Day 4 - Monday 8th January 2024

There is a feeling of commencement about today as I wake up less early than previous days; so far it's been a bit of a journey to get to Tahiti, but today it feels like the fun starts as I have my first excursion booked. And yes, I'm also looking forward to not feeling I have to mention the time I wake up; at least I've stopped considering what the time is in the UK now!

I was considering getting out early for a sunrise while I was here, but sitting at dinner last evening I could see the afterglow of the sunset over Moorea; for some reason I had it in my head that the sun would rise over Moorea. There isn't a great view east from here, so a sunrise will have to wait. In Moorea my hotel is on a west facing coast, so hopefully there will be the opportunity for sunsets, but I'll have to wait for Bora Bora to be east facing, but that's still a week away so there is much water to pass under the bridge before then.

The experience today is a 4x4 safari into the interior of Tahiti Nui along the Papenoo valley; widely considered as a dangerous road and journey according to reviews I've read, but with the opportunity to see some waterfalls which should be great as it's the wet season here.

Picked up at 9.20, we had a bit of a briefing where we learned that we weren't going to be able to do the whole usual tour; three days ago there was a landslide which has blocked the road, so we don't really have any option in this. We were assured that we would be going as far as we possibly could though. There are only three of us on this trip; I'm joined by an American couple who I got chatting to in the queue for passport control who remembered me.

We departed, and took a 15 minute drive clockwise around the island coast, passing breaking waves and many surfers en route; perhaps I'm not missing anything from missing Hawaii after all!

Off of the metalled road, we took a right and started up a primitive track; the kind of road were the potholes were joined by the occasional flat bit of road! We followed a river into the valley and into the rainforest, and I found myself capturing lots of video shots. As we climbed, the scenery and mountains just kept getting better and better. First stop was at Vaiharuru Falls, where we dismounted the 4x4 and walked about 10 minutes up the road before we were caught up with and reloaded; this short hike was notable in trying to navigate our way around water filled potholes that stretched clean across the road.

Back into the vehicle, and we continued up the valley until we reached a ford; down onto ground level again as were were invited to come and look at the black eels in the river. We had stopped by a small homestead where the owner had a variety of fruits growing, which was nice to see as you only usually get to see them on the supermarket shelf and not growing on the tree/bush. Pineapples, mangoes, papaya, breadfruit; it was a real cornucopia of tropical fruits.

Back into the 4x4, and the next stop was at Puraha Falls, and back on the road again (well, if you can call it a road; we were holding on for dear life, and the core was getting a proper workout!) as we made our way further and further into the interior, past numerous unnamed waterfalls and the scenery just kept getting better and better. It reminded me of the scenery in Jurassic Park, and I half expected at any moment to see a pterodactyl flying past!

A half hour stop for a swim in a mountain river (which was most needed as it's hot and humid in here with plenty of mosquitos to feast on the unprotected). We had been told that we'd be stopping off at a hotel for lunch, which we duly did amongst the most magnificent scenery, then back onwards and upwards as we travelled a further 15 minutes until we encountered the landslide and had to turn round and retrace our steps. I don't think that the hotel sees any guests apart from tour parties any more as I'm not sure how you'd get guests up here to enjoy the spectacular views.  

Back down the same route, and if anything the road seemed worse as we retraced our steps; if all of the traffic usually goes in one direction, the the potholes will have evolved to that, so going in the other direction gave us far more violence in the shaking and drops. Note for self; if you go over a bump which sends you airborne, then hope as you come down that the seat isn't coming back up to meet you; that can hurt!  

A couple of stops on the way back down; one in the centre of the volcano that this island is to learn about how French Polynesia has been formed by a hotspot in the earths crust, and that as the mantle continues to move northeast at 11cm per year new lands are formed; we learned that the atolls to the northeast are older volcanoes where the central mountain has eroded leaving just a ring of coral above the surface. We also discussed the issues surrounding global warming, for which the peoples of French Polynesia can do very little, but will be one of the primary victims as sea levels rise.

Finally, a stop off at a Polynesian temple site to learn a little about the history of the peoples; we were surrounded by clouds of mosquitos here, and even the guide was getting bitten. We had spoken about sacrifices taking place at this site, and I quipped that the mossie gods would be pleased with the guide for bringing blood sacrifices this afternoon.

Back down the roads that I'd been so keen to capture footage of this morning, which I found amusing ..... if I'd have known what was coming I wouldn't have bothered, but then that's the nature of exploration I guess. Back to the hotel at 5.30, and I'm physically shattered; all I could really do was get some dinner, and then my aching bones just crashed into bed for some restorative sleep at 8.30.

One final item from the tour; I asked at one stage whether French Polynesia was a true part of France, or whether there was some other definition ..... yes; it's fully part of France, so that means that I've travelled 19 hours by air to get to France?

I've only had a short time in Tahiti as my stay here was only ever planned to give me a chance to get over the travel it took to get here, so tonight is my last night in Tahiti before moving on to Moorea tomorrow. Hindsight is a wonderful thing where no errors are ever made (yeah, right!) and a part of me wishes that I could have stayed here a bit longer, but having said that I'd much rather be left feeling that I'd have liked more rather than regretting staying somewhere too long. I know that during this journey I'll have times when I wish I could have stayed somewhere longer, and there will be things I want to do but cannot for one reason or another, but regret cannot be what I remember when I think about this journey. 

Right now I've started to look forward to Moorea, and Jetski tours, ATV tours, swimming with sharks and a plethora of other experiences, then when that chapter is drawing to a close I'll start looking forward to what's next; one day at a time