Tahiti

French Polynesia is made up of a few hundred islands dotted around the south Pacific although just a few dozen or so are habitable.  For this trip we’re starting off on the island paradise of Tahiti and it’s capital Pape’ete.

Unusually for us we pre-arranged a lot of bits and pieces given the complexity of the trip plus it’ll also save time and in places like the south Pacific things like public transport are not as reliable as elsewhere or non-existent.

On arrival into the airport you’re greeted by traditional Polynesian music and dancing to welcome you to Tahiti, think of it as the Tahitian version of Riverdance, but more relaxing.  Once through the easy going customs we were greeted by a representative of the tour company and were given lei’s which was nice (that’s those flower necklace thingy’s).  Soon after we were on our way to our hotel for the next few days.

We’re staying at the Manava Suite Resort about a 10 minute drive from the capital.  As we arrived at just after six in the morning we knew it’d be a bit of a wait until our room was ready, however they put a rush on getting our room cleaned so we only had to wait until just after seven.  Rather than do our usual thing of dropping the bags and hitting the sights, we decided to take it easy and ease into the day after all, we’re on island time.

 

Our room is a good size with a nice balcony overlooking the gardens there’s also a small kitchen area if you fancy doing some self-catering.  As the name suggests these are suites, self-contained flats so to speak so while it does have most of the amenities you’d find in a hotel, it lacks that little bit of extra service you’d find in a hotel.

Once we surfaced, we wandered around the hotel pool area which is very nice and as well as the pool they have a section of the bay closed off for the use of guests.  We arranged a cab to bring us into the centre of Pape’ete with a plan to grab lunch and check out some of the sights.  The weather is fantastic although it’s a tad hot hovering around the mid 30’s.

The interesting thing about Pape’ete is if you were expecting a delightful, clean, easy-going capital, well think again.  It’s hot, busy, dusty and grimy, far different than the picture postcard brochures we’re all so used to.  It has well known brand names in footwear, clothing and fast food.  However it does have plenty of places to eat and a few sights to visit although most of them are just small parks.

After wandering around for a few hours, we picked a place called Les 3 Brasseurs for lunch, they also brew their own beer.  C ordered the classic croque monsieur and I went for a thing called a flammekueche, which looks, smells and is the same shape of a pizza, but it’s not a pizza, it’s a flammekueche.

As evening rolled around we hopped into a cab and headed back to our resort.  All that was left to do was have a nice swim in the very cool pool as the sun was setting.

For dinner we decided to go to a place that was just a five minute walk from our resort, basically just the side of the road, to a bunch of food trucks.  They had a very simple system, one guy takes your order of whatever type of food you fancy and that’s it, plus you get bread, garlic butter and a type of BBQ sauce to use over your food.  To be fair we did not have very high expectations.  C ordered the fish with fries as her side and I went for steak with rice and salad for my sides.  Surprisingly the food was very good and the portions huge.  We really enjoyed it and it was good value for money, something that is hard come by in this part of the world.

S

The following day we had breakfast in the hotel which was just like so many places back home, buffet style with push button coffee machines and the usual queue for the toaster.  We decided the best way to get around the island was to hire a car, however the cost was crazy so we decided to book a tour and after scouring the web we found one, so we booked it for the following day.  So for the remainder of the day, we decided to walk all along the coast and check out some local life.

With no plan, we wandered into the odd shopping market or clothes shop for a look, the prices are a lot less here than in the capital and I treated myself to something I’ve always refused to wear, flip-flops.  They’re all the rage over here and the footwear of choice because it’s just so hot, I plan on just wearing them around the pool areas.

We stopped in a beach side bar called La Plage which did not look like much on the outside but inside it was very upmarket for a beach bar.  We just had a drink before continuing our walk along the coast road. For lunch we had a bite to eat at the fancy Sofitel hotel, turkey sambo for me, club for C and again big portions.

After a long day of walking we retraced our steps returning to the hotel and hit the pool as the sun was setting.  For dinner we dined at the hotel which was nothing special but sufficed, however we did order the dish of choice on the island, Mahi tuna, which was decent.

Friday rolls around and after breakfast we grabbed a few bits and waited for our tour guide to arrive, an English lady called Tracey who has lived on the island for the past 15 plus years and spends her time between here, France and the UK.  We learned so much about Polynesian life over the course of the day.  We visited some botanical gardens, caves, beaches met local farmers and fishermen who still use very old methods for their day to day jobs.  Lunch was at La Plage de Maui which is probably the most famous restaurant on the Island and is hugely popular with world champion surfers whose photos dot the walls.

This part of the Island has the biggest waves due to a break in the coral reef that surrounds the island. Fun fact:  So the reef surrounds the Island which protects them from storms and the huge waves that can hit.  However wherever a river runs into the ocean, coral can’t grow in fresh water so this creates a gap in the barrier so you can surf it’s also where the fishermen go out to catch as the bigger fish can get closer to shore including whales which we spotted from the shoreline.

After a fantastic day all that was left to do was have a few drinks at the bar and we arrived just in time for happy-hour :-).  As we enjoyed the food trucks so much we dined there again for dinner.

So our short stay on the Island of Tahiti is at an end and we’ve had an amazing time, the place really surprised us more the fact that it’s nothing like the postcard picture we’re all so used to seeing.  So onwards and upward, next stop the Island of Mo’orea.

C&J