Tahiti sounds nice.

Day 32 - Monday 4 June 2007 ( 761 hours down 127 to go)

 

We wake early due to six hour time difference from South America to Tahiti and open curtains to watch dawn break over the calm lagoon with the Island of Moorea in the background, not a bad view. We venture down to breakfast after a walk through the gardens, beach and pool area. We soon realize that eating at the hotel is not going to be cheap as a buffet breakfast costs approx A$70 for two, the breakfast was worth $50, the view $20 and the service $0, no tip for you. After stuffing ourselves we decide that a walk into the town centre would be the best thing. It is approx 2 kms and very pleasant. We come across a very classy Black Pearl store which incorporated a Museum of the Pearling Industry and we decide what harm would it do to have a look at the display, and it was magnificent.  Currency conversions are quickly made and the strand of twenty evenly matched black pearls the size of marbles was soon dismissed and it was not long before a well groomed sales assistant offered to show us some un-mounted black pearls which might be in our price range. Soon enough we fall in love with a pearl that was to be ours at a price that we considered to be irresistible.

 

As we venture further into Papeete we recognize many of the buildings and sights and come to the conclusion that not much has changed in 32 years, only that the prices of every thing and the level of traffic have increased a great deal. After a good look around the city and the market area we make our way back to the hotel for a rest. For dinner we catch a taxi back into the city, as feet are starting to feel the pressure, to have a meal at one of the various food vans that set up each night down by the wharf area. There are about 20 vans offering all types of food from Pizza to Asian Dishes and all have tables set up to cater for the locals and cheap arsed tourists. Atmosphere is a plenty and the night is just perfect so we settle on an Asian van, select Beef Curry and Tamarind Duck and select a nice carton of Pineapple Juice to wash it down with. (Duck was good but curry was pretty mild.) Foot sore and full as a fat girl’s underpants we grabbed another taxi home for an early night.

 

Pedometer Reading 16366.

 

 

Day 33 - Tuesday 5 June 2007 ( 785 hours down 103 to go)

 

We were woken up at 4.00am by people next door that had arrived on an early plane and decided to consummate their nuptials on the squeaky bed. We decided that instead of paying a king’s ransom for breakfast we would catch the local bus, Le Truck, into town, have breakfast at a café and have another quick look around Papeete. Breakfast was nothing special but cheaper than the Hotel. After walking around for a while we eventually found the right area to catch Le Truck to get back to the Hotel. In the afternoon we had booked a half day “Around the Island” tour through the hotel with Dave’s VIP Tahiti Tours. Dave actually turns out to be a Hawaiian who came to Tahiti 18 years ago to surf, married a Tahitian and traded his surfboard in for a Hyundai 11 seater bus. Luckily there were only five other people on the bus so there was plenty of room and Dave turns out to be the best tour guide that you could wish for. He provides a very informative, interesting and enjoyable commentary. The tour included a visit to the Paul Gauguin Museum which was interesting and concluded on top of a hill overlooking Papeete at sunset.

 

For dinner we walked across the road to a local “Restaurant” Le Zinc for a pizza and a couple of drinks and back home for another early night, either we must be getting old or the trip is taking its toll on us.

 

Pedometer reading 7463

 

Day 34 - Wednesday 6 June 2007 ( 809 hours down 79 to go)

 

Papeete to Bora Bora

 

Another perfect morning in Paradise and as we are flying to Bora Bora we pack one small case and leave the other at the Hotel. Flight over is very smooth and interesting as you fly over various island groups and soon we are circling the reef of Bora Bora where we land on an Atoll just off the Island. The various hotel chains have representatives to meet you and present you with a sweet smelling lae and direct you to the boat that takes you to the main Island where a local Le Truck is waiting to take you to the Hotel. Of course the very flash hotels have their own speed boat that takes you direct. We are soon dropped off at the Novotel Bora Bora which looks good and are taken to our garden view room, yes we are slumming it, no $1000 a night over the water bungalow this time. After a look around the hotel and the Sofitel it’s sister hotel next door we take a walk around the area and decide that the luxury of the hotels is just a thin veneer as next door the locals live in very poor surroundings but they all appear happy as they should in this fantastic tropical paradise.

 

It is quite warm and soon the beach beckons so we secure our lounges at the waters edge and hit the warm tropical water, well I did, Julie could not be tempted. The water was fantastic with heaps of colourful tropical fish to entertain you. We hang around on the beach until sun goes behind the peak and we head on back to the room to freshen up for Happy Hour and Dinner.

 

The hotel Happy Hour is pretty quiet with only five couples there. Only cocktails are half price so we lash out and have a couple of average tasting cocktails and head off for dinner which was surprisingly good, Duck for Julie and grilled Emperor Fish for Richard. Nothing much on TV, we are sick of CNN so another early night.

