Tropical Travel Girl
Tahiti and Tuamotus: Taha’a and Motu Mahaea
After leaving the Tuamotus, we spent a day at sea aboard Windstar’s Wind Spirit. (See Tahiti and Tuamotus: On Board Windstar’s Wind Spirit to see what our days at sea were like.) Our ship traveled 240 nautical miles from Rangiroa to reach the first of our ports within the Society Islands group — Taha’a.
Taha’a and Raiatea share the same coral reef. It’s shown in the middle of the aerial map at left (Wikipedia), Bora Bora (upper left) is a mere 12 nautical miles from these neighboring islands.
A scenic exploration of Taha’a – the Vanilla Island
We booked a half-day excursion, “Scenic Exploration of Taha’a,” that returned in time for us to enjoy the rest of the day on Motu Mahaea, a private island where we could swim, snorkel and luxuriate in the natural beauty of this South Pacific paradise.
We received a musical welcome to Taha’a as we emerged from the tender boat.
Our tour of Taha’a first included a scenic drive across the island with a stop to sample tropical fruits and learn the tamure, a traditional Tahitian dance.
Throughout the island, we saw copra drying on wooden platforms. It is the meaty inner lining of the coconut palm used primarily as a source of coconut oil.
A demonstration of scraping the coconut meat was followed by an invitation to sample it.
SLIDESHOW:
Vanilla Plantation
Since Taha’a, known as the Vanilla Island, produces 70-80% of French Polynesia’s vanilla, our excursion included touring a family-owned vanilla plantation. We learned how the vanilla vines are grown (did you know vanilla is a species of orchid?), the process of harvesting the pods, drying them and how they are processed into vanilla extract and other related products. Since i usually travel “all carry-on” and need to fit all my liquids into a quart-sized bag, I only purchased two small bottles of vanilla extract.
SLIDESHOW:
Pearl Farm
Taha’a is also known (among other islands in French Polynesia), for producing high quality black Tahitian pearls. Our last stop was at Love Here Pearl Farm, where we learned how pearls are cultivated, harvested, graded, and turned into beautiful jewelry. Several passengers purchased items for themselves and others in the gift shop at the pearl farm.
Bora Bora can be seen in this view of Love Here Pearl Farm on Taha’a.
SLIDESHOW:
Our afternoon on Motu Mahaea
This vertical view of Motu Mahaea shows the height of the palm tree.
All of Windstar’s Tahiti cruises feature a private island experience on Motu Mahaea and it is not to be missed. When I first visited Tahiti in 2010, I was treated to a day on another motu — Motu Tapu in Bora Bora — and I’ve never forgotten it (See Island Treasures: Motu Tapu, Conrad Bora Bora Nui’s private islet.). Now, Motu Mahaea is another “island treasure” that I have added to my special memories of French Polynesia.
What is a motu? A motu is defined as a reef islet formed by broken coral and sand, surrounding an atoll (in and around Polynesia). In the Caribbean and West Atlantic, these islets are often called cays or keys.
Approaching Motu Mahaea on one of the tender boats.
Passengers enjoying the day…
How would you like to take up temporary residence in this beach chair on Motu Mahaea?
Stand-up Paddleboarding (SUP) was a popular way to enjoy the calm waters off Motu Mahaea.
The crystal clear waters of the lagoon were perfect for snorkeling.
We arrived in time to enjoy a delicious lunch and then took up residence in a beach chair on one side of the motu with a view of Bora Bora in the distance. The ingredients of our perfect afternoon included a white sand beach, tall coconut palms bending down to shade portions of the lagoon, and snorkeling in clear, shallow waters with colorful coral heads, plentiful reef fish, giant clams, and other sea life unique to Pacific waters. On the other side of the motu, some of our fellow passengers found sitting at tables partially submerged in the calm waters while sipping tropical drinks to be their idea of paradise, while others enjoyed trying Stand-up Paddleboarding (SUP).
Colorful coral heads off the shore at Motu Mahaea
SLIDESHOW:
All photos © Debbra Dunning Brouillette
Next in the series:
Tahiti and Tuamotus: Huahine
Earlier in the series:
Tahiti and Tuamotus: Rangiroa — our second port of call
Tahiti and Tuamotus: Fakarava — our first port of call
Tahiti and Tuamotus: On board Windstar’s Wind Spirit
Tahiti and Tuamotus: Choosing to cruise
This trip just looks more amazing with each post! I would love to visit the vanilla plantation. I can almost smell it from here!
It was a totally amazing trip, Lois! I’m enjoying reliving it through writing each post.
French Polynesia is just about my favorite place. I loved Bora Bora and Tahiti, but never got to Taha’a. Any excuse for a return trip!
There isn’t a port on this cruise I wouldn’t love to go back to and spend more time! Let’s go, Patti! 🙂
OMG have you got me Tahiti dreaming! Such beautiful images.
Thanks, Carole! I’ve been back for months and I’m still Tahiti dreaming, too!
Hmm. I think we need to add French Polynesia to the our travel bucket list. Your photos make these stops look very inviting. I’m adding this post to my Cruising Pinterest board as it seems a cruise would be a very convenient way to visit these islands and islets.
Definitely,Suzanne! It’s incredibly beautiful and a different vibe. Thanks for adding to your Cruising Pinterest board!
What a cruise! I love Windstar and would happily sail just about anywhere on a Windstar vessel…French Polynesia is particularly appealing, though, especially after seeing it through your eyes.
We are sold on Windstar, too, Anita, after sailing with them to the Greek Isles and now to French Polynesia. I’m glad you are enjoying my series; more to come!
This is what I call a real cruise. Private island, vanilla plantation, pearl farm. How much better than this can it get? I’d love to sail on a Windstar vessel to Tahiti someday.
It was a cruise of a lifetime, Anda! Every port stop and every experience was a winner. We loved being on the Windstar ship, too.
Super wonderful post, Debbie. I’d love to visit Tahiti and Tuamotus and enjoy all these incredible experiences.
Thanks, Doreen! I hope you get to experience this beautiful part of the world someday…
As I said before, these bring back such great memories of our South Pacific cruise and makes me wish to return. Such beautiful photos and narrative!!!
Thank you, Jackie! You are also living in a beautiful part of the world (Greece), but still very different from the South Pacific. I’d love to return to both places!
I loved reading about the vanilla. There’s nothing like real vanilla extract.
It gave me a new appreciation for real vanilla ice cream! I also had no idea the vanilla plant is a species of orchid!
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You are either the world’s best photographer or French Polynesia is paradise!
It has to be the latter… I would agree, it’s paradise! So glad, too, that we had such wonderful weather and very rarely had anything but bright blue skies!
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