nibbling on the ocean floor, then soared over a school of spotted eagle rays, topped off by beautiful fish in the coral.  We couldn’t resist a stop at the famous “Sharks & Rays” spot where, in only 3 feet of water, you snorkel and swim with…black-tip reef sharks and stingrays!  It feels like a turquoise bathtub where you are intimate with uninterested sharks swimming over your shoulder and stingrays curiously checking you out; Calder said its rays felt surprisingly soft to the touch. 

On a Moorea shore excursion, we purchased colorful pareos at a local woman’s roadside stand (which we later flaunted off during Happy Hour) and fresh fruit smoothies.

Our 3 month allotted time in French Polynesia rapidly running out, we moved on from the more populated Tahiti and Moorea northwest on an 82 mile overnight passage to Huahine.  It was a gift of a passage with calm seas and we were excited to give our friends the experience of taking watch on their first overnight passage ever, watching the sun set, the moon rise and set, and the sun rise again over the ocean.