Moorea, French Polynesia

Iaorana!

We finally arrived at our destination after quite a long trip (flight, transfer, delayed ferry crossing and another transfer) though the flight was busines class, so not all bad - check out Matt crossing the international date line with a glass of Red, desert wine, and two puddings - the stewardess offered him the ice cream AND the cake, he didn´t even have to ask!

As it was dark when we arrived, we weren´t entirely sure what they meant when they ¨welcomed us to paradise¨. However, the over water bungalow they took us to was amazing, with a complimentary bottle of champagne waiting, which we shared on our own private deck, looking up at the stars (bets on Jase having a wise ass response to this!). We even had our own fish viewing area within the floor of the bungalow.

We purposefully left the curtains open so that we would awake the next day to the sun rising over the lagoon. And, wow! We then realised what they meant by paradise! This place is absolutely beautiful! And it was to be home for the next 7 days!

(we have some better ones than this, but they´re on another memory card - will upload soon)

We spent most of our time here relaxing - every day we would have a swim before breakfast, and would then relax on our deck - Monique sun-bathed; Matt shade-bathed (English skin still!). The temperature was pretty much a constant 30 degrees during the day and 25 at night.

Snorkelling was another favourite - until the first time Monique thought she saw a sharrrrkkkkk!, after which, she went and fetched a kayak and paddled about in, whilst Matt continued to ´get his money´s worth out of his new underwater camera!´ There were heaps of fish all around the bungalow, and we did see some sharks - including from the glass bottomed floor of the bungalow!

A couple of days of snorkelling and reading (Matt´s now almost on his fourth book), and we decided to hire a car for the day. We went up into the hills (Mt. Belvedere) and found a pineapple plantation, from which we had some fresh juice (and, obviously, an ice-cream for Monique). In the afternoon, we were getting withdrawal symptons from the water, so headed to a new beach (Les Tipaniers) for lunch, and then hired a twin kayak - and paddled to a spot where Matt went snorkelling with giant rays and black tip reef sharks!

So as to not make this read too samey (though trust us, we were never bored once!), other highlights of our stay here included:

- Matt went scuba diving - water was 29 degrees, two dives down to 20 metres and swam with more black tip and also yellow fin sharks, as well as seeing a huge Moray Eel;

- Monique worked on her tan;

- We went to a traditional Tahitian show and dinner which was fantastic;

- We both spent some time in the spa; and

- Matt´s started to grow a beard.

After 7 nights, we unfortunately had to leave this wonderful place. But, as a major change to most holidays like this - we didn´t have to head home and to work - no, instead, we headed to Santiago, for the next stop on our adventure!

M&M

P.S. We have a heap more photos and videos, including underwater videos, but will have to upload these later.

P.P.S. Guys - the Speedos worked out a treat!