On the Crown: 28 Days in the S. Pacific and it Wasn't Bora Boraing

[SailorJack]

I also look forward each day to reading this fabulous report and viewing the pictures. We will be in Tahiti on the Crown in November and haven't decided on a tour yet. Are there a lot of taxis available at the port? How long is a tour and what should we expect to pay?

 

Thank you

Bill

 

 

Bill, I envy your trip. We want to do it again, but this year is a no go for us. We got off the ship early and there were plenty of taxis at that time. Our tour took about four hours and we paid $25 per person, although we talked to others who paid $30 per person. It may have depended how many were in the taxi - we had four. Each couple tipped $15 at the end of the tour.

[SailorJack]

Sailor Jack - Wonderful review. So look forward to reading your reviews. We are doing this (similar) cruise in September. Can you post the names of private tours you used please?

 

The only organized tour we took was with Hiro Tours in Moorea and they were excellent! You don't need reservations. You just get off the tender and go about 50 yards to get on their boat. A roll call member organized a tour with them, but it wasn't needed. On all the other islands, when we took a tour we hired a taxi. In Samoa we took one of those island busses with no windows and paid $20 for an island tour. They are parked right on the street as you leave the dock - about 50 feet away! But even before you get out of the dock there are people advertising their bus. It was a good value. In no case did we pay more than $25(except for Hiro - which was $50 including lunch) for any tour that we took on any of the islands. They key is to get another compatible couple to share the cost of the taxi.

 

Hope that helps,

 

 

Jack

[SailorJack]

We had to walk quite a ways on a path that kept getting narrower and narrower.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

We thought we had taken a wrong turn somewhere when we came upon moss covered old growth trees.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

But then through the trees we got our first glimpse of what would turn out to be a number of waterfalls.

 

 

 

 

[SailorJack]

Beautiful pictures of really beautiful places.

Jack - do you happen to remember your taxi driver's name?

 

Sorry, I overlooked your post. I wish I could remember his name, but I can't. I went back to my notes, but no luck. He was very good. He stopped by a friend of his and she gave us fruit and water and he gave us as much time as we needed to explore the different stops. He was a good guide.

 

I hope you get the same guy!

 

Jack

[moresun]

Beautiful pictures,WOW!

[SailorJack]

The waterfalls were an unexpected reward after following the long path.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[SailorJack]

Beautiful pictures,WOW!

 

Glad you are enjoying them. Thanks for following along.

[SailorJack]

On the road again after leaving the waterfalls we are again surrounded by the lush tropical garden that seems to dominate Tahiti.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

We are once again on the coast and our next stop is the very famous Arohoho Blowhole.

 

 

 

 

 

[7leagueboots]

Look what I found on google:

 

Sorry for the size!

 

The center looked like a ginger flower to me so I googled (or searched on yahoo - same thing) - ginger flowers and found it!

We've been to the island of Tahiti and Papeete about 4 times and never knew about this garden.

Must be time to go back! :D

 

https://search.yahoo.com/yhs/search;_ylt=A0LEVi7TOWpV3NUALA8nnIlQ;_ylc=X1MDMTM1MTE5NTY4NwRfcgMyBGZyA3locy1tb3ppbGxhLTAwNQRncHJpZANIdEJYT3dCYlRxQzhId3NEOEVOd3ZBBG5fcnNsdAMwBG5fc3VnZwMxMARvcmlnaW4Dc2VhcmNoLnlhaG9vLmNvbQRwb3MDMQRwcXN0cgNnaW5nZXIgIGZsb3dlcnMEcHFzdHJsAzE1BHFzdHJsAzE0BHF1ZXJ5A2dpbmdlciBmbG93ZXJzBHRfc3RtcAMxNDMzMDI0OTky?p=ginger+flowers&fr2=sa-gp-search&hspart=mozilla&hsimp=yhs-005

 

This man be my favorite flower picture...thanks for that!

[Colo Cruiser]

Wow nice!

