#83623 - 12/20/09 07:20 PM
Tikehau, Manihi, Taha'a, Bora Bora Nov 09
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Gary & Cath
Expert Advisor
Registered: 04/01/06
Posts: 1243
Loc: Wollongong, Australia
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Hi guys. Here it is (a little long, but summary at the end).
Arrived in Papeete early, as the two flights from Sydney and Auckland were on time and early respectively. Transferred to Le Meridien and checked into room 430. Hotel and room were nice and fresh and we had a nice view of the pool. Lovely outlook to wake up to in the morning
Back to Faa'a for our flight to Tikehau. Whilst we were waiting for our flight, we saw 4 other flights to Bora Bora leave and they were all full. They were even weighing each passenger with their carry on bags! Good sign for tourist numbers.
Flight to Tikehau was good. Transferred to the Pearl Resort and to our room OW Suite 47. Wow, what a room! Jan Prince is right on the money with these rooms being her favourite. Hard to argue that one.
Went to the dive shop to organise diving, only to find out that the boat was broken down, so only got in 6 dives here, but they were exceptional, except for the first dive where I ran out of air with 40 bar still showing on the gauge. Should have had the gear serviced before we left. Gilles gave me his spare reg to finish off the deco, so no damage done. Mantas, White and Black Tip Reef Sharks, more Mantas and every kind of fish I'd had ever seen and them some. Gilles the instructor was the most professional dive instructor I have ever dived with.
Food at Tikehau didn't have a great variety, but that doesn't matter when you want lobster every day and the shrimp cocktail for entree was outstanding. We had this every night. During dinner one night, we had the pleasure of meeting Laurent Bessou, the Big Kahuna himself of SPM. He is a lovely man and very excited that we had and were again staying at multiple Pearl Resorts. He even organised some extraordinary extras for us at the other resorts.
Arrived at Manihi with Mr Bessou after 5 beautiful nights at Tikehau and we were transferred and taken to our requested OWB number 31. Room a bit run down and needs a little work, but amazing snorkelling right underneath our bungalow. There were six cans of Coke, two bottles of Tahitian Rum and two cartons of Tahiti drink waiting in our room after we told Mr Bessou that we needed to go to the village to get some supplies. He also told us that all of the Sunset Bungalows at Le Taha'a were closed after we told him that we requested Sunset 42 again for this, our 2nd visit. A few phone calls from Mr Bessou later and 42 was ready for us when we got there. Mr Bessou also threw in a Motu Picnic for free, which we gladly accepted.
Diving boat was broken down again here (not much luck with dive boats so far) so I only got 2 dives in here, but again the diving was sensational. Did plenty of snorkelling during the stay, so all was not lost.
Flight back to Papeete for a 90 minute transit then off to Le Taha'a. Transferred from Raiatea to the resort in a brand new very comfortable launch. Straight to Sunset 42 to check in. It was here that we were told that we were the only guests staying in the sunset bungalows, so we had the entire pontoon to ourselves. Within 15 minutes of checking in, the perfect sunset appeared. I guess that's why they call them sunset bungalows?
Room service followed with lobster again at which point we were told that the restaurant was not open due to there only being 4 couples staying at the resort, so we could eat ALL of our meals either on the beach, by the pool or room service, all at no extra charge and whatever meal we wanted, whether it was on the menu or not. We ate one dinner by the pool, one on the beach and one in our room. All breakfasts were room service except for the surprise canoe breakfast on our second day, compliments of Mr Bessou. Words do not do justice to this resort, so I won't insult it by trying, or maybe one - PERFECT.
One of our highlights of Le Taha'a this time was meeting and getting tattooed by Tavita in our room. This guy is taravana! Funny and very friendly and tattooed from head to toe (you'll see a large portrait of him above the international check-in at Faa'a airport). 5hrs of tattoos for me and just over an hour for Cath.
After 3 magical nights and a late check-out, off to Bora Bora and back to where we got married 10 years ago - Le Meridien. Same boat captain and our MC at our wedding, Maeva, was still working the Miki Miki bar, so I showed her a bit of our wedding video on the iPod which completely blew her away. All of the staff there were incredible. The only thing lacking slightly was that the Polynesian feel to this resort was not as dominant as the Pearls.
