Bora Bora - Pacific Paradise

Bora Bora is called ‘the Pearl of the Pacific’ and as we sailed through the reef which almost completely encircles the island, we could see the lush green main island rising from the sea .... it was easy to see how it came by its nickname. Mt Otemanu is the remains of a volcano, and the islands are formed by the remains of the caldera, so the lagoon is protected from the sea by the smaller outer islands and the reef. The Dawn Princess passed through the narrow inlet, between two small motu, and anchored in the clear amethyst waters of the lagoon.

I woke up very early and excited - this was one of the highlight days of the trip for me - I had been looking forward to it for so long - we had booked a tour to swim with the black tip sharks and stingrays in the lagoon and then have a lobster beach barbecue.

Bora Bora is a tender port so we congregated in Jammers at 7.00 am so that we could get onto the first tender and meet up with our guide. It was a short tender ride across the most spectacular turquoise blue water to the small pier - and we were too early for the tour so we had time to wander around the small village of Vaitape .... buy a couple of souvenirs and postcards .... check out the jewellery stores ....Tahitian black pearls are world famous .... and most of the shops had displays of the gems .... before we arrived back at the tour meeting point at 8.30am. One look at Joanne’s face and I knew that everything was not right - the guide had just told her that a large tidal swell was expected on the low lying island today and so all activities on the lagoon were cancelled for the day - the water was rough and visibility was very poor .... the first time that this has happened for more than five years.

Some quick re-planning, and we jumped onto the local ‘Le Truck’ bus to go down to the public beach at Matira Point - the bus trip is $5US for each trip - pay when you leave the bus. We also thought about going to the Inter Continental Hotel, where, for $5, guests can use the pool and facilities as long as you agree to have a meal there. However, the hotel is on the beachfront and was closed cause they were expecting the wave to cross the road and invade their ground floor restaurant and pool. Later in the day we saw a number of houses which were inundated with water at high tide.

Effects of the tide

We went over to the beach - which has been voted as one of the ten best beaches in the world. We could see the reef barrier around the island in the distance - waves were breaking along the reef in spectacular style and rolling onto the beach - all the locals were out on the lagoon waiting to catch the waves in to the beach - many said that it was the best swell ever .... while we were very disappointed by the weather, they were relishing the chance to surf the waves in all types of floating boards, rafts and outriggers ..... they were having a wonderful time.

Local men were walking along the beach and warning swimmers that the conditions were dangerous - I went for a quick dip on the edge between the rolling wave sets - it was very deceptive because there were stages where there were no waves and the water was flat ... then suddenly a large wave would build out to sea and roll in across the lagoon and up into the beach hut where most onlookers were watching ..... making them run back a their feet got wet ..... I kept an eye on the locals at the outer edge of the lagoon on their boards ... when they turned on their boards towards the shore to catch the waves back to the beach ... that was the signal to get out of the water quickly.

After our swim, we decided to get the bus back to town stopping at the famous bar ‘Bloody Mary’s’, a Bora Bora landmark. At the entrance there is a large board which names many famous people who have visited including Meg Ryan, Burt Bacharach, Danny DeVito and Charleton Heston.  Inside the bar was quite unique - a sand covered floor - just inside the door is a ‘cloakroom’ where you can check in your shoes - all the bar stools are polished chunks of Palm trunks, under a thatched bamboo roof. The drinks are about $7 for a beer and $12 for a cocktail - I has a Blue Lagoon - at least the bar tender didn’t skimp on the alcohol - it was very strong!!

We met up with Anthea, Dennis, Joanne and Garry and decided to sit down for lunch at Bloody Mary’s - I had a great pineapple and chicken burger while Arnold had pepper-crusted Mahi-Mahi sushimi which he said was so fresh and delicious. The two meals and drinks came to about $53US - we figure that we will probably never be back here again - so we may as well see what all the hype was about - that’s what this whole trip is about for us - experiencing the pleasures of traveling and enjoying unique experiences.  

The wash basin in the ladies - pull the wooden ring and water flows down the waterfall

We caught the local bus back to the pier ..... Arnold’s back was sore from bouncing around on the wooden seats in Le Truck so he decided to return to the ship ....I opted to join a circle island tour .... they were available on the pier right beside where the tender docks .... $25 for a two hour tour around the island .... taking in all the local sights. There is only one road around the island - in 1941, American GI’s were stationed here at an ammunition supply depot and while here they built infrastructure for the islanders ... the sealed 32 km. road around the island, the first airport runway in French Polynesia and fresh spring water ..... which has greatly enhanced the lifestyle of the people. There are still a number of reminders of their time on the island with bunkers, cannons, and some WW2 huts scattered about. The islanders are grateful for their help and still use the bunkers as shelter from cyclones and tidal surges.

Our guide was a well respected elder named Mamma Norah .. she was a delight ....with a wonderful happy belly-shaking laugh .....  she was very proud of her Polynesian heritage and had a wonderful understanding of the special nature of the island .... and the importance of keeping the environment just as unspoiled as it is now for future generations ... there is an emphasis on teaching traditional music and dance to retain the culture of the islands ... she was adamant that there will never be any high rise buildings on Bora Bora ... everything must maintain the traditional island style.

WW2 bunker

Condominiums owned by Marlon Brando's widow

Tourism is the only industry of the island and all the islanders work either in the exclusive over-water buree hotels - restaurants - shops - and in the production of local handicrafts for sale. We stopped at a home where large trestle tables were set up in the yard for the production of pareos - the traditional sarong .... large templates cut from leaves were placed on the fabric after dyeing and held down with pieces of coral in the sun for the pattern to be set. It is wonderful to see each one being made by hand rather than being mass produced somewhere like China .... I bought one for about $10 ... love the sea blues and green colours.

Bora Bora has a reputation as a playground for the rich and famous - the major exclusive hotel chains like St Regis and Four Seasons have hotels set over the water where the room rates start at $1000US per night ... international flights land in Tahiti and then a small plane transfer is available to Bora Bora. Luckily, we were able to bring our own hotel our waterfront room .... and spend a day in the beautiful lagoon. Although we weren’t able to swim with the sharks and stingrays .... we had a wonderful day on the beautiful island ... oh well ... just another addition to the bucket list .... return to Bora Bora .... can’t wait.....

Fishing on the back deck

Although we have been on the ship for more than three months, we have not watched any movie on the movies under the stars screen on deck 12. Tonight they were replaying the Rugby final on the big screen so we decided to miss dinner in the dining room and take some pizza up to watch the replay. It was originally telecast live at midnight last night but we were already asleep - ready for our early start this morning. Although we knew the final score, it was a fun atmosphere to be watching the game under the stars as we sailed across the South Pacific ... pinch me again ... for some reason the crowd was made up of mostly Australians ... suddenly the Kiwis who had been so vocal in their ribbing before the game had found other things to do .... 

Football and pizza under the stars

We are now sailing west with two sea days before Apia ... the plan is to try some snorkeling there ... we have carried our masks and flippers all around the world so we hope to get them wet in our last island port ....

Cheers

Note for future cruisers - A tourist office is located to the right of the tender pier and island tours are available from the pier - operators meet the tenders and hold up signs - Circle island tours are about $25 for 2 hours - (morning and afternoon) - 4WD off road trips are also available for about $70. Shuttles operate a service to Matira public beach and Bloody Marys (you get on the bus and pay $5 when you get off - distance doesn’t seem to matter) We were told that usually snorkeling tours are also available from the pier although they weren’t here when we arrived cause the lagoon was closed.