International Destinations

Cruising good way to enjoy the romance of Tahiti

By Toni Dabbs

It’s hard to believe that Bali Hai was a figment of James Michener’s imagination. Cruising the South Pacific waters that form a turquoise background for the white sands and verdant slopes of the Society Islands, a visitor can’t help but wonder which island was the inspiration for Michener’s mythical paradise.

It’s easy to understand why generations of writers and artists have been attracted to this group of islands, often collectively called by the name of the largest island: Tahiti.

Long before Michener wrote Tales of the South Pacific, Herman Melville documented his visit to the region in Typee: A Peep at Polynesian Life, Pierre Loti wrote The Marriage of Loti about his love affair with a young Tahitian girl, and Robert Louis Stevenson recorded regional legends in The Isle of Voices.

Somerset Maugham spent time in Tahiti researching the experiences of Paul Gauguin for The Moon and Sixpence, a novel based on the artist’s life. And Jack London commented about the islands in The Cruise of the Snark and South Sea Tales. Even western author Zane Grey related his Polynesian adventures in Tales of Tahitian Waters.

Such accounts intrigued me and made me vulnerable to the call of Bali Hai. Unfortunately, though, there’s a premium on paradise. The expensive airfare, hotel rooms and meals had long made me rule out a trip to Tahiti.

Then, Princess Cruises put French Polynesia back on my map. A Princess cruise of the region might not be cheap, but it can provide a first class way to tour the South Pacific at a cost that is considerably less than a typical independent visit.

My cruise began in Papeete, the biggest city in the Society Islands, where the ship remained for two nights. That allowed a full day for exploring the island of Tahiti, and I tried to make the most of it.

My first stop was the James Norman Hall Museum. Hall and Charles Nordhoff co-authored the Bounty Trilogy (Mutiny on the Bounty, Men against the Sea and Pitcairn Island), Hurricane and The Dark River.

The museum is a reconstruction of the Hall home, which originally stood on the beach across the road. The office where Hall did all his writing looks as if the author just stepped out, with his desk and typewriter waiting. The tea room features photos from films based on the Hall and Nordhoff stories and offers copies of their books for sale.

The pool where Loti first saw his Tahitian love is now covered with concrete, but three accessible waterfalls lie just beyond the Arahoho Blowhole, a geyser-like fountain of sea water. Vaimahuta, the first of the Fa’aurumai Waterfalls, is an easy walk from the parking area.

Before returning to Papeete, I stopped at Point Venus, which was used as an anchorage by early explorers, including Captain Samuel Wallis, Captain James Cook and Captain William Bligh. Outrigger canoes belonging to a local racing club were drydocked near a small lighthouse built in 1868, while families enjoyed picnics all around.

After setting sail from Papeete, the ship called at a different island every day.

Huahine (pronounced who-wah-hee-nee), with its lushly jungled hills and small seaside villages, provided quite a contrast to bustling Papeete. On shore, I boarded a Le Truck (a Tahitian vehicle that’s a cross between a jitney and a bus, with hard wooden benches running its length and no shock absorbers) for a tour of the island’s archaeological sites, some of the earliest known and most extensive in the Society Islands.

At the village of Maeva, where eight royal families once ruled the island side-by-side, the guide told us about Polynesian culture and traditions. We then followed the path used by the royals to climb Mata’ire’a Hill (also known as Sacred Hill or Taboo Mountain), where we explored the ruins of several ancient maraes (stone temples).

The ship next called at Raiatea (rye-ah-tay-ah), but I opted for a tour of nearby Taha’a (tah-ha-ah) to learn about two of the islands’ main products, vanilla and black pearls.

Taha’a produces 90 per cent of all vanilla grown in Tahiti. At the plantation I visited, the guide explained that the plants are grown for two years before their white orchids are manually pollinated to produce the long, thin vanilla beans. The fragrant beans are spread on huge trays to dry in the sun for three months, with workers giving the beans daily massages to evenly distribute the vanilla oil along their length.

Tahitian black pearls are prized around the world. At the pearl farm on Taha’a, the guide demonstrated how a nucleus is implanted in a three to five-year-old black lipped oyster. About 60 per cent of the salt water oysters reject the implant. The others are irritated by it and coat the nucleus with layer upon layer of nacre. After two years, pearls are harvested and x-rayed to determine their thickness. The Tahitian government requires a black pearl to be 0.8 millimeters thick in order for it to be exported.

Bora Bora has been called the most beautiful island in the world. Almost completely encircled by palm covered islets, the island itself seems to float in an aquamarine lagoon splattered with random patterns of cerulean, jade and violet, which are actually coral reefs beneath the water’s surface.

I took a leisurely drive around the island, pausing to admire the odd petroglyph, heritage churches, roadside fruit stands, and the remains of World War II military installations.

I returned to the port of Vaitape in time to join some friends on a catamaran excursion. We sailed past deluxe beach resorts that I couldn’t afford, with thatched-roof villas standing on stilts over the lagoon. The crew anchored long enough for us to take a swim, then they started back to port, serenading us with Tahitian tunes.

That evening, we dined at the famous Bloody Mary’s, with its sand floor, woven palm frond walls and thatched roof. The restaurant is noted for its char-broiled seafood and celebrity clientele, which has ranged from James Michener to Pamela Anderson.

Our last island before returning to Papeete was Moorea (moo-ray-ah), which provided locations for filming the 1984 production of The Bounty, featuring Mel Gibson and Anthony Hopkins. The island’s eight majestic pinnacles, often seen piercing a layer of clouds, are believed by some to have inspired the myth of Bali Hai.

Back in Papeete, I had time to shop at the market, an enormous maze of stalls just a few blocks from the dock, and to take in several of the downtown sights before leaving for the airport.