Mo‘orea
Our incoming guests arrived around 7pm last night. Around 10pm the Tahitian dance troupe performed. It was an excellent show and everyone (who was still awake) greatly enjoyed the skill and glamour of the entertainers.
The morning was spent en route to Mo‘orea with an informative presentation of hotel matters by Patrick – laundry, meals, Internet, etc. Tom then outlined the immediate activities and the staff introduced themselves and their areas of interest. The mandatory lifeboat drill followed this, and then we moved into the snorkelling briefing and were issued with our snorkeling equipment. We then went on deck to enjoy the landscape as the ship approached Cook’s Bay where it anchored and we had lunch.
Internationally Borabora overshadows Mo‘orea, although it is definitely a contender with Borabora for the Michener’s “most beautiful island in the world”. The name Mo‘orea, is two words mo‘o, meaning gecko and rea meaning yellow: literally “yellow gecko”.
Mo‘orea is a young volcanic island of around 2 million years with steep-sided peaks that reach 1200 metres at the summit of Mt Tohiea. The mountain has razor-backed ridges in the centre and the edges of the island expand into a broad reef-flat with a fringing reef. In the centre of the northern side there are two beautiful bays (Cook’s Bay and Oponohu Bay) with Mt Rotui standing dramatically at 900 metres between them. The inhabitants of Paopao Bay renamed their bay in honour of the navigator James Cook, who anchored in Oponohu Bay during his visits in 1769 and 1777.
At 2pm we departed in three buses on an around-island tour, which gave us a good view of the island and its lagoon. Mo‘orea is the pineapple capital of French Polynesia and our first stop was at a large pineapple farm, which also provided great views of the dramatic mountains.
The second stop, at ancient archaeological structures, was the highlight of the tour. The marae Titiroa is an immense, rectangular structure with a stone floor surrounded by a low stone wall. Although the structure is now invaded by several impressive Polynesian Chestnut trees (Mape), the stone uprights where important people once sat are still in evidence. Our archaeologist, Edmundo, explained how the structure was used for important social events. We then walked down through the Mape forest to the smaller Ahu-o-Mahine, a religious site made of rounded rocks with a small tree-tiered alter (ahu).
The Polynesian Chestnut trees were introduced by the early Polynesians and were commonly planted to mark tribal boundaries. The tree has a fluted trunk and buttressing roots. The starchy seed was and is still cooked and eaten. It was one of about 40 food plants introduced by the Polynesians, others being the breadfruit (‘Uru) and wetland taro.
After the visit of the marae it was a short, steep and winding trip up to the ultimate photo-stop: Belvédère, which is a lookout perched high on the rim of the caldera. There was a great view of Mountt Totui flanked by the two bays, with the National Geographic Endeavour visible in the distance.
The next stop was at the lead driver’s pearl shop, where some of us purchased some beautiful black pearl jewellery. It took a considerable time to extract driver William from his role as a shopkeeper, but eventually we were underway along the more remote southern side of the island. The final stop was a spectacular lookout point north of Vaiare village, which has the ferry terminal link to Tahiti. We all enjoyed the photogenic view over the ‘lagoon’ and fringing reef to Tahiti in the distance.
Our incoming guests arrived around 7pm last night. Around 10pm the Tahitian dance troupe performed. It was an excellent show and everyone (who was still awake) greatly enjoyed the skill and glamour of the entertainers.
The morning was spent en route to Mo‘orea with an informative presentation of hotel matters by Patrick – laundry, meals, Internet, etc. Tom then outlined the immediate activities and the staff introduced themselves and their areas of interest. The mandatory lifeboat drill followed this, and then we moved into the snorkelling briefing and were issued with our snorkeling equipment. We then went on deck to enjoy the landscape as the ship approached Cook’s Bay where it anchored and we had lunch.
Internationally Borabora overshadows Mo‘orea, although it is definitely a contender with Borabora for the Michener’s “most beautiful island in the world”. The name Mo‘orea, is two words mo‘o, meaning gecko and rea meaning yellow: literally “yellow gecko”.
Mo‘orea is a young volcanic island of around 2 million years with steep-sided peaks that reach 1200 metres at the summit of Mt Tohiea. The mountain has razor-backed ridges in the centre and the edges of the island expand into a broad reef-flat with a fringing reef. In the centre of the northern side there are two beautiful bays (Cook’s Bay and Oponohu Bay) with Mt Rotui standing dramatically at 900 metres between them. The inhabitants of Paopao Bay renamed their bay in honour of the navigator James Cook, who anchored in Oponohu Bay during his visits in 1769 and 1777.
At 2pm we departed in three buses on an around-island tour, which gave us a good view of the island and its lagoon. Mo‘orea is the pineapple capital of French Polynesia and our first stop was at a large pineapple farm, which also provided great views of the dramatic mountains.
The second stop, at ancient archaeological structures, was the highlight of the tour. The marae Titiroa is an immense, rectangular structure with a stone floor surrounded by a low stone wall. Although the structure is now invaded by several impressive Polynesian Chestnut trees (Mape), the stone uprights where important people once sat are still in evidence. Our archaeologist, Edmundo, explained how the structure was used for important social events. We then walked down through the Mape forest to the smaller Ahu-o-Mahine, a religious site made of rounded rocks with a small tree-tiered alter (ahu).
The Polynesian Chestnut trees were introduced by the early Polynesians and were commonly planted to mark tribal boundaries. The tree has a fluted trunk and buttressing roots. The starchy seed was and is still cooked and eaten. It was one of about 40 food plants introduced by the Polynesians, others being the breadfruit (‘Uru) and wetland taro.
After the visit of the marae it was a short, steep and winding trip up to the ultimate photo-stop: Belvédère, which is a lookout perched high on the rim of the caldera. There was a great view of Mountt Totui flanked by the two bays, with the National Geographic Endeavour visible in the distance.
The next stop was at the lead driver’s pearl shop, where some of us purchased some beautiful black pearl jewellery. It took a considerable time to extract driver William from his role as a shopkeeper, but eventually we were underway along the more remote southern side of the island. The final stop was a spectacular lookout point north of Vaiare village, which has the ferry terminal link to Tahiti. We all enjoyed the photogenic view over the ‘lagoon’ and fringing reef to Tahiti in the distance.
