MOOREA, Society Islands, French Polynesia

March 2013

Ann and I took a dream vacation to French Polynesia for 9 days. From LA, we flew on the midnight red eye flight via Air Tahiti into Papeete on the island of Tahiti. The flight took 7 ½ hours. We arrived at 5:30 am Tahiti time. At the airport we waited in line for about an hour to go through customs. There was no A/C and little airflow. I found it to be quite humid. Once we made it through customs we were greeted by our Custom Tahiti Travel representative, who gave us all our transfers and other necessary documents.  We were directed to the bus that was waiting to transfer us to the ferry that would then take us to the island of Moorea. I must say that Jackie at Custom Tahiti Travel did a fantastic job of arranging all the details for our trip. It is obvious that she is very experienced and professional. The transfers, hotel bookings, excursions and VIP dinner reservations and preferred seating (all part of their Complimentary Service) were flawlessly prearranged. We did not experience any problems.

We arrived at the Hilton Moorea Lagoon Resort around 10:30 am. The resort staff members were all very friendly. Most were able to speak and understand English. Others spoke only French but smiled and nodded as if they understood. The resort was beautiful! Our garden bungalow was really nice. It had Polynesian decor (of course), and included a private patio and plunge pool. The beach was perfect. It was close to our bungalow and next to the pool. The restaurants and bars were strategically placed on or overlooking the beach as well, which is one of my favorite points. The beach was never crowded. There were plenty of kayaks, paddleboats and boards, snorkel equipment, etc. available at all times and all were complimentary to resort quests. The atmosphere was laid back and relaxing. The water was clear and calm. The breakfast buffet was included in our package. I am a very picky eater, so in my opinion the breakfast wasn’t fantastic.  But dinners were good. The chicken was the best I have ever tasted. Ann was quite happy with the food. During one of our meals we were entertained with an authentic Polynesian show.

I could write for days about how awesome Moorea is. But, I will touch on only a few highlights. We went on two organized excursions. The first was the Quad/ATV Guided Tour of Moorea. We followed our tour guide, Manuel to the center of the island and up to Belvedere Lookout Point for some breathtaking views. Then back down to the Agriculture School where we zipped around the pineapple plantations’ dirt tracks and admired tropical fruits and flowers. We stopped to taste homemade jams and fruity drinks prepared fresh while we watched. So yummy! The experience was educational as well as a lot of fun!

The second was the Comfort Circle Island Cruise & Picnic, which was an all-day excursion. Robert was our guide this time.  We circled the island of Moorea by boat, around it’s breathtaking lagoon. He took us on a journey through the history of Opunohu and Cook’s Bay. We snorkeled in the lagoon’s turquoise waters among the coral, tropical fish, sharks and stingrays. Wow! That was an awesome experience!! Then we stopped at an island for a lunchtime picnic where Robert prepared a Tahitian Salad called “Poisson Cru” and later demonstrated how to open a coconut and utilize every part of it. What an awesome day this was!

One evening we went into town for an enjoyable dinner at the Kaveka Restaurant. The food was very good and the entertainment rather enjoyable. Another evening we went to Rudy’s. Aside from that, we ate at the resort.

One more thing to mention… One day we approached the lobby area and asked a staff member how we might hire a cab to take us into town to get some grocery items. A gentleman named William, (who was with Albert Tours) waiting to pick up a guest (who never showed), overheard the request. He jumped in and offered to drive us into town and wherever we wanted to go at no charge. He was so nice and gave us an abundance of information and took us to the grocery store. We even stopped at his family’s black pearl jewelry store where Ann later bought some black pearl earrings. He was such a genuinely nice and generous guy!!

Moorea Paradise is all that! I would highly recommend this destination to all of my clients who may be planning a honeymoon.

Equipment used: Canon 5D Mark II with a 24/70 2.8 lens and a Gitzo carbon fiber tripod.

Copyright 2013 Larry Huffman Photography. All rights reserved.