Mo'orea is the perfect mix of sandy beaches, azure lagoon waters and sheer jungle-clad peaks
Island Hopping Through Oceania: Papeete and Mo’orea
As we finally stepped off the seven-hour ferry from Bora Bora back to Papeete, the capital of French Polynesia, I silently congratulated myself on my victory in keeping my lunch down. It had been a rough journey, and the ship had been rolling vertiginously for hours in the Pacific swell.
An unplanned stop in Papeete
That’s not to say I didn’t still feel like shit. And the thought of boarding another ferry, even if it was just a short trip to Mo’orea, filled me with dread. My sniffles from Bora Bora had morphed into a full-blown cold, and the idea of camping again for the next few nights, as planned, made me want to board the next flight back to Auckland.
Rico and I agreed that would be a bit drastic. So, instead, we dove into the first coffee shop we passed, hopped on the Wi-Fi, and booked the cheapest room in town. The Sarah Nui’s barren reception was about as sad as a hotel could get. But the room had a bed, and that was my only prerequisite. That, and I wanted to eat Weet-Bix for dinner (it’s a thing when I’m sick).
The shops in Papeete closed promptly at five, and it was 4:45. With no time to shop around, Rico ended up in a French Polynesian reseller of Costco products. Sadly, there was no Weet-Bix, but there were giant boxes of cornflakes—and I mean giant. That would have to do.
Eating cornflakes from a polystyrene cup for dinner in Papeete
The Sarah Nui’s lonely receptionist assured us they didn’t have bowls (despite them offering breakfast – cereals clearly visible) and instead gave us two polystyrene cups. So we sat in bed and ate cornflakes and milk from polystyrene cups, while I used half the loo roll to soak up the snot dripping from my nose. We were quickly learning that island hopping through Oceania isn’t all sunbathing and snorkelling.
But at least the sun did come out the following day. I still felt like the walking dead, however, so we booked another night at our sad little hotel and returned to that coffee shop to rebook all our cancelled flights. It was an expensive afternoon, but at least by the end of it, we had a flight out of French Polynesia booked (a few days later than our original), and we had figured out a way of getting to Vanuatu (via Auckland and Fiji). That would get us back on schedule, barring any more setbacks.
Rico onboard the Aremiti Express to Mo'orea
More rain in Mo’orea
With that vital bit of admin completed, the following day, two days later than planned, we boarded the Aremiti Express to Mo’orea. Another tropical island paradise, the forecast was for full sun this time, and we hoped to avoid a repeat of the terrible weather we had on Bora Bora.
So when, at 10 am on the first day, fat blobs of tropical rain began pummelling through the trees in the gardens of Fare Om, where we were camping, we started questioning whether our trip was cursed. As the hours ticked by, battling hordes of mosquitoes on the covered verandah and watching mud spatter higher and higher up the sides of our tent, our general feeling of despondency only grew. It didn’t help that we had no transport, and the island buses were notoriously unreliable. We were stuck with hitching, unappealing in the rain.
Mo’orea has some stunning beaches
Thankfully, the next day dawned sunny. We didn’t hang around, and as soon as we had scarfed our breakfast, we made the 30-minute trek to Ta’ahiamanu Beach, one of the few public beaches on this island of exclusive resorts.
It was worth the walk in the building heat: an arc of talcum-fine sand and lapis lazuli lagoon, with Mo’orea’s impossibly steep jungle-clad mountains as a backdrop. We interrupted our sunbathing and snorkelling only to walk the 50 metres or so to North Shore Poke and Smoothie Bar. Their overflowing raw tuna, salad, and rice bowls were unbeatable.
Ta'ahiamanu Beach on Mo'orea was stunning
Mo'orea's vertiginous mountains provide a spectacular backdrop to a day on the beach
Hiking on Mo’orea
After a full day of relaxation, the next day we set our alarms and headed out early for a full-day hike. We planned to hitchhike and then hike to the Three Coconuts Pass, a popular viewpoint on Mo’orea’s central spine. Unfortunately, the morning commuters had other ideas, and we spent the first few hours traipsing the island’s roads to get to the start of the trail.
A very kind French couple picked us up for the final (and steepest) stretch to the Belvedere Lookout. From a distance, the profile of Mo’orea’s precipitous mountains is impressive. Up close, the hulking mass of Mt. Rotui and the fortification-like central ridge rising above the steaming jungle is hard to believe. We could’ve stopped there, and probably got a lift back to Fare Om.
Without a car, hitchhiking or walking are the main ways to get around Mo'orea
Instead, we struck out into the oppressive rainforest, over rocks and roots, and past forest giants with clawing buttresses anchoring them to the forest floor. The walk to Three Coconuts Pass wasn’t challenging, but it was hot, very hot. And we were both drenched in sweat by the time we reached it. The view was good, but it probably didn’t beat the view from Belvedere, where we started.
The view from Mo'orea's Belvedere Lookout is breathtaking
The way down was arguably more challenging. We made a wrong turn and ended up on a path that almost wasn’t, and picked up some random dogs that stuck with us for the following two hours. By the time we stumbled out of the forest into Opunohu Bay, we were desperate for the walking to be over and to take a soothing dip in the lagoon.
It's best to stick to the main trails on Mo'orea
It was another 30 minutes to the beach, and given our state by that stage, we didn’t even try to hitch. When we finally reached the cool lagoon waters, we lay in the shallows until we began to shiver. Then, we returned to North Shore Poke for more delicious raw tuna.
Mo'orea's North Shore Poke is the perfect island lunch stop
Our final day in French Polynesia
The following day was our final day in French Polynesia. We made the most of it, spending a morning in full sun at the beach and eating another tuna poke bowl before hitching to the ferry and cruising back into Papeete at dusk.
Our flight out was inconveniently timed for 4 am, and we had heroically planned to kill time in Papeete before sleeping on the floor at the airport. This ridiculous plan didn’t last long. By 6 pm, we had finished dinner and still had ten hours to kill before our flight. So we scrapped our great money-saving idea and checked into a nice hotel for five hours’ sleep before our mammoth journey to Vanuatu, via Auckland and Fiji.
This Leg
Days: 7
Flights: 0
Boats: 3
Islands: 2
Countries & Territories: 1
Total
Days: 10
Flights: 1
Boats: 6
Islands: 4
Countries & Territories: 1