Imagine that feeling you get, when you arrive somewhere exceptionally lovely and you just feel great inside. You get a connection with that place and your whole being has suddenly decided that you are going to have a really good time there. Well that is how I felt when I arrived on my forth Polynesian island, Raiatea and at Raiatea Lodge Hotel.
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The owner anticipated every question I had about the hotel and my time on the island, he even sorted out my tours for me as being a solo traveller, I needed to join with some other people to be able to do the tours I really wanted. I was then taken to my room, on the upper floor of the hotel, an old plantation mansion and opening my bedroom doors, the white curtains fluttered in from the balcony, accentuating the bright red hibiscus flowers strewn on every surface of the room. Definitely the most beautiful place I have stayed in since I left home, but that has probably something to do with the higher rate I was paying
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Raiatea Sunset! Raiatea Lodge Hotel has also got a reputation for serving speciality and local cuisine. I'm sure I was in for a treat here as my only sliver of luxury on the trip! I was certainly going to soak it all up.
With only two full days in Raiatea, I chose to book two day tours; one seeing the whole island by land and one seeing the island and it's sister island, Tahaa, by boat. I think on my first day in Raiatea, I learnt the most about French Polynesia than any other day, and that was all thanks to Christian, a great Frenchman who took me and two American couples around the island. He was the most enthusiastic guide and a lovely man! It is clear he has so much passion for the island that it was such a pleasure to spend the day with him. He was actually doing a tour of the world and ended up staying in French Polynesia....I'm not getting ideas....seriously!
We made a multitude of stops around the island learning about everyday life on the island including the boating industry and we even got to have a look around an expensive catamaran. We learnt about: the many religions on the island through discussing the churches we saw on the way, the schooling system and most importantly how houses have post boxes for baguettes on their driveways
Raiatea Circle Island Tour! Christian taught us about the local produce of the island, which largely consists of meeting the demands of luxury hotels in Bora Bora. For instance, lettuce is grown in plastic tubes to conserve water and roses are grown especially for the foreign demand from honeymooners. We also visited a pearl farm with had delightful jewellery and beautiful black Tahitian pearls, but more importantly we learnt about how oysters produce pearls.
However, for once jewellery was not one of the highlights of my day! For lunch we visited an American who had also visited French Polynesia and stayed put since the 60's. He had married a Polynesian woman and set up a small holding near to the mountains. His place was beautiful but he also had three two-week old kittens that I could not help but play with! They really made my day! We also got to witness the pollination of the vanilla plant, which I never realised is an orchid! Native to Mexico, the vanilla plant is pollinated by an endemic species of bee that is not found anywhere else in the world. Once a flower is populated, a vanilla bean will be produced. Therefore vanilla farming in French Polynesia is a laborious process as each flower needs to be pollinated by hand when the plant flowers. We witnessed this happening, which was fascinating as it was like delicate surgery.
As we wandered around the town, we were told that tourism has decreased somewhat over the recent years and many restaurants have been closing as a result
Kittens and Volcano!. The town is lovely with cute shops, a market and a pretty waterfront. I think Raiatea may perhaps have become victim to the success of other islands such as Bora Bora, however, I am not sure why because it's a great island to visit. One big draw however to Raiatea is the archeology. Raiatea has one of the most important Marae in French Polynesia, as due to its strategic location, in the middle of the Polynesian triangle of Hawaii, Rapa Nui (Easter Island) and New Zealand, the island served as an important meeting place. However, like Vanuatu, missionaries destroyed a lot of the Marae and local traditions when they converted the people on the island to their respective religions. We learnt so much from Christian but one of my favourite things he said to sum up the pace of life in French Polynesia was, 'you have a watch, but Polynesians have the time'. Absolutely brilliant!
No journey to French Polynesia is complete without spending as much time as possible in or around the water, which is exactly why I booked a boat tour of Raiatea and her sister island Tahaa to see the islands from another perspective. Our first stop was an unusual snorkelling trip where we drifted with the current back to the boat looking at the multitude of pretty coloured fish on the way. We even spotted a huge fish we could not identify, with massive eyes and head but a small body, hiding in a hole in the rocks
We went to see another oyster farm, this time, out in the ocean, learning more about how the oysters are stored while the pearls are grown and how the pearls are harvested. It's a long process, with the first pearl taking 18 months to be harvested, however, the end result is beautiful! Following the pearl farm, we headed to a secluded motu for lunch before taking a short journey by boat to a local vanilla farm. The smells there were amazing! We were taught about the uses of vanilla, which now even includes a powder form to put in cooking, something I am not sure has reached the UK yet.
