French Polynesia Islands - Passports Overloaded

Papeete, French Polynesia Hotel

January 24, 2015

We were only at this hotel for one night waiting to catch our flight to Bora Bora the next morning. I don’t remember the name of the hotel.

Four Seasons – Bora Bora, South Pacific

January 21, 2015

We flew to Papeete and caught a connecting flight to Bora Bora and our Four Seasons Hotel boat was there to pick us up and take us to the hotel. Once there we checked in, and we were driven to our hut above the water by a golf cart. We had one of the best huts it was all the way at the end so when we had complete privacy.

The spa at the Four Seasons is by far one of the best I’ve ever been to!

Noumea – New Calendonia

February 06, 2015

We boarded our tour bus and drove along the beautiful coast to the FOL lookout point. En route, we passed the Southern Province Government House, Port Plaisance Shopping Center and the Yacht Club.

The cosmopolitan city of Noumea, which is decidedly French. Noumea is known as the “Paris of the Pacific.” We stopped at the Ouen Toro scenic lookout, where we saw New Caledonia’s barrier reef, which is the world’s second longest, the largest is Australia’s Great Barrier Reef. The lookout is also home to a memorial honoring the Allied troops that protected the French colony of New Caledonia during World War II. Our tour guide told us that they still have US Jeeps on the island from the war and one of the locals favorite food is the hamburger which was introduced to them when our troops were there. The island still has deep ties to France, best expressed with French cuisine and French wines.

We stopped at La Coupole French restaurant. Known for having one of the South Pacific’s finest wine cellars, made the wine and cheese tasting that much sweeter.

After our wine and cheese tasting, we drove back to the pier.

Suva, Fiji

February 04, 2015

Today we drove to Raiwaqa Village where they had a Fijian kava ceremony and showed us how they cook in the ground with banana leaves and the many uses of coconuts. After the show, we had a delicious lunch that the locals in the village prepared for us.

After lunch, we boarded a longboat and cruised on the Navua River for 45 minutes en route to the Magic Waterfall; Navua’s largest waterfall where we went swimming in the chilly water.

Lautoka, Fiji

February 03, 2015 – Garden of the Sleeping Giant

Today we drove through fields of sugar cane en route to the village of Viseisei. The locals greeted us with a Fijian song and dance, and they also had a traditional Yaqona (Kava) ceremony.

Kava is a tranquilizing, non-alcoholic drink which numbs the tongue and lips and comes from the dried roots of the pepper plant. The ceremonial preparation for drinking Kava is the honored rite of the formal life of Fijians, performed for any significant occasion, including births, marriages, deaths, official visits or the installation of a new chief.

After the Kava ceremony, we went to the famous orchid garden called the Garden of the Sleeping Giant which is set within the backdrop of a magnificent mountain (the Sleeping Giant). Walking in the garden was dangerous because the wood walkways had moss and it they were wet, and some were steep. Some of the people from our tour ended up falling. luckily John and I didn’t fall. We also visited an Indian temple called Sri Krishna Kaliya Temple.

Apia, Samoa

February 01, 2015

Today we had a scenic drive of Apia, lush green forests, waterfalls, plantations and traditional Samoan villages. We got a chance to see Falefa falls. We had a great barbecue lunch served on Tafatafa Beach, with cultural entertainment by Aggie Grey Dance Troupe. After lunch, John and a few other guests went snorkeling. The beach was once again beautiful with white sand and crystal clear water.

We boarded our tour bus and drove along Upolu’s southwest coast where we saw another waterfall called Sopo’aga Falls which cascades into an old volcanic crater. We also visited Sopo’aga Botanical Garden.

Tonga, French Polynesia

January 25, 2015

Today we were supposed to go to Moorea, but due to flooding, our ship had to change locations, so we are in Tonga. Unfortunately, it’s Sunday, and everything is closed, so we decided to get a cab and just have him drive us around the island so that we see what it’s all about. They had this one beach that has little pigs who go fishing on the beach. It was the cutest thing. Nothing more to write about in Tonga since we were there for a short time and everything was closed.

Muddy waters that prevented us from docking in Moorea.

Papeete (Tahiti), French Polynesia

January 24, 2015

Today we flew from Bora Bora back to Papeete to board our cruise ship. We ended up getting to our hotel late in the evening so we just went to have dinner and then back to our room to get ready for the next day.

Bora Bora, French Polynesia

January 21, 2015 & January 26th & 27, 2015

Today we flew to LAX and waited for our connecting flight to Papeete and while we were waiting there was an issue with the plane so we couldn’t fly until the next morning so Delta put us up in a hotel.

Finally the next morning we flew to Papeete and caught a connecting flight to Bora Bora and our Four Seasons Hotel boat was there to pick us up and take us to the hotel. Once there we checked in, and we were driven to our hut above the water by a golf cart. We had one of the best huts it was all the way at the end so when we had complete privacy. We loved everything about this hotel except the prices the alcohol no matter what you ordered other than beer it was $21 and up. I always thought that Hawaii was paradise until we visited this island. Bora Bora is simply breathtaking the water is an amazing blue color, which is crystal clear and the people on the island are nice. We jumped into the water right from our deck, and John also had a chance to go Jet Skiing with one of the locals named Hiro who worked at the hotel while he was jet skiing they stopped where there were stingrays and black tipped sharks and John swam with them. He said it was the best experience Jet skiing he ever had. Hiro also made me a little purse made out of palm leaves.

Videos of Bora Bora

January 26, 2015

Today we didn’t have any tours set up we decided to go to Bloody Mary’s and have lunch and a few drinks. Bloody Mary’s is a famous restaurant where a lot of celebrities have visited.

January 27, 2015

Today’s tour was an exciting one it was an Aqua Safari; we took a short transfer from the pier to the dive site, where we got briefed by a certified diving instructor about what we were going to do. This unique underwater experience allows us to descend to a depth of 10 feet and walk along the ocean floor with a heavy metal dive helmet. Once underneath we were surrounded by hundreds of colorful tropical fish and colorful coral and huge stingrays. I am not a fan of doing things underwater but this was such a great experience I had to do it, and I was glad I did.

Alphabetic Links of Where We’ve Been