We checked into our room (POWB 242) and checked out the new extended deck. What a massive difference this does for the rooms here, and the giant glass panels on the floor still blow you away. Didn't bother with the steps to go swimming the entire stay here because the water was 4 metres deep. I just jumped over the spiral stair handrail every time, to the amusement of our Asian neighbours who gave me a round of applause.
Rang Gilles at Blue Nui diving (he was now back on Bora Bora) to organise another 4 dives here. Good to see the Mantas are back at Anau and Muri Muri is even better now that there is a friendly resident Hawksbill turtle that likes being hand fed coral sponges.
Met up with Lorio and Daryl for our private Motu picnic with Patrick and Aea. Great to meet fellow Tahiti Explorers. It was an incredible day, especially feeding some VERY hungry stingrays. Only downer was that my camera flooded during the shark feeding, but luckily the 993 photos on the memory stick survived. Hope you got the photo of me kissing the stingray, Lori?
During the diving here, we picked up a Canadian couple from 4 Seasons each day, so I got to get a close up view of the resort. Guess where we are staying next trip? On one day, we went into Vaitape. We thought that this might be a problem here, but the shuttle took us across to Anau, then a taxi waiting for us took us in, we agreed to the pick up time and we caught the same car back, then onto the shuttle back to the resort. It was very convenient but the taxi came with a pre-paid fee of 6000XPF which we charged to the room.
After 5 excellent nights back on Bora Bora, back to Papeete and transferred to Hotel Tiare into Room 502. Room was nice and clean and the location was perfect for us to do some shopping. Poured rain here but we didn't care. The big disappointment was the lack of variety of souvenirs in Tahiti. A lot of the t-shirts that you see on the islands or atolls are not available in Papeete, so next time we'll buy them where ever we see them. The Hinano boutique is well worth a visit, as their clothes and products are cheaper here than even the markets. The 3 Brasseurs micro brewery is also a good meal, good beer and nice atmosphere. Well worth a visit.
After 2 nights here, back to Australia and let the planning begin for the next vacation. As a bonus from Tahiti Tourisme Australia, when we checked in for our international flight home, the woman checking us in gave us passes to the departure lounge upstairs at Papeete, compliments of Lee at Tahiti Tourisme. Nice touch for losing our direct Sydney flights after we booked. Another thing to note, there is only one duty free shop at Papeete airport, but there looks to be another ready to open. The flight home was good, especially the new Smartgate passports that Australia now has. It took us about 20 minutes from stepping off the jet way to getting into our car to come home.
The first day home was 35 degrees C and everyone here was saying how hot it was? Felt pretty good to us? The next day was 20 and it felt cold, but nothing compared to what Europe and North America are getting. Planning for the next trip (aiming for Nov 2010) has now officially started. Looking at Huahine and 4 Seasons BB. Maybe Mr Bessou can do something for us?
So, in summary:
Weather - Hot and sunny every day with an occasional 15 minute storm thrown in every couple of days
Nicest Resort - Le Taha'a
Nicest Room - Le Taha'a closely followed by Tikehau
Best Bungalow Position - Le Meridien Bora Bora for the 4 metre deep water
Friendliest Staff - Manihi
Best Service - Le Taha'a - nothing is a problem and very fast - just perfect
Best Food - Le Taha'a closely followed by Le Meridien Bora Bora
Best Meal - Lobster on Le Taha'a and unlimited lobster at Le Meridien Bora Bora
Best Cocktail - Lemon Margarita on Manihi
Best Diving - Tikehau
Best Snorkelling - Manihi
Best Excursion - Couldn't separate motu picnics on both Manihi (holding the Black Tip Shark) and Bora Bora (Patrick and Aea (Mr Hollywood) and sharing it with Lori & Daryl, feeding the stingrays was incredible) as well as the Black Pearl Farm visit on Manihi
Funniest Character Met - Tavita on Le Taha'a
Occupancy of Resorts - Le Meriden hard to tell because it was dark, Tikehau about half full, Manihi only 4 couples there, Le Taha'a only 3 couples there, most resorts at Bora Bora 45-50%. All these figures according to the hotel managers that we stayed at.
Photos to come later when we get a new camera from insurance.
