Believed to have inspired the mythical Bali Hai from James Michener’s Tales of the South Pacific, Moorea is one of the most scenically striking islands in French Polynesia. The island is roughly shaped like a heart from overhead, with the northern shore split into two symmetrical bays, Cook’s and Opunohu Bay, and Mount Rotui standing sentinel in between. And in the theme of love and romance, Moorea is one of the top honeymoon destinations in Tahiti, second only to Bora Bora.
The unique landscape of Moorea gives it a reputation for being one of the best islands for adventure and activity, both on land and water. I had no real plan when we arrived, so I took the ship’s tender ashore and joined some shipboard friends looking for someone to share a private tour of the interior sites. We headed off in a covered, but open truck with our driver, uphill on a winding route to the fruit juice factory where we enjoyed a midmorning wake-up tasting of a variety of tropical juices produced by the factory and blended with various liquors and liqueurs. Then it was onward and upward to a pineapple plantation, one of the main agricultural products of the island, where the spiky plants stood in row upon row in the high valley beneath the surrounding mountains.
We stopped at a crater above to view the pineapple fields in the lush tropical valley beneath, surrounded by monkey trees and mountains, with the rugged shillouette of Moura Roa in the background, the iconic Bali Hai peak from the famous movie, “South Pacific”.
Still farther up, we reached Belvedere Point, a stunning and popular overlook with spectacular panoramic views of Cook’s and Opunohu Bays.
Tahitian vanilla, shinier and more intensely aromatic than other varieties, is highly prized and grown throughout the islands. We visited a mountainside botanical garden where green vanilla beans hung from climbing vines, grown in rows under a netted greenhouse surrounded by tropical ginger and hibiscus, and learned about the labor intensive process of drying and extracting the seed pods.
She may be known as Tahiti’s little sister, but Moorea steals the spotlight as the pride and joy of French Polynesia. In his travel guide, Arthur Frommer has declared it the most beautiful island in the world, and it’s easy to see why. With it’s casual barefoot existence, white sand beaches, translucent lagoons, mountains and volcanic spires, she may just be the favorite sister.
Gotta love that fresh Pineapple.