February 12 – Papeete, Tahiti, French Polynesia

The Intercontinental Hotel where we are staying in Papeete is lovely with great views of the Pacific and Moorea in the background.  

But we won’t be seeing much here.  Today we are off on a tour of the island.  Our only full day here in Tahiti.  The tour took is through Papeete but no stops.  Just drive by commentary. 

From Papeete we headed out to One Tree Hill.  According to the guide, when Captain Cook stopped in Tahiti he planted a single tree on a hill.  And apparently he did this to every island that he visited.  The views were great.

There was a banyan tree on the hill.  Not sure that it’s the tree that Cook planted but it was pretty.

Then it was off to Point Venus...

for more views.  

There was a nice beach with a lot of people enjoying the day and the mild surf. 

There were also a number of outrigger canoes beached nearby. 

There was also a monument commemorating the arrival of missionaries.

The Point Venus lighthouse started as an observatory with additional levels added to make it into a lighthouse.  It was designed by the father of Robert Louis Stevenson.  There is a plaque on the tower that quotes Stevenson when he visited in 1866.

From there we continued along the coastline.  Most of the people live in Papeete and all of the resorts are on east side of the island near the capital.  We drove through a few small villages along the coast but mostly it was just scenery.

Next stop was the Viamahuta waterfall.  It was a short, pretty walk to the falls through lush, tropical forests. And there were a few other minor falls along the valley wall.

Viamahuta Waterfall.  Viamahuta Falls drops into a small pool.  No swimming allowed. 

We saw this little lizard.  Very little.

And there were many lovely plants and flowers.

The mountains on the island are beautiful and very rugged.  There is one rough road that goes through the mountains, but it is a very rugged drive and takes several hours.  Maybe we can arrange for a drive through the mountains next time we visit Tahiti. 

We had lunch at a lovely restaurant overlooking the water.  The table cloth and the food presentations were very colorful.

We had views of Tahiti Iti.  Tahiti Iti is a small volcanic island that is linked to Tahiti (actual name is Tahiti Nui) by a small isthmus.  We didn’t get to visit but the views were good.  An area on this island was the location of the 2024 France Olympics surfing competitions.  

Next stop was the Harrison Smith Botanical Gardens.  Lush tropical vegetation, beautiful flowers, lily ponds and banyan trees.

There was also a small fall, Viapahi Falls, at the gardens.

And there were a lot of beautiful flowers. 

We drove through an area with a large coconut plantation.  The towering palms made for interesting viewing.

Next stop was the Maraa Grotto.  It is a natural cave that has water perpetually dripping from the cave’s ceiling.  There was a large pool tucked inside that cave with “No Swimming” signs.  There were several women soaking in the pool.

From there we visited the Marae Ta’ata Site.  

A Marae is a sacred or ceremonial site of the ancient Polynesians.  This site is on e of the biggest and is easily visited.  Lots of wide stone walls. 

By now we are back in civilization, and we had only a short drive from there to the hotel.  We had dinner in the hotel (no show tonight) and we spent the evening packing for the flight tomorrow.