Bora Bora

After the very sunny days in New Zealand I decided to give Tahiti one more chance. I had only two days left before my flight to Easter Island and had to make choices. Would I go to the famously beautiful Bora Bora atoll in the Society Islands group, would I visit the large Rangiroa atoll in the Tuamotu island group to see a pearl farm and to do a tasting at the Vin de Tahiti estate, the only vineyard in all of French Polynesia with grapes grown on coral soil. Or would I go to Fakarava, also in the Tuamotu group with its pink sand beaches and abundance of fish.

Availability of flights made the decision easy and so I flew to Bora Bora in the early morning. It was a fifty minute flight from Tahiti where I arrived late the night before. Bora Bora is an almost-atoll with a core that is not submerged yet. Atolls develop out of volcanoes that rise up from the sea floor. Around the edge of the volcano a coral reef develops over time which continues to grow upward into a reef barrier while the volcano itself sinks back into sea under its own weight. This process takes millions of years, creating a shallow lagoon inside a coral barrier reef enclosure.

The view from the air when flying towards Bora Bora airport was breath-taking. It’s easily the most exotic and colourful island I have ever seen. Granted, I’ve not been on many atolls but the many different shades of blue and green of the water, the white sand beaches and the tropical vegetation all over the island can only be described by one word: paradise.

Of course, it rained in paradise, as I expected. I decided I didn’t care and took a kayak out to sea late morning. That lasted about 20 minutes when I got hammered by a monsoon-like shower and had to return to shore soaking wet and at risk of sinking. I booked a boat-and-snorkel activity in the afternoon against better judgment for which a grand total of three people showed up. I think diving and snorkelling are some of the most fun things you can do in Bora Bora but this tour took us to something called the Lagoonarium, a small piece of the lagoon fenced off with fish in it.

I am not in favour of trapping animals for the entertainment of humans and therefore I had a bit of a problem with my conscience doing this activity. However the damage was already done by making the payment and I decided to make the best of it. The guide assured me that the sharks and rays had a door to come in and were also free to go out. I did see these but you’d have to be a very smart fish to understand the system.

Swimming with the sharks, rays and other fish was a very relaxed experience as the rain was unable to mess things up. I floated over a block of coral and scared all the small colourful fish into hiding but they came out quickly after and I was able to capture that on camera.

The verdict on Tahiti and all its islands is mixed. I’m convinced that it is one of the most beautiful regions on earth when it’s sunny. However, in heavy rain the tour operators don’t go out, the water becomes murky which limits diving and snorkelling and life becomes a bit lonely with all the honeymoon couples and no real cities (apart from Pape’ete on Tahiti itself where I did some proper clubbing). I did learn about a great way to see a different side of Tahiti if I ever come back. There is a short two-week cruise on a mixed freighter / passenger boat called the Aranui that stops at a large number of remote islands and it’s got raving reviews from everyone I spoke to. Alors, au revoir.