 

Day 35 - Thursday 7 June 2007 ( 832 hours down 56 to go)

 

Another beautiful morning in Paradise, except for the wind and the light rain which counts out a morning of sunbathing. After a good buffet breakfast we don the walking shoes for a walk around the Island, or part thereof. Footpaths are non existent so it is walking on the side of the road looking out for traffic which is not much. As we get around the first point the wind dies down and it is very pleasant walking past the various other hotels, local shops, restaurants and of course Black Pearl shops. No worries with the first one, bypassed the next two and after walking about four kms we weakened and called into the Tahitian Peal Market store just to cool off in the air-conditioning……… ………

 

Found the perfect necklace and applied the logic of “see it, like it, buy it” and everyone was happy. On the way back we called into the Hotel Bora Bora where we spent part of our honeymoon, 32+ years ago, and had a drink at the Beach Bar and reminisced. We walked along the beach all the way back to our hotel and by the time we got back the wind had died and it was definitely time for a swim and a cold drink. Spent the rest of the afternoon on the beach and in the water just relaxing.

 

For dinner the Hotel Restaurant advertised a special Asian Buffet and Tahitian Dance Show, so we thought that sounds like a good night.  Unfortunately something got lost in translation and Asian Buffet turned out to be a salad bar and your choice of four main courses which had some Asian overtones in their description but had no Asian influence in the final product. As some compensation the Dance Show was pretty good except they started to remove the desert buffet during the show and unless you were not looking you would have missed out as the restaurant closes at 9.00pm.

 

Pedometer Reading 16665.

 

 Day 36 – Friday 8 June 2007 (856 hours down 32 to go…how sad)

 

Another beautiful day in Paradise, no wind, bright sunshine so it is down to the beach for a quick swim before breakfast on the terrace overlooking the beach and lagoon. Unfortunately it is our last morning and it is soon time to go back to our room to pack and catch a flight back to Papeete for the afternoon and catch our flight back to Australia at 2.15am tomorrow morning. We are provided with a fantastic view of Bora Bora from the air as we take off and manage to take a couple of decent photos.

 

Arrive back in Papeete after a good flight that provided us with great aerial views of Bora Bora and Moorea, and  take a cab back to the Sheraton where we have arranged to have a room for half a day while we repack and wait out the hours until flight time. The room that they give us is on the 5^th floor with a great balcony that provides us with a view over pool, gardens and a fantastic view of the lagoon and Papeete Harbour. To top it off they have a Polynesian Band by the pool playing enjoyable music all afternoon. At night we go down to one of the bars which serves Tapas dishes and has a band playing with many of the locals still there after a wedding enjoying the music and dancing a Polynesian version of the samba.

 

Our time at the Hotel is up so we head on out to the airport to wait an hour until check in opens and then another 30 minutes until immigration opens. (Nobody here will ever die of stress.) We eventually make it up to the Club Lounge for a last ice cold Hinano Tahiti Beer while we wait for our plane to arrive from New York.

 

It is 3.00am when we board our Air Tahiti Nui flight to Sydney. By now we are almost numb through hanging around and lack of sleep, just looking forward to putting the seat in full recline and getting some sleep. But no, the beautiful Tahitian stewardess tempts you with a great sounding menu which includes sliced smoked duck and a glass of wine just to delay your plans and then you decide to watch a movie ….zzzzzz zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz.

 

Two hours out of Sydney and its time for breakfast and watch the end of the movie, which is on its second showing, too bad about the hour that we missed somehow. In no time the coast of Australia is in sight and the reality that the trip is almost over hits home. It is pissing down which is a good sight and the only time that we were glad to see rain, however on reading the newspaper later most people in Sydney didn’t share our view.

 

We fly through Immigration, get our bags quickly and join the long line to clear customs. It was just our luck that a plane of Asians had landed just before us and were clogging up customs clearance, but then a sympathetic customs officer is walking along the line and sees Julie’s innocent face in the line, and stamps our clearance to bypass the line, welcome back to Australia. No more currency conversions, no more time difference calculations, no more humorless immigration and customs officers, no more language problems.

 

Catch bus to Sydney Domestic Terminal and after a while we are on our way back to Adelaide and back to the reality of normal life once again………… until next time.

 

We think back to the wonderful sights that we have seen, the fantastic adventures and good times that we experienced over the past 888 hours and 40 minutes.

 

In this time we:

 

Had 18 flights totaling 84 hours flying time, 53313 kms, & 36 hours airport waiting time.

 

Walked 462400 steps which equates to 254kms, Julie is claiming a lot more.

 

Visited 12 counties over 5 continents.

 

And had an Amazing Holiday.