Mo'orea - The Angel Island
Trip Start
Dec 28, 2006
1
63
135
Trip End
Dec 2007
Mo'orea,
French Polynesia
Monday, April 30, 2007
After a meager breakfast it was straight back to the airport to get our 8 minute flight to Mo'orea (we found out that if we had just got our ticket at the airport and not
booked ahead online we would have saved 2/3 of the fare .. forward
planning doesn't always pay off). It was a bit of an extrav but great views of the islands and lagoons. When we arrived we were picked up and enjoyed an amazing bus ride round 1/4 of the island to our pension.
When we went in we just started laughing - it was so beautiful
01 - The plane to Mo'orea
! We couldn't believe how lucky we were. It was right at the edge of a lagoon (there was a wee hut over the lagoon with steps into the water) and our room had great views out over it and the ocean beyond. We slept in the loft of the building and it was big and airy and felt a bit like sleeping outside, which was great in the heat. It was hot and sunny but not too bad even for T and any time we needed to cool down we just walked about 10 meters and fell into the lagoon. After settling in we went for our first swim. The waters are perfectly clear and we were surrounded by corral and millions of fish of all different shapes and sizes and colours. We spent most of that day in the water, the novelty not wearing off the whole time we were there. Later on we borrowed some snorkeling gear to get a better view of what was going on under the water. It was great!Next day T got up to see the sunrise but as it was a bit cloudy he grabbed one of the free kayaks and went for a pre-brekkie paddle instead. It was amazing! (Do we sound like the guy from The Fast Show?) After brekkie we both headed back out on the kayaks and Sara was just as impressed. We had to navigate a wee channel through the corral but then the water in
the lagoon got deeper and it was easy going. We headed out to the breakwater but didn't
reach it as the water got very shallow due to even more corral
02 - View of Mo'orea from our hotel in Pape'ete
. Thecorral was beautiful - bright blues, violets, purples and pinks among
large black and green mounds of corral, all against the backdrop of
creamy-white sand under the pale green waters. Weird tan-coloured
brain corral and everywhere fish of all descriptions from small bright
blue or black-and-white fish that zip into the corral if you get too
close, to large dark predators and everything in-between, including
yellow triangular fish. Then we looked back at the island and saw the
bays, beaches, valleys, hills and tropical forests ... just paradise. Of course, when we got back we had to go for a dip in the lagoon and play in the water. For lunch we headed to a wee man's stall down the road for excellent fresh pineapple smoothies and the rest of that day was spent sitting over the water and planning NZ.
The next day was just as tough, relaxing in the sun, reading, pausing to admire the gorgeous view and shake our heads in amazement, followed by more swimming and messing about in the lagoon
03 - Lagoons from the air
. It's so beautiful and relaxing here and it feels so good to have nothing to do or worry about. Well except money - it is horribly expensive here and everything, and we mean EVERYTHING costs more than anywhere else we have ever been .. in the world. Bye bye budget. That night we had dinner with other backpackers, then we sat drinking on the veranda and exchanging traveling tips. Headed to bed about 12 which actually constitutes a wild night here as everything closes up about 8 or 9, even the bars. We were surprised the night before when we went to the Sheraton with people for drinks and everyone disappeared when the bar closed at 9. Ah well, makes it easier to get up in the morning.We managed to get up early for a paddle but that was about all the next day. We were swimming in the lagoon when we were hit by a tropical storm and it rained all day. But it was a tropical downpour so we didn't feel too bad about it - it didn't matter, it was tropical. So we just looked out the balcony and read and organised and enjoyed doing nothing. The highlight of the day was seeing an octopus that liked to join us for dinner every night as we dined, you guessed it, by the lagoon. But we did decide that Mo'orea really is paradise and we made plans to come back! .. preferably when we are millionaires ...
