Category: French Polynesia

Raʻiātea is the second largest of the Society Islands, after Tahiti, in French Polynesia. We arrived there early in the morning and tied up along side a large quay. After breakfast everyone came out to mill around on the dockside for a while before we were herded into groups. Our flock was shepherded round the corner to a small, local boat. Our new captain introduced himself and then sang to us while he guided the boat to a medium sized island. Then we got into some 4×4 vehicles and were taken to a black pearl farm.

They showed us how they make the pearls. Take a mature, black-lipped oyster and kill it to remove some of the mantle tissue. Take a freshwater scallop from the Mississippi, kill it and send it to Japan. They will reduce it to small, round, smooth beads which get sent to Tahiti. Take another local, black-lipped oyster but try not to kill this one. Instead, prise it open a little bit. Make a cut into its sex-gland and insert the bead from Japan along with the tissue from the donor oyster. The nacre that the gland secretes will cover the nucleus and form the pearl. Takes about two years during which time the oyster lives in an underwater rack. Finally, you can kill the oyster and retrieve the pearl. Inspect the pearl and hope it is a good one. This is Tahiti’s $10m black pearl business. Seems a cruel and unnecessary vanity to me however the number of people worldwide that will pay handsomely to decorate their necks with oyster gonad growths is enormous.

Next came a vanilla pod plantation. This was far more pleasant. The pods come from a type of orchid which grows as a vine. Measured by weight, vanilla is the world’s second-most expensive spice after saffron. Growing vanilla seed pods is particularly labour-intensive. At this plantation, the vines were grown up small trees. Each flower must be pollinated by hand. This can only be done in the early hours of the morning when the flowers open for about an hour. The plantation is carefully controlled for moisture, nutrients and pests. Other types of trees and a lot of manual labour are used to create the correct balance.

Artificial vanilla products contain vanillin. This is produced synthetically from lignin, a natural polymer found in wood. Synthetic vanillin is a byproduct from the pulp used in papermaking. The lignin is broken down using sulphates. Vanillin is only one of 171 identified aromatic components of real vanilla fruits and a poor substitute for the genuine thing. Diane voluntarily tested the veracity of this statement by eating a pot of genuine vanilla ice cream.

The tour went on. We were driven up to a viewpoint and fed some fresh fruit. On the way we saw avocado trees, various citrus trees, mango, papaya, the ubiquitous coconut palms and many other plants. It rains a lot here. Most days apparently. And it is hot. Pushing 30°C most days. The plant growth is lush and verdant. Our captain magically reappeared at the top of the hill. He whipped out his small guitar and proceeded to teach everyone to dance. Fortunately, for me, this did not last too long. Then we were off back to the coast and his small boat.

Last part of the trip was some snorkelling. This was particularly exciting because I had a new toy, the underwater camera, to play with. We were taken out close to the edge of the reef by a small island. On the island was a bit of a resort with deck chairs and a bar. However, we did not go there. We simply stopped several hundreds of metres away and got in the water. Thirty minutes later I had taken a lot of photographs and encountered a Tahitian stingray. I know little about rays but I did spot a long tail with a spike which I suspected, correctly, was venomous. I gave it a wide berth. Later I looked through my photographs and was a bit disappointed. I was not despondent though. There was bound to be a learning process.

Eventually, we were back on the ship and sailing away. The sunset was gorgeous. Gorgeous but quick. This close to the equator, once you notice the sun beginning to set, there are only minutes before it has actually set and darkness falls. I grabbed some pictures of the beach and vegetation in the golden light. Another cruise ship, the Star Breeze, passed us on the way to occupy our recently vacated berth. We were on our way to the Cook Islands.

Papeete, on the island of Tahiti, is the capital of French Polynesia, a group of 121 islands and atolls spread over an immense area of the South Pacific. Technically, French Polynesia is an overseas collectivity of the French Republic – whatever that means. French Polynesia is associated with the European Union as an overseas country and territory despite being over 16,000 km from mainland Europe – what that means is that the locals here are EU citizens, can vote in EU elections and have freedom of movement across the EU.

Papeete marked the end of the first leg of this voyage. Around two thirds of the guests left the ship this morning. They will be replaced by a similar number this evening. Meanwhile, those of us staying on board were getting in the way so they shepherded us into coaches and sent us on various trips around the island. Our first stop was a small museum dedicated to the American author, James Norman Hall. He co-wrote a trilogy of historical novels about the Mutiny on the Bounty. I imagine that our popular view of the mutiny comes from these stories and the subsequent three films. For me, the museum was remarkably boring. I found I had little interest in the eighty-year-old desk of an author I had never heard of before. Outside was a breadfruit tree. We were assured that it was directly related to those that Bligh was carrying on the Bounty. For me, it was interesting to see exactly what a breadfruit looks like.