Another James Bond style boat ride around the other side of Tahaa and we found ourselves on the way back to the Raiatea. As we were near to sundown, we all drank some Tahitian booze on the boat jetty, watching the sun go down and some men rowing, perhaps practicing for the Heiva competition. After the sunset drinks I spoiled myself and tried some of the amazing cuisine at the hotel restaurant including oyster cheeks for starters, seared tuna for the main and a chocolate bomb for dessert. What a great couple of days in Raiatea!
It was wonderful the next day when I was due to travel to Bora Bora as Christian met us at the airport to say goodbye and I found out that the two American couples that I had spent the last two days tours with in Raiatea, were on the same flight to Bora Bora and going to the same hotel
The next day I did two dives in the morning, again with black tip reef sharks and lemon sharks with Topdive. (http://www.topdive.com/bora-bora-diving.html). There is not as much coral and colourful fish as somewhere like Thailand in French Polynesia, but these dives were interesting and I never got tired of seeing a big shark swimming towards me! Cycling around the island on the following day turned out to be a great way to get more of a true sense of Bora Bora, away from the big hotels. It also offered some amazing views of the island and the mountains. The full circuit is 32km which I did with lots of photo stops and a lunch break in three hours, so perfect for time to snorkel in the bay where my hotel was afterwards in the afternoon.
Before I left, Bora Bora had a mega surprise for me. I was incredibly lucky to be in French Polynesia for the Heiva Festival. (http://www.tahiti-tourisme.com/discover/heiva-tahiti.asp). Although the main festival takes place in Papeete, other islands do have their own festivals too, Bora Bora being one of those. The festival turned out to be a two hour blast of energy, beautiful Polynesian music and traditional dancing
Bora Bora gets a bit of a bad reputation with locals for not being an authentic French Polynesian island anymore, because it has been taken over by tourism. I would agree with this but I would also say that it has been tastefully done, not like some islands in Thailand for instance, where I think the local culture has been nearly totally destroyed by tourism. I also think that only one half of Bora Bora has been affected, as when I cycled around the island there were no tourists in sight. Bora Bora accommodation is dominated by large chain hotels targeting honeymooners. Alongside this, there seemed to be fewer pensions but Maitai seemed to strike a pleasant balance between the two. Bora Bora doesn't have to be all about posh hotels and fine dining, there is another side to this island that still retains its authenticity as with all French Polynesian islands, it just depends what you are looking for.
So far, French Polynesia had been a dream of picture perfect views everywhere you look, amazing food, people and history. I was going to continue my journey of Polynesian discovery in Moorea and Huahine before jumping 4000 km eastwards across the South Pacific to Rapa Nui, better known as Easter Island. :-)
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Raiatea Sunset! Raiatea Lodge Hotel has also got a reputation for serving speciality and local cuisine. I'm sure I was in for a treat here as my only sliver of luxury on the trip! I was certainly going to soak it all up.
Trunky Circle Island Tour With Christian
With only two full days in Raiatea, I chose to book two day tours; one seeing the whole island by land and one seeing the island and it's sister island, Tahaa, by boat. I think on my first day in Raiatea, I learnt the most about French Polynesia than any other day, and that was all thanks to Christian, a great Frenchman who took me and two American couples around the island. He was the most enthusiastic guide and a lovely man! It is clear he has so much passion for the island that it was such a pleasure to spend the day with him. He was actually doing a tour of the world and ended up staying in French Polynesia....I'm not getting ideas....seriously!
We made a multitude of stops around the island learning about everyday life on the island including the boating industry and we even got to have a look around an expensive catamaran. We learnt about: the many religions on the island through discussing the churches we saw on the way, the schooling system and most importantly how houses have post boxes for baguettes on their driveways
Raiatea Circle Island Tour! Christian taught us about the local produce of the island, which largely consists of meeting the demands of luxury hotels in Bora Bora. For instance, lettuce is grown in plastic tubes to conserve water and roses are grown especially for the foreign demand from honeymooners. We also visited a pearl farm with had delightful jewellery and beautiful black Tahitian pearls, but more importantly we learnt about how oysters produce pearls.
