offer beauty and value

These two “princesses” offer beauty and value

Visitors to Tahiti who make excursions to the two prin cesses of the Society Islands—Bora Bora and Moorea —find when they return to their air-conditioned rooms in Tahiti that it is hard to decide which of these two spectacularly lovely islands they preferred, writes Ken McGregor.

I know their difficulty. I reached both by ship in June and still I cannot decide which one impressed me the most.

Moorea has many knife-edge mountains and I’m sure the majesty of the cliff walls around Captain Cook’s Paopao Bay couldn’t be equalled.

Distant Bora Bora has really only one haunting edifice—Mount Temanu —which I recall with religious awe, and its beautiful livid clear lagoon with a myriad variety of sea life, pro vided a better aquatic sight than Moorea.

I give up. Why should I make a choice anyway?

To reach Bora Bora, I took a 65minute flight from Faaa airstrip, Tahiti, on a lumbering DC4 of the local airline.

Seats cost about $4O return and on the plane were French Poly nesians, American tourists and several local French people and Chinese businessmen.

"Tahiti plonk"

Service consisted of numerous grins from a smartly dressed Tahitian steward, a sticky lolly and one iced soft drink. Spirited requests by the tourists for a second drink—“ Tahiti plonk”—failed miserably.

Landing bumps forgotten, every one piled out at Bora Bora airstrip, on the outer flat rim of the island.

Half the visitors opted to walk the 500-odd yards to two waiting launches, the rest reached their launch in style on “le truck”.

The first launch took people to the French Noa Noa Club Mediter ranee resort near Vaitape Village but my launch went to the more distant American Hotel Bora Bora, The hotel is owned by Mr. Ed “Huey” Long, also a shareholder in the Pan Am Taharaa, on Tahiti.

Bora Bora is a steep volcanic island with a dirt circumference road surrounded by strips of low-lying

atoll land and surf-washed reefs. A vast and colourful lagoon lies be tween the two land masses.

It took an hour’s ride to reach the hotel, which resembled a neat island-style village from afar and changed into a well-built resort with bure rooms on land and lagoon when we stepped on to an adjacent jetty.

At meals-inclusive rates varying from SUS4O to $BO a day the resort ranks with Fiji’s Toberua Island re sort among the most expensive in the islands.

Most of the launch visitors were on day tours out of Tahiti and re turned by launch and plane in the afternoon. I stayed overnight and found the food and service well above average, my room merely adequate (no air-conditioning and poor lighting) and life relaxing and quiet.

Guests were mainly rather elderly Americans and four Italians from Milan. They felt it was worth pay ing so much for the beauty of Bora Bora’s mountains and lagoon and for the pleasure of its peace and isola tion.

Roast pigs

In the evening, the hotel’s un ruffled long-time manager, Alec Bourgerie, had two huge pigs roasted on the beach, an event which attrac ted islanders from miles around to finish off the meat (after hotel guests had their turn) and to turn on some impressive firelight dancing and sing ing.

With a magnificient sunset (“typical” locals assured me), an endless supply of spirits, Tahitian beer and flame-carrying canoe singers, it was quite a night.

Next day I spent on an around the-island bus tour in one of local skin diver Erwin Christian’s buses.

The big attraction was the spec tacular backdrop of mountains and the only sidelights were stops at yachtsman Alain Gerbault’s grave, a

couple of neglected and defunct sacrificial marae altars, Vaitape Village and a strategic prolonged stay at the local curio dealer’s head quarters.

The highlight of the return flight to Tahiti the following morning was a transit stop, after 10 minutes’ fly ing, at Raiatea. Another volcanic Society Island, Raiatea had only three passengers awaiting the flight to Tahiti.

Bora Bora? It’s undeniably one of, if not the, prettiest islands in the South Seas. For tourists. Bora Bora is also an extremely expensive destination.

Apparently, these two factors go hand in hand.

Moorea visitors can use either light plane of boat. The island’s airstrip has been open for over a year and regular air services from Tahiti are operated by RAI, a local associate company of UTA, and taxi plane services are run by two charter groups, Air Tahiti and Air Moorea.

Flights never take more than 10 minutes and they offer great views of Moorea’s sharp peaks and scenic bays. Charges are $5 each way.

At least two boat operators leave the Papeete wharves daily on Moorea trips which vary from 75 minutes to two hours, depending on the speed of the boats and the weather conditions.

Fares are either 52.50 or $3 each way. The trips are good value be-

Bora Bora's lagoon is one of the most colourful in the Islands, and of course kids agree.

Green Islands

cause they give you time to take in the outlines of Papeete Harbour and the green islands of Tahiti and Moorea.

I went across and back in the faster boat, Keke II, and with ample supplies of Tahitian Hihano beer and Pepsi available, an informal group aboard and smooth waters there and back, the trip was enjoyable and relaxing.

Incidentally, the 11-mile strip of Pacific between the islands has a reputation of always being rough with heads over the side all the way.

Don’t believe that!

I disembarked at the first Moorea landfall, the American Hotel Bali Hai, operated informally by three young Americans, and bought a couple of drinks before leaving for a hike round the island with some “wahines going my way”.

We went about one-and-a-half miles along the island’s dirt road to Captain Cook’s Paopao Bay, passing two curio-cum-dress material stores and the studios of two local artists.

We lunched at a quiet Hotel Aimeo, 500 yards from Paopao Village (several Chinese stores, a poolroom full of women and a dozen two-roomed, European-style Tahitian houses).

Booming reef

The bay is breathtaking. There’s a booming reef at one end, massive jagged cliffs on the two sides and at the rear, verdant valleys rising into the most spectacular peaks, their tops iced with clouds.

Construction had nearly finished on a dozen on-the-water Tahitian style Aimeo bungalows to accom modate 24 guests later in the year with rates at $48 per day per two bed bungalow. These additions will lift the hotel’s accommodation potential to well over 50 guests and give the Bali Hai brisk competition.

Paopao is but a tiny part of Moorea. A day’s visit, with the total cost of lunch and travel out of Papeete at $11 is good value for money. To put it mildly.

• Air Micronesia Inc. is still hoping to establish an air service be tween Nauru and Majuro in US Micronesia, using 8727 aircraft. The company is asking for a subsidy from the Nauru government to help cover the extra costs of operating a jet service. To date nothing has been finalised.