[SailorJack]

The Arahoho Blowhole is purported to be one of Tahiti's most popular attractions. it was formed by a lavatube or tunnel that that extended into the sea when molten lava flowed under the hard lava crust on top. When the waves crash into the open end of the tube, water is forced up through the openings and creates the geyser that shoots up through the holes in the rocks.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The constant pounding of the waves actually caved in the road that went around the island. The new road is just to the left of this photo and is a tunnel that goes thought the cliff that you can see. I would not have wanted to be a tour bus when the road gave way!

 

 

 

[SailorJack]

Wow nice!

 

My thoughts exactly when I saw that picture. I thought mine was nice...But!:)

[SailorJack]

Our next stop after the blowhole is Matavai Bay - noted as the place Captain Cook stepped ashore. These photos were taken out of the car window on the way to Matavai.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

This was taken by Jill just as we left the blowhole.

 

 

 

 

[DavyJoneses]

I may have missed it, but was there an entrance fee for the Grotto and the Water Garden. Thanks.

[Vict0riann]

Beautiful photographs. Did you have such good weather everywhere?

[SailorJack]

This is Matavai Bay where James Cook landed in his ship, the Endeavour. Matavai Bay was chosen as the sight where he was to observe the 1769 Transit of Venus across the Sun from the South Pacific. The purpose of this scientific expedition was to try and determine the distance between the Sun and the Earth. The observatory he established here was named "Fort Venus."

 

 

This is the lighthouse at Pointe Venus. It is Tahiti's only lighthouse and was built in 1867. It is interesting to note that not only did Captain Cook step ashore here on Pointe Venus in 1769, but so did the crew of the Bounty - in 1788. It was fun to think that we may have been standing and walking in the footsteps of that crew.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The Bay is a popular one and is home to out-rigger canoe racing clubs. Here you can see some of he outriggers pulled up on the beach

 

 

 

 

 

 

There is a nice park adjacent to the beach with very lush vegetation.

 

 

 

[Baatman]

This is Matavai Bay where James Cook landed in his ship, the Endeavour. Matavai Bay was chosen as the sight where he was to observe the 1769 Transit of Venus across the Sun from the South Pacific. The purpose of this scientific expedition was to try and determine the distance between the Sun and the Earth. The observatory he established here was named "Fort Venus."

 

 

This is the lighthouse at Pointe Venus. It is Tahiti's only lighthouse and was built in 1867. It is interesting to note that not only did Captain Cook step ashore here on Pointe Venus in 1769, but so did the crew of the Bounty - in 1788. It was fun to think that we may have been standing and walking in the footsteps of that crew.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The Bay is a popular one and is home to out-rigger canoe racing clubs. Here you can see some of he outriggers pulled up on the beach

 

 

 

 

 

 

There is a nice park adjacent to the beach with very lush vegetation.

 

 

 

 

I would love to be on one of those outriggers right about now!:)

[SailorJack]

This is Matavai Beach. It is very popular and our guide said that on the week-end it is hard to find a spot to lie down on. It is a black sand beach and is also topless. Most of the men we saw were topless as were some of the women.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

There were also lots of shady areas to picnic on and grassy areas for the kids to play. It really was a very nice park/beach/boating area.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[SailorJack]

Beautiful photographs. Did you have such good weather everywhere?

 

 

We had great weather for the entire trip with the possible exception of some scattered showers in Bora Bora. We could not have asked for anything better!

[Colo Cruiser]

Stunning photos. :)

[SailorJack]

These photos were taken from a scenic overlook about 5 miles from Papeete. That is Papeete is the far background.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[SailorJack]

I may have missed it, but was there an entrance fee for the Grotto and the Water Garden. Thanks.

 

No, both attractions were absolutely free. One of the best deals in Tahiti!

[SailorJack]

I suspect that somewhere on the island there is something that is not perfect, but I don't know where. Even the parking lots are beautiful. This is where we parked to walk up to the scenic overlook.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

These are the flowers that lined the parking lot - they were everywhere. What a beautiful island!

 

 

[SailorJack]

Stunning photos. :)

 

Thanks, glad you are still following along. MY favorite photos are coming up soon, I will leave it up to you to guess which ones they are.:)

 

 

Jack

[SailorJack]

After our island tour was over we visited some shops that were near the pier and came across a preview of the cultural show that would be presented in the theatre that night. This dancer was amazing!