However, for once jewellery was not one of the highlights of my day! For lunch we visited an American who had also visited French Polynesia and stayed put since the 60's. He had married a Polynesian woman and set up a small holding near to the mountains. His place was beautiful but he also had three two-week old kittens that I could not help but play with! They really made my day! We also got to witness the pollination of the vanilla plant, which I never realised is an orchid! Native to Mexico, the vanilla plant is pollinated by an endemic species of bee that is not found anywhere else in the world. Once a flower is populated, a vanilla bean will be produced. Therefore vanilla farming in French Polynesia is a laborious process as each flower needs to be pollinated by hand when the plant flowers. We witnessed this happening, which was fascinating as it was like delicate surgery.
As we wandered around the town, we were told that tourism has decreased somewhat over the recent years and many restaurants have been closing as a result
Kittens and Volcano!. The town is lovely with cute shops, a market and a pretty waterfront. I think Raiatea may perhaps have become victim to the success of other islands such as Bora Bora, however, I am not sure why because it's a great island to visit. One big draw however to Raiatea is the archeology. Raiatea has one of the most important Marae in French Polynesia, as due to its strategic location, in the middle of the Polynesian triangle of Hawaii, Rapa Nui (Easter Island) and New Zealand, the island served as an important meeting place. However, like Vanuatu, missionaries destroyed a lot of the Marae and local traditions when they converted the people on the island to their respective religions. We learnt so much from Christian but one of my favourite things he said to sum up the pace of life in French Polynesia was, 'you have a watch, but Polynesians have the time'. Absolutely brilliant!
James Bond Speed Boat Tour of Raiatea and Tahaa
No journey to French Polynesia is complete without spending as much time as possible in or around the water, which is exactly why I booked a boat tour of Raiatea and her sister island Tahaa to see the islands from another perspective. Our first stop was an unusual snorkelling trip where we drifted with the current back to the boat looking at the multitude of pretty coloured fish on the way. We even spotted a huge fish we could not identify, with massive eyes and head but a small body, hiding in a hole in the rocks
To this day I still do not know what it is!
We went to see another oyster farm, this time, out in the ocean, learning more about how the oysters are stored while the pearls are grown and how the pearls are harvested. It's a long process, with the first pearl taking 18 months to be harvested, however, the end result is beautiful! Following the pearl farm, we headed to a secluded motu for lunch before taking a short journey by boat to a local vanilla farm. The smells there were amazing! We were taught about the uses of vanilla, which now even includes a powder form to put in cooking, something I am not sure has reached the UK yet.
Another James Bond style boat ride around the other side of Tahaa and we found ourselves on the way back to the Raiatea. As we were near to sundown, we all drank some Tahitian booze on the boat jetty, watching the sun go down and some men rowing, perhaps practicing for the Heiva competition. After the sunset drinks I spoiled myself and tried some of the amazing cuisine at the hotel restaurant including oyster cheeks for starters, seared tuna for the main and a chocolate bomb for dessert. What a great couple of days in Raiatea!
Hello Bora Bora!
How strange! The airport at Bora Bora is similar to Maupiti as it is on a separate motu, so it was fantastic to see the island emerge closer and closer. I do not know what it is about the outline of the island of Bora Bora but I found it totally enchanting. A mountain dominates the centre of the island, created by a craggy crater of an extinct volcano, that is quite imposing. I could not stop staring at it.
The Maitai Hotel I was staying in was also a pretty good hotel and nothing like where I have been used to staying, even opening my window made me extactic just looking at the view of the lagoon. (http://www.hotelmaitai.com). There is no mistaking it, French Polynesia's scenery is breathtaking and unlike nowhere else. My afternoon was spent consuming a burger (!) and chilling out in the sun. I really had to pinch myself! That evening I went to the most famous restaurant on the island, Bloody Mary's, with my friends, the two American couples. A table of raw fish greets you on entry, where you are talked through the mouth-watering dishes of the day. Complete with an excellent Bloody Mary, I had a white tuna fish with vanilla sauce. Amazing! (http://bloodymarys.com).
