An excerpt from the Princess Patter:
Once you explore Moorea, you’ll see why even its shape reflects this island’s nature: sheer perfection., It is formed like an isosceles triangle, with two mountainous sides joining at Mt. Tohivea. The other side is cut by two bays, Cook and Opunohu each of which is a little over half a mile in width. From the air, it appears as a beautiful green butterfly floating over a tranquil blue sea. The sister island of Tahiti, Moorea is around 15 miles from the bustle of Papeete. Yet, unlike the more modern Tahiti, Moorea is an uncrowded tropical land of dramatically jagged mountaints, lush forests, turquoise lagoons, coconut fields and glistening white-sand beaches. It’s not wonder that the Bali Hai parts of the movie “South Pacific” were filmed here.
Noel, Fleurette and I were taking a 4WD tour today on Moorea. Our ship anchored in Opunhu Bay and we took the the tender to the port, where we were met by our tour guide, John. We hopped on the jeep and were shortly on our way.
The drive was exhilarating! There was no road once we left the residential area and hit the mountain side. There were simply two rows of concrete slabs for the tyres. I looked over the edge of the car and there was about half a metre between us and a steep drop off the side of the mountain. The driver knew what he was doing and it felt like we were travelling pretty fast along the snaking trail up the mountain. I absolutely loved it!!
As we climbed higher, the views got more and more breathtaking.
Near the top of Mount Rotui – otherwise known as ‘Magic Mountain’, we got out of the jeep and walked the rest of the way up a path to the peak. The view was spectacular. No words can describe how beautiful it was. You could turn in a 360 degree circle and see the densely forested peaks behind us, to the sparkling blue waters of Cook Bay and Opunhu Bay below. Stunning. I wish I could have sat up there for the rest of the day in total silence.
We left the peak of Magic Mountain and took a rather exciting drive down the mountainside, through some plantations and along the water's edge.
Next, we stopped at the agricultural school on Moorea where they have a kiosk that sells to the public some of the products that they make on the premises. They make ice creams and preserves, among other things.
After our pitstop, we got back onto the jeeps and drove to Le Belvedere Lookout. This location gave us great views of both Cook Bay and Opunhu Bay. Again, I could have stayed here all day.On the road again, our next stop was the ruins of a historic temple. You could see the outline of the building by the stones that remain. Chickens roam the site freely.
Along the way, we got to try some local fruits that the guides cut up for us. I remember some sort of lemon or lime that was really sweet, and pineapple.
Nearing the end of our tour, we drove to a tourist shop where they offer souvenirs and locally made liqueurs. They were beautiful!! They gave us free samples and my favourite one would have to be the coconut rum. It was like Baileys, but a lighter coconut taste.
We were driven back to the port and we weren’t sure what we wanted to do, but I think the general consensus was that we didn’t want to get back onto our ship yet. This island was much too beautiful and we wanted to see more! One of our guides offered to drive us to the Intercontinental Resort and Spa and we eagerly took her up on her offer.
The resort was picture perfect like a postcard!! I could have cried at how beautiful it was. I didn’t want to leave!
I was itching to have a swim, so as soon as we found a nice shady spot to dump our things, I tore off my clothes and waded into the shallow water. They had formed some little lagoons where guests (and outsiders like us) could enjoy a swim and snorkel in calm shallow waters. I sat in the water, in disbelief of where I was. I looked down into the water and was amazed to see a school of tropical fish swimming right across my lap. They must be used to the visitors, because as I looked closer around me, there were alot of fish surrounding me. It was utterly amazing!
*SIGH* It was time to head back to the ship all too soon.
Back on board, I realised just how hungry I was!!
cream of broccoli soup, spicy corn salad, baked fish, parpadelle in tomato sauce,
rigatoni in cheese sauce, vegetables, turkey with gravy
I was too exhausted to get dressed for dinner in the formal dining room, so went to the food court for a lazy dinner. That and I wasn’t very hungry because we had had a late lunch.
pumpkin soup, prawn and beef skewers, pilaf, Greek salad
After dinner, I caught up with the Brads and we went to watch part of a variety show in the Vista Lounge. Afterwards, I had to go to change since I was too underdressed for the bars. I was introduced to the art director onboard, Melanie, who oversees the art gallery and art sales. She bought us a round of drinks while we were entertained by Brad Stevens.
I’ve pretty much gone through the list of martinis on one side of the menu – I’ve even had a few of them more than once. It doesn’t help that the drinks are so inexpensive onboard!
Later on in the Wheelhouse Bar, we finally saw Reuben have his first drink – the rest of my martini.A fabulous day, methinks!
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