Next stop were some black sands where part of the 1962 Mutiny on the Bounty film was made with Marlon Brando. Then we went for lunch. Lunch was served at nice restaurant that was literally on the other side of the island. An hour and a half drive in a coach. The drive was moderately interesting. Our guide managed to talk continuously throughout the entire trip. Sorry to say, I fell asleep.

After lunch, a salad, we set off back around the south side of the island. This was just as exciting as the north side but before I had properly settled down, we stopped at the Vaipahi water gardens. Small but pretty. Nice little waterfall and a collection of exotic tropical plants. I did not recognise any of them but I did take a few photographs. There were a few chickens running around which I photographed as well.

Last stop was a very modern museum just outside Papeete. Most of the exhibits are wood. Canoes, drums, statues and pieces of unrecognisable driftwood. All lovingly displayed and labelled. The display room was nicely air conditioned and comfortable. It amused me to see some very serious and intellectual people standing around a lump of driftwood. Even better was an early carving of Groot. However, my favourite piece was a large iron container that looked to be the perfect comic book representation of a cannibal’s cooking pot.

Two cannibals eating a clown. One says to the other “Does this taste funny to you”

We got dropped off just before the cruise terminal so that I could go a buy a camera. There was just 30 minutes for this mission. If we dallied, we would miss the ship. Fortunately, I had researched the camera and the shop. There was only one left because they were in great demand that week. At least, that is what the shop keeper explained as he overcharged me for it. No time to argue or even discuss the extras he wanted to sell me. We made the ship with ten minutes to spare and now I had an underwater camera to play with.

Back on the ship, we had a lot of new people to deal with. As the ship prepared to leave, there was a little party on the back deck. Drinks and some live music. We stood around for a while and completely failed to talk to anyone, never mind the newcomers. The sun set so went for dinner.

Two more sea days and we have arrived in French Polynesia. Our route, past Easter Island and Pitcairn, has taken us through the centre of the South Pacific Gyre. This is a system of currents rotating between South America and Australia with a large, static area in the centre. The lack of currents here makes the ocean relatively unproductive. Sometimes described as an oceanic desert. What we experienced was clear blue seas but no bird life and no whales. The ship’s crew have been putting on a variety of games and events to keep us happy. The latest of these was the “Teddy Tumble” or, as I thought of it, teddy tossing. An hour before our arrival at the first atoll many of the passengers were to be found at the top of the main staircase. Five floors below was a small bucket. The objective was to drop a teddy bear from the top into the bucket. Each passenger was given three bears. I think two bears actually made it into the bucket.

Back in the real world, we took on board at pilot just outside Katui, our entry point to French Polynesia. Nobody went ashore here but some officials came aboard to stamp a few passports. After many days at sea, the area seemed alarmingly crowded. There were two more cruise ships, a plethora of yachts, an airport and many buildings. The World caught my attention. This is a cruise ship but it is run like a condominium. It contains 165 cabins which can be purchased outright. The residents live onboard as the ship travels. Some choose to live onboard full-time while others visit periodically. They all have a say in where the ship goes. It has traversed the Northwest passage. In 2017 it broke the world record for being the southernmost ship at the Bay of Whales. The same place that our ship, the Douglas Mawson, pushed the record even further in March. https://salter.blog/2026/03/02/bay-of-whales/

Paperwork done, we left in the evening to anchor off Tahanea Atoll, an uninhabited chain of islands. Next morning was zodiac cruising. This was fun and pleasant in the warm early morning sunshine. We saw some Black Tipped Reef Sharks. Quite small animals. Usually, a lot less than 2 m. As our friend Bruce explained, these are not dangerous unless you pull their tail or try to cuddle them. There were a few birds around but they seemed quite shy and mostly kept their distance.

In the afternoon we went snorkelling. No photographs of this. I am planning to get a waterproof camera because the sights along the reef are amazing. Many brightly coloured fish, giant clams and the occasional shark. Only about the fourth time Diane has been snorkelling ever but she is really getting the hang of it now.

Next day we moved up to Anaa where a small community lives. We were all invited to a cultural presentation. First, however, we got up early for some more snorkelling. There is no stopping Diane now. Warm water. Masses of brightly coloured fish. Interesting coral. Small sharks. Great way to start the day.

A shower and a change of clothes later we arrived at the presentation. They gave us cold, green coconuts to drink. This is terrific stuff. Tasty and not too sweet. We wandered around the place a little. There was some music and dancing girls. There was a demonstration of how to prepare a mature coconut. Coconuts are everything here. They are used for eating, building, decorating and many other things. No part of the plant is wasted. We were served some local foods. To my surprise this was not all fish. I mean, there was quite a lot of fish but there was also savoury coconut fritters, breadfruit fritters, a savoury cake made from coconut milk, some sweets and other things. It was all very tasty. If asked, I will usually say that I don’t like coconut. There is a coconut taste, the flavour you get in a Bounty bar, which I am really not bothered about. But this coconut was lovely. A much more delicate and interesting taste.

Coconuts all finished, we headed back to the ship at lunchtime. The anchor was pulled up and we set sail for Tahiti.