_________________________
Is there anything better than a sipping a Tahitian Mai Tai on an Overwater Bungalow in FP?
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#83624 - 12/20/09 08:32 PM
Re: Tikehau, Manihi, Taha'a, Bora Bora Nov 09
[Re: Gary & Cath]
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travelintom
Member
Registered: 05/06/04
Posts: 456
Loc: california
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great report G/C thanks for sharing
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#83626 - 12/20/09 09:15 PM
Re: Tikehau, Manihi, Taha'a, Bora Bora Nov 09
[Re: travelintom]
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Suki (689)
Senior Advisor
Registered: 10/29/07
Posts: 890
Loc: ELA US of A
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Wow! Wow! WOW! Only 1 thing missing??? A case of Hinano biere +++++FP4LIFE++++++ Superb post Gary/Cath
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#83633 - 12/21/09 12:18 AM
Re: Tikehau, Manihi, Taha'a, Bora Bora Nov 09
[Re: Suki (689)]
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rodjune
Expert Advisor
Registered: 07/08/03
Posts: 1726
Loc: Kalama Valley, HI
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Excellent report. You stayed at great places. Mauru'uru for posting.
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#83634 - 12/21/09 06:13 AM
Re: Tikehau, Manihi, Taha'a, Bora Bora Nov 09
[Re: rodjune]
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Old Wife
Expert Advisor
Registered: 02/21/03
Posts: 2302
Loc: Burlington, Ontario, Canada
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Great report and I felt like I was there. Too bad you didn't get more diving in, but the snorkelling is a close second, I'm sure. And lucky you for meeting M. Bessou!
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#83635 - 12/21/09 06:47 AM
Re: Tikehau, Manihi, Taha'a, Bora Bora Nov 09
[Re: Old Wife]
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DenverJoe
Expert Advisor
Registered: 09/10/02
Posts: 1849
Loc: Denver, Co.
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G&C, great report. You sound like you had almost as much fun as we did.
_________________________
Nothing better than a Hinano in hand and toes in the sand.
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#83636 - 12/21/09 10:08 AM
Re: Tikehau, Manihi, Taha'a, Bora Bora Nov 09
[Re: DenverJoe]
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Patti.
Expert Advisor
Registered: 03/28/04
Posts: 2376
Loc: Las Vegas, NV
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WOW! What a great time you had! I want to go with you next time. Seems like you really know how to meet up with the right people. You had some great stuff thrown in there by Laurent Bessou. Fantastic!
Amazing and truly sad that some of the resorts had only 3 or 4 couples. It's cool in a way, because you feel like you have the whole place to yourself...like being in your own private island paradise (like we experienced at Raimiti when we were the only guests). But....so sad for the hotels to try to survive with such low occupancy. Seems like the few people who are going to FP are ONLY going to Bora Bora.
Tikehau and Manihi are on our list (along with Huahine) of islands we must visit. So many islands...so little money. :-(
Can't wait to see your pictures.
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#83640 - 12/21/09 10:14 AM
Re: Tikehau, Manihi, Taha'a, Bora Bora Nov 09
[Re: DenverJoe]
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Patti.
Expert Advisor
Registered: 03/28/04
Posts: 2376
Loc: Las Vegas, NV
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By the way Joe....where is YOUR trip report? Huh? Do I have to threaten to come there and kick you in the shin AGAIN????
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#83642 - 12/21/09 10:56 AM
Re: Tikehau, Manihi, Taha'a, Bora Bora Nov 09
[Re: Patti.]
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DenverJoe
Expert Advisor
Registered: 09/10/02
Posts: 1849
Loc: Denver, Co.
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Patti, really nothing to report. Did not do anything touristy at all. We just hung out with some local folks and relaxed at Les Tips. I will post pic's shortly though.
_________________________
Nothing better than a Hinano in hand and toes in the sand.
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#83644 - 12/21/09 12:34 PM
Re: Tikehau, Manihi, Taha'a, Bora Bora Nov 09
[Re: DenverJoe]
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Patti.
Expert Advisor
Registered: 03/28/04
Posts: 2376
Loc: Las Vegas, NV
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Surely there was SOMETHING worth telling a story about. LOL!
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