#17849 - 03/21/04 03:36 PM
Sharks and Stingrays
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ezdreamer
Member
Registered: 03/14/04
Posts: 47
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Do all the shark feeding excursions include encounters with stingrays? Which ones allow you to swim with and actually hold the rays? We don't want one where we just watch from a boat. We are going to Bora Bora, Huahine, and Manihi. Thank you.
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#17850 - 03/22/04 08:15 AM
Re: Sharks and Stingrays
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Pacific Andy
Supreme Advisor
Registered: 10/16/01
Posts: 4278
Loc: Los Angeles, CA
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You dont actually swim with the rays or sharks - The ray feeding is done in shallow water and they come up to you and you can touch and feed them. The shark feeding is done while the guide feeds them about 10 feet away and you stand and hold onto a line. The only place you actually swim with rays and sharks is at the Bora Bora Lagoonarium.
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Once You Go You Get It
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#17851 - 03/23/04 01:43 PM
Re: Sharks and Stingrays
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Kristy
Advisor
Registered: 10/12/01
Posts: 568
Loc: Windsor, CA USA
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Hey Andy, the first trip we made to Moorea we did swim with the rays. They let us out in deep water so we didn't have a choice. I prefer the shallow water encounter. There is much more interaction.
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#17852 - 03/23/04 03:49 PM
Re: Sharks and Stingrays
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Pacific Andy
Supreme Advisor
Registered: 10/16/01
Posts: 4278
Loc: Los Angeles, CA
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I did not know - I am not sure if they do that anymore. I have been dragged, slowly, by an outrigger while snorkeling with them swimming around me.
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Once You Go You Get It
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#17853 - 03/30/04 10:48 AM
Re: Sharks and Stingrays
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outlooking
Junior Member
Registered: 03/08/04
Posts: 17
Loc: CA
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Just returned from a week at the Beachcomber Moorea. Wonderful trip!
We tried to book a shark feeding trip from Albert's tours. The said they would take US dollars and the trip would cost $60pp. If you catch one of the reps who are always at the hotel around 8-9, they will take your name and room number down and make a reservation for you and you don't have to pay upfront wich is handy in case you decide you don't want to go, or say someone gets sick. They run the six-hour boat adventure tour which takes in shark and ray feeding and lunch on a motu. They run the tour Tues, Wed, Fri, Saturdays and I don't know about the other days of the week. On the Wed, it got canceled cos of the weather and then, it was canceled on the Friday cos I guess they didn't have enough people. Unfortunately, they don't let you know until the day of the tour if they are canceling out or not, so you have to be flexible.
We went to the concierge desk at the hotel and asked about a shark feeding tour. We were told very nicely that they didn't organize shark feeding tours as it is "illegal" to feed the sharks!!! Please!! They did say only Albert's Tours did so, but that's not true either. So we looked in the little tourist guide book for Moorea which is everywhere, and called the Moorea camping ground that runs a shark feeding tour from there. They were really nice. I spoke to "Slyvia" who told me they will go out daily at 10:00am, as long as they have a minimum of eight people. The best part, is that the cost was only 2,000 XPF, roughtly $22US. They take you out in he boar only about 5 minutes from the campground to do the shark feeding which was awesome and then take you over to the sting ray area which was not far from the Beachcomber. We got in the water and swam and fed the rays which was really fun -- but then, one, two, three -- a dozen sharks turned up! We weren't expecting this, but it was much more comfortable swimming with them in the shallower water and it was easier to observe them while snorkeling. They tend to stay around the parameters of where the rays are, but then, they started swimming among everyone and it was more than a little thrilling to see them. I thought people would panic but they didn't. We didn't see the sharks make any attempts to get the fish off the guys feeding the rays, but they are unpredictable so we were careful. The guys were totally unperturbed about the presence of the sharks so it makes you feel comfortable to be in the water with them. I was however, relieved to get back in the boat after about 1/2 an hour. When most people were back in their boats, some of the guys started feeding the sharks although there were some people still swimming around. Wear your flippers even though the water is shallow as the current tended to slowly drag you and you had to keep on wading back to the boat.
What was nice, was that the guys agreed to drop us off at the Beachcomber instead of going back to the Moorea camp grounds. They are really nice, helpful guys and only want you to have a good time. They will take photos and answer your questions about the sharks. I was told if you go out beyone the lagoon, there are sharks out there that would attack but they've never heard of anyone getting bit by the lagoon sharks. So overall, it's a great tour if you don't want to do the six-hour tour with Albert. Also, their boat was not as big or have a canopy like the other boats but it was in good shape and the guys are all experienced.
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#17854 - 03/30/04 10:52 AM
Re: Sharks and Stingrays
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outlooking
Junior Member
Registered: 03/08/04
Posts: 17
Loc: CA
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One additional note. They were reef sharks and the biggest we saw was about six feet long.
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#17855 - 03/30/04 07:58 PM
Re: Sharks and Stingrays
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watercolors
Member
Registered: 03/04/04
Posts: 40
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Outlooking-
That was a very informative, thanks. I've been reading all the boards, hoping to find answers to some of my questions before posting any. This one helped me even though I wasn't the one asking the question.
I do have a question for you if you don't mind. I understand there are two motus near the Beachcomber and Moorea Village. Did you happen to snorkel around the motus and if so, how did you reach the area?
Thanks!
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#17856 - 03/31/04 08:51 AM
Re: Sharks and Stingrays
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outlooking
Junior Member
Registered: 03/08/04
Posts: 17
Loc: CA
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Watercolors:
There is one directly opposite the Beachcomber. We took the outrigger canoe out there and it took us about 1/2 an hour because we struggled with the canoe and were going round in circles for a while, but it's not really that far although it looks it. Most of the water inbetween the hotel and the motu is quite shallow, so it's not quite as daunting going so far out into the ocean. It didn't take us long coming back because the current took us staight back into the hotel.
They have yellow kayaks which they give you free for the first hour, and then charge you $15 for each additional hour. Those things really move and are very easy to get around in. We took it out for an hour, paddled over to where the stingrays were and snorkeled. Go out to the ocean, veer left and after 10:30 a.m. you'll pretty much see boats pulling up all day and letting people snorkel with the rays. We did it although it's a pain because one of you has to hold onto the kayak because of the current pull. It wasn't strong, but enough to keep the boat drifting. We were having fun with the rays but then a couple of sharks turned up and I got back in the kayak. It was better when we were on the boat trip but being around sharks with just a kayak to hold onto, was a little unnerving!
The motu we canoed to was fun. There's a small shelter on there, and a small beach. We took a couple of drinks with us and sat in the water and had a great view of mainland Moorea. We didn't snorkel, but saw a couple of people doing so. The water is quite shallow all around it.
The other motu is further off to the left and in my opinion, shouldn't be tackled from the Beachcomber unless you're a pretty experienced kayaker as there is a lot of boat traffic criss crossing in that area. If you're staying in the village, it's very near and you wouldn't even break a sweat canoeing out to it but you have to cross the main boatway to get to it.
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#17857 - 03/31/04 07:16 PM
Re: Sharks and Stingrays
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watercolors
Member
Registered: 03/04/04
Posts: 40
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Outlooking-
Thank you so much for all the information!
Linda
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#17858 - 04/03/04 04:18 PM
Re: Sharks and Stingrays
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Kevin
Member
Registered: 02/16/04
Posts: 36
Loc: Chicago, IL USA
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Outlooking, that sounds great especially for the cheaper cost and shorter duration with everything else there is to do. Do you know the name of the company or more importantly, the phone #? Thanks!
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