Moorea

We left Tahiti after anchoring the last night in the anchorage area south of Papeete, near Marina Taina where we had to go to top up our diesel fuel.

It's about five miles south of the city and takes some effort to get to. It's a well-marked channel through the lagoon, but, any movement in Papeete harbour is controlled and all vessel movements must be reported to Port Control. Five minutes before approaching each end of the aiport runway you must ask for clearance to cross. Clearance is also required to exit through the reef via Papeete Pass. It seemed overly bureaucratic, but, you've got to follow the rules.

It was a calm day with hardly any wind, so, we expected to just motor the short ten miles over to Moorea, Tahiti's 'sister island'. It was an easy trip made special by seeing a large pod of dolphins at the Papeete Pass exit and then, on entry into the Cook's Bay Pass at Moorea we saw a large whale which surfaced very close to us. We were soon anchored on a very shallow sand bank with the most stunningly clear, turquoise-coloured water we've ever seen. We could lean over the side and see colourful fish and then a group of five very large  rays passing slowly under the boat, very exciting.

We were anchored just at the entrance to Cook's Bay (which actually Cook never anchored in, he was in the bay next door) with towering volcanic spires just behind us.

These volcanic spires catch the clouds and there is almost always a misty crown around the island. This was great because it provided cloud and even some rain showers which we were very grateful for.

There was also always a nice breeze and we began to feel some relief from the heat lethargy which we'd been suffering with on Tahiti. One sunny afternoon, we did a tour in our dinghy around Cook's Bay and neighbouring Opunohu Bay. We were anchored near Maharepa where there is a cluster of nice restaurants which were just a few minutes away by dinghy. We went to shore for lunch and a walk one day and rented a car for an island tour on another. We stayed five days and the rest of the time we were content to just enjoy the snorkeling around the boat, the gorgeous views and  atmosphere that surrounded us.

Moorea is only 40km around and has an excellent paved road. The driving was easy and the island lovely. There is no real town, just three, or, four clusters of shops/restaurants and many fine, low-rise resorts offering the usual thatched, over-water bungalows on the warm, clear, aquamarine lagoon. These pictures are of the Sofitel Ia Ora Moorea Beach Resort, on the best beach on the island.