Day 8 (March 23, 2019): Tahiti - better than expected!

On Moorea and Bora Bora, people told us, “There’s nothing much in Tahiti.”  So we showed up with minimum expectations.  Tahiti is in two parts - Tahiti Nui (the biggest part) and Tahiti Iti (the small part). To us, the whole thing resembled a fish! 

Saturday was all about driving around Tahiti Nui, and if time permitted, to delve a little into Tahiti Iti. We picked up some mango juice and fresh chocolate croissants and headed out around 8 AM, in an anti-clockwise direction around the island. Every kilometre on Tahiti has a cement marker, and every attraction’s location is indicated in relation to the 10th of the closer kilometre marker. It makes it quite easy to find things.

One thing we quickly noticed is that weekends on Tahiti are relaxation time - an opportunity to get together with family and friends and to picnic and swim. There are many parks, all immaculately maintained and extremely clean. All over the island, there were roadside signs selling “Poulet roti - samedi et dimanche” (“Roast chicken - Saturday and Sunday”). In addition, there were stalls selling various vegetables, as well as other home-made snacks. There is a well-engrained “roulottte” culture in Tahiti - roulotte meaning food truck. Every evening, roulettes gather in clusters all over Tahiti and are considered wonderful cuisine.  The roulette culture extends to the roadside stands that feed Tahitians for their weekend outings. 

The photos below show, in sequence, the sights were took in around Tahiti Nui. We also ventured onto TahitiIti (the fish tail, as we saw it!) for awhile. 

By 2 PM we had completed the loop back to Pape’ete and took abit of time to see the key sights in the centre (mind you, there isn’t really a lot to see in Pape’ete!). By 3:15 we were back in the neighbourhood called Panuaua, south of the city, where our hotel is located. We picked up a few things and headed to the hotel. We no longer got to the beach when a sudden rainstorm — no, more like a torrential downpour — came out of nowhere for almost 45 minutes. It is rainy season here, so it should be expected. 

When it cleared up we did one last French Polynesian snorkel, just as the sun was getting low in the sky. After awhile I motioned to Pam that maybe we should head in. Before I knew it she was all in a panic and was swimming as if to save her life! When we got to the beach she exclaimed, “Dave, I just saw a black and white banded snake in the coral!”  Knowing all about the black and white highly venomous Banded Sea Krait that kept us out of the water on previous trips to Fiji and New Caledonia, this was shocking news. I had thoroughly researched the presence of the snake in French Polynesian waters before our trip and took great comfort in knowing that it was not in these waters. We looked up all the possibilities of other creatures and nothing else came close to what Pam saw.  We reported it to the hotel but they told us,”the snake simply doesn’t exist here!”  There are a few reports online confirming the snake in Tahiti since 2005, and I am convinced that Pam indeed saw one. 

She was quite shaken by it, but fortunately we both lived to tell the tale!  We celebrated surviving our brush with venom over a glass of wine and a nice dinner at the hotel. How our week in French Polynesia can possibly be over is hard to believe. 

Tahiti is in two parts, which resembled a fish to us!  The larger part is called Tahiti Nui and the smaller part - what we call the fish tail - is Tahiti Iti. We made it fully around Tahiti Nui and did about half of the south coast of Tahiti Iti. 

Mahana Park, one of the many well-manicured ocean-side parks around Tahiti where families gather to swim and picnic on the weekends. 

Marae Marae-Ta’ata: an ancient Polynesian open air religious site. 

This island is so rich and fertile! This palm tree has been completely overtaken by hungry vines. 

A tiki guarding another ancient religious site: Marae Arahurahu.

Marae Arahurahu.

Mara’s Grotto: Lush gardens, overhung caverns, crystal-clear pools and ferny grottoes. 

Baguettes by the armload!  With food outrageously priced in French Polynesia, these go for 53 francs -  about 60c Canadian. 

The stunning mountains of the west coast of Tahiti. 

Plage de Taharuu: a black sand beach on the southwest coast of Tahiti. 

A fisherman in a canoe at Plage de Taharuu. 

The surfers were catching lots of waves at Plage de Taharuu. 

The waterfall at Bain de Vaima. 

Vaipahi Spring Gardens.

Vaipahi Spring Gardens.


Vaipahi Spring Gardens. 

Just before we arrived at Tavaro, the island’s second largest town, the tire presssure warning light came on. Our tiny Rennault Twingo doesn’t have a spare tire!  I certainly believe in divine intervention and this was one of those moments: out of nowhere - and open on a Saturday morning! - “Tavaro Pneus Services” (Tavaro Tire Service) appeared. The guys had no cars in the bays, took us in, repaired the hole in our tire, and we were on our way in 20 minutes!

We were struck with how many churches there are! Beautiful, tiny churches in all colours and shapes. This highway sign appears just before every church: “Silence - Culte”. Not sure I’d want my church referred to as a cult. Something must get lost in the translation. ;-)

One of the dozens of quaint, brightly painted churches on our journey.

Venturing onto Tahiti Iti — the “fish tail” part of the island as we like to call it — this beautiful scene of coral waters and palms presented itself. One of my favourite pics of our vacation. 

One of the many roadside vendors feeding the Tahatians on the weekend. 


We are always intrigued with the way cultures bury and honour their dead. This is a typical rural cemetery in Tahiti.  Strings of hanging seashells and flowers, shelters, and photos of the dead. 


The east coast of Tahiti has a very rugged feel. 

More rugged coastal terrain on the east coast. 

The smashing waves of the east coast. 


East coast smashers!

Lighthouse at Pointe Venus built in 1867. 

Polynesian canoes at Pointe Venus. 

Part of Captain Cook’s mission on his three-month sojourn in 1769 was to record the transit of Venus across the face of the sun in an attempt to calculate the distance between the sun and Earth. Pointe Venus was the site of Cook’s observatory.  This monument to his efforts now stands. 

Today Pointe Vénus is a popular beach stop. There are shady trees, a stretch of lawn, and a black-sand beach. 

A wall in central Pape’ete commemorating the country’s war service. 

The Presidential Palace. French Polynesia is a “Department” of France. Citizens vote for the French elections but they also have their own president and parliament. 

Norte Dame Cathedrale in the heart of Pape’ete. 

To show you how expensive French Polynesia is:  this iPhone XS 64GB is $1379 to buy it in Canada. We saw it today at a store in Pape’ete for the equivalent of $2135 Canadian!