German-speaking people have known about the island “where everyone is happy” since Tony Marshall’s hit “Bora Bora”. A bird’s-eye view is a nice picture. The volcanic island in the middle with a visible crater, surrounded by a reef with white beaches, palm trees and luxury resorts. Who doesn’t know these pictures?

We moor at the first buoy field just outside. Someone comes immediately to collect, 40 dollars per day for the stay on the ship – regardless of whether there is a buoy or not. In principle it is a good thing to set up buoy fields. Unfortunately, the measure comes decades too late. Many corals are already broken. The number of buoys is far too small to be able to moor all boats, so that some people leave early in the morning to get another buoy or simply anchor.

The seabed is now reasonably protected, but they want to offer the luxury guests a lot. Speedboats and jet skis jet around between the berths, a helicopter flies in loops over the island and we don’t really want to know where all the waste water from the resorts and towns goes.

Feeding the Fishes

Therefore, the giant manta rays are no longer found throughout the bay, but only in one specific spot. Of course you can only get there if you book the trip there.

At our first place we see tourist boats that stop there briefly to feed the animals. That’s not our thing because it ends the natural behavior of the animals. We go there without feeding. At this point there are some black tip reef sharks and stingrays. They don’t swim away as usual, they come here. At the second point, the tourist boats are just feeding. A guide grabs a ray by the mouth and holds it for everyone to pet. Not a pretty sight.

Animal and nature conservation ends here with making money. By feeding, the animals no longer look for food themselves and forget to take care of themselves. The pandemic also has animal lives on its conscience. Pigeons in St. Mark’s Square in Venice like fish in Bora Bora. The eagle rays on the other side of the motus are also mostly found in the same spot, though they probably just drop by there that often.

A Beautiful Atoll

But nevertheless the atoll is very beautiful. We rent a car for a day, half would have been enough given the size of the island, which is around 30 square kilometers. Beach access is limited but there is a beautiful white sand beach on the main island where we sit down at a beach bar and Hannah and Elias hit the sea. And sure enough, a small manta ray comes swimming towards them. In the five weeks, our enthusiastic guests have already been able to observe many larger animals from whales to sharks, dolphins and rays.

There is a tiny Maritime Museum with small model ships including models of the Kon Tiki, Cook’s Endeavor and Bligh’s Bounty that have sailed these waters.

Near one of the two possible anchorages in the atoll, we see how pareos are made. Elias and Hannah can each design one according to their own imagination. They turned out really beautiful.

World War II Relics

Some pre-French relics are also present, but the biggest attractions are the rotted WWII American cannons which are worth a visit for their view. Nothing is signposted here, in a comment on Google Maps we learn that we should go up the tsunami escape route number 2. It’s quite a steep climb, but it’s worth it for the views of the western side of the atoll. After the attack on Pearl Harbor, the Americans were looking for a base in the Pacific and came to the island with more than 4,000 soldiers. They then also created an infrastructure with ports, energy supply, airport and roads, which in turn served as a good basis for the coming tourism. Americans continue to be one of the largest tourist groups here. Perhaps the main difference from the other Society Islands is that the others are less well known and the infrastructure there was built later.

Must See Bloody Mary’s

One of the must-sees is the restaurant “Bloody Mary’s”. There we get a buoy right near the restaurant. We reserve a table, but enjoy the beautiful ambience beforehand. At the entrance there are plaques with celebrities who have been here. You could easily believe that you can’t have a career if you haven’t been here. From Denzel Washington, Johnny Depp, Danny de Vito to Buzz Aldrin to Bill Gates and Warren Buffet, everyone can be found on the board.

How good that there is happy hour here. So the drinks are a bit cheaper, at least at the beginning. It’s two for the price of one. This also applies to a 1.5 liter beer mug. Mojito and of course Bloody Mary. Food is selected at a sample table, where the waiter shows the guests the menu in real life on plates. Then he can take orders for three tables at the same time and doesn’t have to walk around the restaurant. People work hard here, the food is very good, but even more expensive than feared. From now on we only go out to eat roulottes. These are budget food trucks with rustic charm and good food.

Most of the time we eat on the boat. Since everyone likes sushi, we often have sashimi, i.e. raw fish without rice, but also maki and nigiri with rice. Tuna is sensationally fresh and cheap here.

Lots of Rain

It rains practically every day, more at night than during the day. But you always get wet. That’s why we only make a small fire on the beach to grill marshmallows. A hit with the kids. The beach section that we choose for this is completely empty except for two stray hungry dogs and unfortunately a lot of mosquitoes. The sand is the finest. Here Hannah records her kids workout for her new YouTube channel. We are excited. Hannah trains several times a day on her own. Both children enthusiastically jump into the water from the bow, let themselves be carried to the ladder and start all over again. Elias does a half-twist somersault with ease, and swimming and snorkeling are the order of the day.

Unfortunately, time flies so quickly that we have to say goodbye to Daniela, Christoph, Hannah and Elias. On her last trip with Infinity we also see a school of dolphins. This completes the great experience together. With a lot of melancholy, but also anticipation of seeing each other again at Christmas, we wave goodbye to the Air Tahiti ferry that takes them to the airport. A beautiful, colourful, varied and familiar time is over. Thanks to the four for the nice visit.

We do some last-minute shopping, clear French Polynesia with the gendarmerie and meet the Americans there who we met at the parish festival in Tahaa. We also meet the riders of Moorea on the day of their journey home. You have completed the full program including helicopter tour, catamaran charter, scuba diving and luxury resorts. The father explains that they urgently need to go home because he now has to earn money again.

For us it is also time to say goodbye to French Polynesia after five months.   Tomorrow the pass on Maupiti is passable, so we make our way to the little sister of Bora Bora.

Kerstin and Martin Giretzlehner
SV Infinity

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About the Authors:

Kerstin and Martin Giretzlehner fell in love with the sailing life after their first crewed charter in Croatia in 2011 and spent the next few years learning all they could while chartering in the Mediterranean and the Canary Islands. In 2020 they took the plunge, bought a catamaran and set off from Trogir, Croatia on their circumnavigation. They are currently sailing westward across the Pacific.

Read their Portrait of A Cruiser here.

Check out their Sailing Infinity website here.

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The opinions expressed in this article are the author’s own and do not reflect the view of Noonsite.com or World Cruising Club.

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