My next three days were very action packed and adventurous because I did another island tour, diving and cycling around the island, however it was great too because I did these activities in the morning, so I had plenty of time to relax, study Spanish and read my books. On the island tour I met a lovely girl from the U.S., who was also staying at my hotel. Our tour took us swimming with black tip reef sharks, lemon sharks, manta rays, sting rays, (which I stayed away from), and a small coral garden
The Maitai Hotel I was staying in was also a pretty good hotel and nothing like where I have been used to staying, even opening my window made me extactic just looking at the view of the lagoon. (http://www.hotelmaitai.com). There is no mistaking it, French Polynesia's scenery is breathtaking and unlike nowhere else. My afternoon was spent consuming a burger (!) and chilling out in the sun. I really had to pinch myself! That evening I went to the most famous restaurant on the island, Bloody Mary's, with my friends, the two American couples. A table of raw fish greets you on entry, where you are talked through the mouth-watering dishes of the day. Complete with an excellent Bloody Mary, I had a white tuna fish with vanilla sauce. Amazing! (http://bloodymarys.com).
My next three days were very action packed and adventurous because I did another island tour, diving and cycling around the island, however it was great too because I did these activities in the morning, so I had plenty of time to relax, study Spanish and read my books. On the island tour I met a lovely girl from the U.S., who was also staying at my hotel. Our tour took us swimming with black tip reef sharks, lemon sharks, manta rays, sting rays, (which I stayed away from), and a small coral garden
All of the places we stopped at were fascinating, including a short stop on a motu for papaya and shredded fresh coconut, my new obsession!
The next day I did two dives in the morning, again with black tip reef sharks and lemon sharks with Topdive. (http://www.topdive.com/bora-bora-diving.html). There is not as much coral and colourful fish as somewhere like Thailand in French Polynesia, but these dives were interesting and I never got tired of seeing a big shark swimming towards me! Cycling around the island on the following day turned out to be a great way to get more of a true sense of Bora Bora, away from the big hotels. It also offered some amazing views of the island and the mountains. The full circuit is 32km which I did with lots of photo stops and a lunch break in three hours, so perfect for time to snorkel in the bay where my hotel was afterwards in the afternoon.
Before I left, Bora Bora had a mega surprise for me. I was incredibly lucky to be in French Polynesia for the Heiva Festival. (http://www.tahiti-tourisme.com/discover/heiva-tahiti.asp). Although the main festival takes place in Papeete, other islands do have their own festivals too, Bora Bora being one of those. The festival turned out to be a two hour blast of energy, beautiful Polynesian music and traditional dancing
I was mind-blown by the effort and energy that went into the two competing regions taking part in the festival that night. Every dancer was incredibly physically fit and the costumes they were wearing were very traditional and totally beautiful. Grass skirts were twirled and shaken to oblivion by the female dancers while the men conducted a traditional dance move not unlike the MC Hammer dance. The whole evening performance gave me a very detailed view of Polynesian culture and it was so great to see how the Heiva keeps Polynesian traditions very much alive, through the super competitiveness! (http://www.tahiti-tourisme.com/discover/heiva-tahiti.asp).
Bora Bora Bad Rep?
Bora Bora gets a bit of a bad reputation with locals for not being an authentic French Polynesian island anymore, because it has been taken over by tourism. I would agree with this but I would also say that it has been tastefully done, not like some islands in Thailand for instance, where I think the local culture has been nearly totally destroyed by tourism. I also think that only one half of Bora Bora has been affected, as when I cycled around the island there were no tourists in sight. Bora Bora accommodation is dominated by large chain hotels targeting honeymooners. Alongside this, there seemed to be fewer pensions but Maitai seemed to strike a pleasant balance between the two. Bora Bora doesn't have to be all about posh hotels and fine dining, there is another side to this island that still retains its authenticity as with all French Polynesian islands, it just depends what you are looking for.
So far, French Polynesia had been a dream of picture perfect views everywhere you look, amazing food, people and history. I was going to continue my journey of Polynesian discovery in Moorea and Huahine before jumping 4000 km eastwards across the South Pacific to Rapa Nui, better known as Easter Island. :-)