The early morning approach to Moorea is simply breathtaking. Famous for its high mountains and sheer cliffs, it is also surrounded by a fringing coral reef, which is dark blue on the outer side and pale turquoise on the inside of the reef. Of all the islands, Moorea put on the biggest welcome for us – dancers and lots of stalls with their handicrafts. Having had a strenuous tour on the previous day, we decided we would only relax at a beach somewhere for the day, and do a bit of swimming/snorkelling. Unfortunately, it was a public holiday and there were few taxis available to take us anywhere, so we set out by foot for the Hotel Intercontinental, a few klms away. Also unfortunately, we discovered that this particular hotel did not welcome non-guests on their beach, so we moved on elsewhere. Some friends did stay and got away with it – but we felt uncomfortable doing so and went looking for greener pastures. We found a fresh pasture in the form of a beautiful public beach with an adjoining resort restaurant right on the beachfront (HERE at Hotel Les Tipaniers). I doubt that a better sire for a lunch could be found anywhere. The public beach section appears to be at the front of some Defence Department land. We have slowly discovered that throughout the South Pacific islands, much beachfront is being locked up and made inaccessible by hotels and other forms of leasehold upon land.
We did have a very nice fish lunch (I had grilled Swordfish for approx $22AUD) in a quaint restaurant, filled almost completely by French speaking people (we came to the conclusion that they were all locals), a glass of nice French Vin Blanc –all overlooking a “to die for “ beach setting. This place invented the word “romantic”!!
We did not really see very much of Moorea – and would love to return. A week could easily be spent here.
THE ENTRANCE TO MOOREA HARBOUR
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PHOTOS OF OUR LUNCH STOP
 This looks like a nice place for lunch |
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