The Soft Adventure of French Polynesia

Story and photography by
Eric Anderson 

 

There was a time -- before angry people started blowing up Bali -- when Americans could wander Oceana like Conrad's Lord Jim, a time when they could sit in big wicker chairs like big man Sydney Greenstreet in a Hollywood movie and essentially let the Pacific wash its peace over them.  

Such comforts are now harder to find the world over but there is one perfect spot still flourishing as if in the 1950s: the islands of French Polynesia. These are not islands wailing against the Western World. They are fragments of what was once Colonial France and for reasons not clear to outsiders are still cared for benevolently by the Fifth Republic. And Air Tahiti Nui often has great prices for trips from the West Coast. www.airtahitinui-usa.com  

Many of the great tales of Tahiti are beachcomber stories -- almost survival guides -- about subsisting in a Paradise wilderness, living off the land as Paul Gauguin seemingly did a century before.  

You can still indulge yourself in French Polynesia on deserted beaches under waving palms but it's a lot easier now. Every week the ms Paul Gauguin sails the islands made immortal by that mercurial French artist. Every week, 300 or so expectant passengers board this 513 foot-long flagship of the company called the world's best small cruise line by readers of Travel + Leisure and sail to some of the most spectacular islands in the world.  

And every week, the lucky travelers who come with such high hopes to those faraway places find an experience that exceeds expectations. They discover, for once, the travel brochures haven't lied. The colors are intense. The sea really is turquoise and jade, the mountains emerald, the sky cerulean blue. And more, visitors come to realize those gentle, naturally beautiful people of Tahiti have a lesson for all of us: live for the day.  

Radisson Seven Seas Cruises (www.rssc.com) is undoubtedly expensive yet guests get enormous value. In contrast to many cruise lines that nickel and dime passengers with extras, Radisson not only doesn't charge for cocktail parties, or unlimited soft drinks, or the initial liquor or wine stocking of the cabin minibar and wine at meals, and even takes care of gratuities for staff in its inclusive charges. It can also obtain incredible airfares to Tahiti from 83 North America cities (airfare economy from LAX, for example, is only $299 at times and from Floridacities $499). Some cruises in the past have offered free air.  

When the ship is anchored, a retractable watersports platform allows access for complimentary water-skiing, windsurfing and kayaking. Snorkeling equipment is free and, one day -- perhaps the best of the cruise -- the Paul Gauguin even anchors off its own private island at Taha'a.

The ship offers superb cuisine and excellent entertainment. It is beautifully appointed and though staffed by earnest French officers maintains an informal ambiance. Men, for example, don't need to pack a jacket. The icing on the cake, as always in luxury cruises, is the crew: Tahitian and Filipino waiters with some Europeans and a bevy of Tahitian young women, Les Gauguines, who both entertain and charm passengers with a genuine interest in helping them get the most from their eight-day adventure.  

Radisson has been doing this cruise every week since January 1998. If there ever were any kinks they've long been ironed out. For the Tahitian time of their lives passengers first get to visit the sacred, almost unknown, island of Raiatea, the religious center of ancient Polynesia and the starting point for all the migrations further north and east. Then they can nibble on free popcorn and watch Mitzi Gaynor and Rossano Brazzi in the classic movie South Pacific in the Grand Salon and, the following morning, stand in the bow when the ship sails into Michener's beloved Bora Bora. And after two days swaying in the lagoon, move on to drop anchor in the caldera of the almost magical, extinct volcano, Moorea.  

The cruise starts and ends in Papeete, on the island of Tahiti itself. As with all the ports of call the shore excursion choices seem endless but a simple island tour here reveals that even this, the most populated of the islands, has a mysterious interior with romantic waterfalls, secret pools and fern grottoes. The tour finally touches the modest museum to the painter who helped make Tahiti famous and whose name, in turn, is now proudly carried by Radisson Seven Seas Cruises on a ship built in France, his native land.  

You can, of course, dally longer in your favorite island. Moorea for example, has the typical blue skies of the picture postcard tropical island and water as warm as your bathtub's but there's more. Visitors get -- in contrast to flat coral islands -- mysterious volcanic mountains and an island big enough for a leisurely drive. They get a feel for what Hawaiiwas like 50 years ago (but Moorea is much more of a foreign adventure). They get both the mystique and pomp of La Belle France and the stability created by a Western European power that for some odd reason picks up some of the locals' tab for the expensive costs of living in Paradise.

Moorea, only 30 minutes by catamaran from Papeete on the main island of Tahitiand a mere 38 miles by road around its coastline, has plenty to occupy the visitor. Many of the attractions are supported by the cruise lines so expect them to be busy when a ship is off shore.

The acclaimed Moorea attraction is the Dolphin Watch developed by Dr. Michael Poole, a marine biologist. It's somewhat pricey but so are most pleasures in French Polynesia. Dramatic helicopter tours over the island and sunset cruises on schooners like the Fetia Ura are readily available. You can go deep sea fishing or parasailing, you can hike the trails of the ancients or buzz around the island in a WaveRunner convoy, and you can snorkel in the lagoons or scuba from zodiacs amongst black tipped and lemon sharks if you are a certified diver or, yikes, a qualified beginner! Or you can go around the island in the famed bus system of Tahiti, le Truck. Such a drive wanders past pineapple fields, photogenic churches and villages full of sleeping dogs and gives you the feel for this unique island. It will get you up to Belvedere, the high point on the north side of the volcanic caldera with its panoramas of Cook's Bay and Opunohu Bayto the north. And at night? Locals, four times a week, put on a somewhat hokey show at Tiki Villageon the west side of the island but it's good fun and there's plenty to eat.

The major resorts, all on the north shore, have desks for the tourist attractions. Moorea accommodation choices run from the relatively inexpensive such as the eight cabins at the Residence Linareva (www.linareva.com) part of Le Bateau, the floating restaurant and one of the island's classic eating places (reservations advised) (www.linareva.com/restaurantA.html) to the more upscale Sheraton Moorea Lagoon Resort and Spa (www.sheratonmoorea.com) with 54 of its bungalows over-water. It offers complimentary use of the fitness room and tennis courts, and snorkeling gear and it has modem access. Sheraton resorts in foreign countries are more upscale than any in the U.S. and the Sheraton Moorea website has useful information about the island itself. As does Tahiti Tourism at www.gototahiti.com.

Other helpful tourist information from private tour companies can be found at: 
www.mooreaisland.com
www.visit-tahiti.com/moorea and
www.tahititravel.com/moorea.html