Heather Arrives in Moorea
After the big city of Papeete in Tahiti, we sailed in nice conditions for about 4 hours to Cook's Bay on the northern side of Moorea. It is a beautiful, long cove surrounded by stunning green, lush mountains.
It is also a very deep cove. We motored around looking for a place to drop our anchor in less than 30 metres! We found a spot near the head of the cove and not too far from the Bali Hai hotel where all the Pacific Puddle Jump events would take place.
The next morning we rented a car from Albert's, as everyone does. We paid for 8 hours, but as the attendant wouldn't be there after 5 PM, he told us to keep it until the next day. We picked Heather up at the airport and started a land circumnavigation of Moorea.
We stopped at restaurants, shops, fancy hotels, beaches and lookout points. We also drove up to the famous Belvedere for an awesome view of the north shore of the island. Since we had the car in the evening, we drove to the Hilton for a cocktail and to attend Dr. Michael Poole's seminar on whales and dolphins. He has been studying marine mammals in the South Pacific for over 30 years.
At that point, Heather's jetlag was kicking in so we returned to the boat for a quick dinner and sleep.
The next day we watched as about 65 sailboats arrived and anchored, and often re-anchored, in Cook's Bay. It was great to see so many of the people we have met through the Pacific Puddle Jump. That evening the Bali Hai hosted a cocktail party, dinner and traditional dancing. The next day we participated in traditional outrigger canoe races, traditional Polynesian crafts and games, a traditional lunch, more dancing and prizes.
We need to get Heather to Bora Bora by July 2 for her flight home to Victoria. We will not have enough time to explore both of the islands that are between Moorea and Bora Bora, so we asked Heather to read about Hauhine and Raiatea islands in the guide books and...we are off to Raiatea!
It is also a very deep cove. We motored around looking for a place to drop our anchor in less than 30 metres! We found a spot near the head of the cove and not too far from the Bali Hai hotel where all the Pacific Puddle Jump events would take place.
The next morning we rented a car from Albert's, as everyone does. We paid for 8 hours, but as the attendant wouldn't be there after 5 PM, he told us to keep it until the next day. We picked Heather up at the airport and started a land circumnavigation of Moorea.
We stopped at restaurants, shops, fancy hotels, beaches and lookout points. We also drove up to the famous Belvedere for an awesome view of the north shore of the island. Since we had the car in the evening, we drove to the Hilton for a cocktail and to attend Dr. Michael Poole's seminar on whales and dolphins. He has been studying marine mammals in the South Pacific for over 30 years.
At that point, Heather's jetlag was kicking in so we returned to the boat for a quick dinner and sleep.
The next day we watched as about 65 sailboats arrived and anchored, and often re-anchored, in Cook's Bay. It was great to see so many of the people we have met through the Pacific Puddle Jump. That evening the Bali Hai hosted a cocktail party, dinner and traditional dancing. The next day we participated in traditional outrigger canoe races, traditional Polynesian crafts and games, a traditional lunch, more dancing and prizes.
We need to get Heather to Bora Bora by July 2 for her flight home to Victoria. We will not have enough time to explore both of the islands that are between Moorea and Bora Bora, so we asked Heather to read about Hauhine and Raiatea islands in the guide books and...we are off to Raiatea!