Matavai Hotel Resort & Sports Centre Papeete

... signiature dish "Fondue bourguignonne". Another yummy.


Our last morning saw us at the pearl shop. I had not planned this but I am a sucker for pearls. It was fun looking through the different colours, and choosing one for a necklace. Very simple. I will put it on a chain when I get home.







What a wonderful way to finish our excursion in Tahiti.

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In fairness, the hotel did provide free kayaks to use out on the lagoon which we both enjoyed. Kayaking out to the reef was fantastic as we could get really close to the huge white waves breaking on the reef. There was also the added advantage that this seemed to be the only place on the island that the mosquitoes did not venture.



An interesting experience though not the one we had envisaged. Roll on Easter Island!

... uns gut mit den Einheimischen auf Spanisch zu v**staendigen, und ploetzlich sprechen alle um uns h**um Franzoesisch. Davon koennen wir vielleicht 10 Worte, maximal, und oft koennen uns**e Gegenueb** kein Englisch (Deutsch od** Spanisch natu**lich **st recht nicht). Die Unt**haltung ist dadurch oft sehr kurz, ab** irgendwie v**staendigen wir uns am Ende dann doch imm**.

Tahiti ist g**ade durch die Mischung aus nahezu ...

... long wait to get through customs. We finally made it through and was met by the lady from the guest house. It was about a 20 minute drive to the guest house so we arrived about midnight and went straight to our room, which was in the roof of what can only be described as a barn. There were six beds in total with just one guy occupying one bed, he was awake reading so we settled in, chatted to him for a bit before going to sleep. 19th April 2009 (again) So sleeping in a barn ...

... in the South, Hawaii in the north and Easter Island out to the east and cover an area similar in size to Europe. He also told us that Tahiti was one of 118 islands which make up the archipelago of French Polynesia. He then discussed the weather conditions on the island and the animals which are native to the island. Time was now ticking on so it was time to return to the ship. On our arrival at the dockside one of our group pointed out some thick black smoke ...

... at the Cathedral. It was quite a strain on my brain trying to switch from Spanish to my very very very bad French. I think that by the time we got back to the hostel it was 2am local time but 6am according to my body. At that point, any bed was welcome! We discovered very early the next morning that nothing is open on Christmas day in Papeete, fortunately the previous people in the hostel had left behind some ...

Well, it has been quite a while since my last entry, hasn't it... Sorry 'bout that... We've passed through Hawaii and are now in Tahiti. Hawaii was beautiful. Waikiki was great, but really, it doesn't even compare (visually) to any of the beaches down here. Although, if you are a surfer, Tahiti is not for you. The water is crystal clear, beautifully warm and only ever reaches your waist. Seriously, you could walk for about a mile with out the water even covering you belly ...

In the morning, Armin gave me a visit of Auckland, going through the hipe street and taking some coffee in some nice bar: I even became the friend of a fat cat in one of the coffee: the cat just did not want me to leave. Unfortunately the weather was not at the rendez vous so we had to shorter the visit but which let us go for the lunch in a nice pizzeria in front of the ocean. After this last lunch with my friend, he drive I to the ...

... around coral reefs just meters from my bed. Like Tahiti, Moorea is surrounded by coral reefs which provide a wave break a few hundred meters from the shore. This results in a turquoise lagoon between the ocean and the island, which is great for swimming and diving. Fortunately the weather improved and on the next day we got some sunshine! I rented a bike and decided to cycle around the island, only for the front gear change to break after ...

... was almost sunset and we hurried back to the pier to the taxi station, apparently the only place in the city you can catch a taxi. I was surprised they weren't driving around looking for fares; maybe it's only the tourists who ever take taxis and the locals all drive? I can't imagine all the locals have cars with the cost of living being what it is in Tahiti. Well anyway we finally got to the taxi station and figured out where the beach was that we wanted to go to. The ...