Touring Moorea

We rented a motor scooter on August 11th for 24 hours and drove around Moorea Island which only took a couple of hours to cover the 60 km (37 miles). We had considered staying till later in the evening for festivities at Tiki Village but were disappointed with the rundown appearance of the place so we continued going around the Island. We took a few photos of the views from high up:

Viewpoint of bay below

Sea Turtle at anchorage

Luxury Hilton Hotel - note the protective reef

In some respects, Moorea was a bit of a letdown. While the scenery of jagged lush green peaks is postcard worthy and the clear water snorkelling good, there wasn't much else to captivate one. We were both expecting many sandy beaches but very few nice ones were to be found, in fact that has pretty much been our experience with French Polynesia so far.

We moved to Opunohu Bay (S17°29.447' W149°51.089') on August 13th, where we are told Captain Cook actually landed in 1777 (not in Cook's Bay, his namesake). This was the best bay for postcard-type photos.

Sea Turtle at Opunohu Bay

The snorkelling had been much better at Cook's Bay but Jordan did find a very nice oyster shell - unfortunately no pearl inside! And we later noticed a stingray swimming past Sea Turtle. There is a small section of beach here where we had a picnic lunch and filled a water jug from a most unusual tap.

Jordan getting fresh water for boat wash

(Unfortunately, after leaving here, we discovered from friends that we had missed the great opportunity of swimming with sting rays. It was just up the shore northwest of our anchorage at Opunohu Bay. Standing in waist-deep, crystal clear water, people hand-feed them as they glide by and even rub up against them. They have become so tame that they are not threatened and do not pose a threat to humans. The following photo is courtesy of SV Lisa Kay.)

Young Benjamin of SV Lisa Kay surrounded by sting rays

At this juncture, we started to consider our remaining time allowed. Most of the time, especially away from the busy centers, we didn't pay much attention to time, schedules, or dates. That is the whimsical patternless life of cruising. Generally, the only clock for us is the circadian revolution of the earth. Lost in a time vacuum, we seldom know what day of the week or date of month it is, or seldom consider the time of day. We know not (or care much) what the rest of the world is busy doing as it has no effect on us (ie. politics, wars, etc.). But now we must reluctantly dig out the calendar for our departure from the French Polynesia in 2 or 3 weeks.