So many years of life flew by without my experiencing a region of the world that’s seemed like an unreachable dream. That finally changed this year on a South Pacific cruise with my son Michael. It featured a dream list of ports: Tahiti, Bora Bora, Rarotonga, Tonga, Fiji and Auckland.
The first stop – Tahiti – actually evolved into a day spent at neighboring Moorea. We jumped aboard an Aremiti catamaran ferry to Moorea and met Edna Pautu of Moorea Explorer for a 4 x 4 tour of the island. First impressions: rich, healthy greenery in all directions; everything clean and tidy; healthy-looking locals smiling and waving hello.
The charismatic Edna, herself known by all in Moorea, kept us entertained with myths and stories involving stops at Cook’s Bay, Belvedere Lookout Point, “Bali Hai” mountain, the Painapo plantation and the fabulous Moorea Tropical Garden. At the latter stop, we sampled tropical juices, jams, sorbets and dried fruits from the island’s diverse plants and trees. If all that weren’t fulfilling enough, we spent some leisurely hours freshening up at the Intercontinental Moorea Resort & Spa. The amenities here were quite lovely, including plunge pools, a dolphin center and all the water sports.
Before leaving for Papeete, Michael and I munched with abandon a tropical lunch at the resort’s Fare Hana restaurant. Mahi-mahi sandwiches arrived by way of a beautiful barefooted Tahitian waitress, a right pleasing supplement to South Pacific ambiance.
Our second port of Bora Bora lived up to its world-famous imagery: a white-foamed border ringing the island and separating the reefs from the deep blue Pacific. Shorelines were clustered with those ultra-picturesque thatched-roof, on-the-water bungalows. Toby Rydge, our guide with Bora Bora 4x4 (you need 4x4's on mountainous volcanic islands), understandably burst with pride while imparting the the peacefulness of an island with only nine major resorts, no library, no movie theater, 8,000 residents with 6,000 dogs, and all co-existing in idyllic harmony. We also visited Bloody Mary’s Restaurant and viewed the entrance signage of the names of the rich and famous who have dined here like Denzel Washington, Steve Martin, Keanu Reeves, Johnny Depp, Harrison Ford. It would be easy to kick back and melt into the sweet appeal of Bora Bora and just forget the rest of the stressed-out world.
Our next port of Rarotonga, the most populous of the Cook Islands, was bewildering in an unfortunate way. Unlike the pristine civic pride we viewed at other islands on this trip, litter was strewn about the roadways, frowns and scowls on the faces of locals seemed to be the norm and our guided bus tour revealed little of interest compared to other locations. As a final insult, as my son and I walked along the main drag near the cruise ship pickup point, two men on a motorcycle headed directly at us and we had to jump away to avoid injury. They laughed as they sped off, and so did a group of other locals nearby who witnessed it. Suffice it to say that we were disappointed in our visit to Rarotonga, yet I’ll be generous enough to say that perhaps our brief experience here wasn’t typical. I’ll expound a bit more on another occasion, but I wouldn’t recommend including Rarotonga on your itinerary.
Luckily, we still looked forward to visits to Tonga, Fiji and Auckland (an article on the latter soon to come, and refer to my article about phenomenal Fiji from earlier this year). Tonga – not to be confused in any way with Rarotonga – is an absolutely charming kingdom of 176 islands. Even Capt. James Cook’s wrote in his ship’s log in 1773 that he and crew were met with extremely friendly people, and per our experience that hasn’t changed. Our guide Tuita Anau treated us to an incredible array of sights, including a large Stonehenge-like seashore structure. Tui added that April-Nov. is the best time to visit for whale watching when you can actually swim safely with breeding humpbacks – what a thrill that must be.
No visit to Tonga should occur without lunch at the ‘Oholei Beach & Hina Cave restaurant. It’s the personification of everything one could want in an idyllic South Pacific setting. Tables were carved slabs of cowry trees, bamboo slats comprised the seats, table “cloths” were banana leaves, and folkloric shows and musicians performed on the sand flooring amid lovely ocean breezes. The food comprised a sumptuous mixture of sweet potatoes, a fish salad, clams simmered in coconut and lime juice, a suckling pig BBQ’ed to perfection, shashimi fish and cooked snapper, endless chunks of ripe pineapple, bananas and watermelon, and so much more. If you don’t go through the buffet line at least three times, the wait staff playfully chides you.
Sigh and wow. I finally did it. Looking back at Moorea, Bora Bora and Tonga makes me long to revisit those heavenly places at least once more. You, too, must quit dreaming about the South Pacific and finally experience it.
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