First of all: Moorea is one of the biggest surprises on our journey so far. Extremely diversified, uncomplicated and on top of that incredibly warm-hearted people!
We reach Tahiti in the early morning at 2 a.m. where we get our first challenge: finding a taxi. Far and wide no taxi and only a few lost souls are hanging around the airport area. As we gradually begin to get nervous, a taxi luckily shows up and takes us on its very last round for the night 😂.
- The first accommodation in Tahiti: super easy and close to the harbour.
- The goal: just to get a few hours sleep.
- The Gamechanger: a bunch of Italians acting like Pavarotti in the hotel during the whole night. Damn!🤨🙈
The ferry cruise to Moorea is great and takes only about 45 minutes. Local passengers spontaneously unpack their ukulele and start singing songs that make us already dream of the beautiful island. Wow!
Arrived in Moorea we try to make it by public transport. And…. surprise, surprise…. everything goes fabulous and the bus driver even stops extraordinarily in front of our hotel. 😲
We actually feel very comfortable here and the people not only greet you with saying ‚Ia ora na (good day) but also with lifting their hand to wink. Also the fact that we suddenly can communicate in French, makes our life a lot easier.
The next days we are exploring the island by our own – both above and below the water. We rent a scooter to drive round the island to visit the most beautiful sights. The scooter almost collapses by going uphill, and we seriously have to ask ourselves if the engine is too weak OR if we might had one dessert too much during this journey 🤔 Our first sightseeing spot, and ranked as No. 1 on TripAdvisor is the Magic Mountain. We are super excited to go hiking here and with our alpine hiking boots we start the climb. Unfortunately we realize after only 20 minutes walk that the destination has already been reached and that the view is not as stunning as described and hoped. Here we found an attraction of the category: Hiking for lazy people. 😂
We decide to tackle a bigger challenge, the 899 meter high Mt. Rotui. And this hike is a tough one: steep slopes and deep jungle make our climb more difficult than expected. At this moment we understand the (obviously serious) tip to take a machete with you on the way 😂. The biggest hurdle, however, is the constant heat, which is merciless in the midday sun and its never interrupted by shades or a chilly breeze. At about 500 m.a.s.l we notice that our concentration is weakening and therefore decide to stop the climb as the risk of a fall is too high. Instead we cool off with a swim in the nearby Opunohu lagoon and get two huge, fresh smoothies (which have nothing to do with the smoothies back home). As all the fruits comes directly from the trees, it tastes super delicious!
We enjoy the sunset almost every evening on the beach in front of our hotel and visit the land of dreams mostly before 9pm. Everyone that knows me may think that this is impossible (nightowl) – it sounds unbelievable but it’s actually true 😂🙈.
We explore the underwater world in two dives which takes us down to 21.5 and 20 meters. We literally find ourselves in the shark tank and splash around with these impressive predators (the largest is about 2.5 – 3 meters long) – but there are also sea turtles and a lot of coral fish to see. Unfortunately the traces of the climate warming are unmissable (the corals begin to bleach) – as everywhere in the world. Nevertheless the two dives were extraordinary.
Back on solid ground we visit a „waterfall“ (some drops on a rock) and stop at the probably best Pizzeria of the island (Pizzeria Monearii). Well… there’s nothing more than a few chairs, a roof and a oven – in the middle of a forrest close to the sea. But the fascinating thing of this place is not only the delicious pizza but also the two young guys (probably the owners) and the way how routinely and passionate they prepare them.
The food here is generally worth mentioning. On Moorea you eat per se very well. From simple sandwiches (which we often use for the sake of simplicity) over poke bowls up to culinary highlights – everything is delicious, fresh and tasty. The absolute highlight (and in our opinion a MUST for every visit in Moorea) is „Le Lézard Jaune“. Inconspicuously announced as „Café“, this restaurant overwhelms with freshness and ingeniously prepared food. No wonder the restaurant is already known all over the island. The prices are extremely moderate and the hosts are simply world class. I have rarely seen this devotion, joy and passion that is shown here. At our second (and last) visit we are welcomed like good friends or family. A moment that touches us very much and which we will not forget so quickly.
Moorea was fantastic and surprised us enormously in terms of beauty and friendliness. We take off on August 18th with the best feelings and look forward to our next adventure on Raiatea/Taha. ☺️
Living The Moment 