Category Archives: Society Islands

Including Bora Bora, Tahiti, Moorea, Huahine, Ralatea Tahaa

Vaiare Bay, Mo’orea

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Our last stop before returning to Tahiti is Vaiare Bay.  This is a new anchorage for Sugar Shack and one that we are eager to explore.  There are technically two anchorages in this large bay.  The north anchorage which is near the Sofitel Hotel and the south anchorage which is also called the sand flats.  We decided to stay near the hotel with the hopes of having another luxurious beach day with cocktails.

Vaiare Bay

Vaiare Bay

We pulled up to one of the two dinghy docks and I jumped out to ask permission.  In my broken French, I asked if we could purchase drinks and take them to the beach.  The bartender was more than friendly and said, yes, yes!  So, I gathered the troops and we headed for a shady spot on the beach.  We were stopped half way down the beach by a hotel employee who very firmly told us that the beach and all of its facilities were reserved for guests only.  Well, it wasn’t like we were going to plop down on their lounge chairs and use their very cool outdoor rain showers.  Shesh!

We walk all the way to the public beach which was full of rocks and coral.  But still privy to the gorgeous turquoise waters.  We play a wee bit of volleyball, take some short walks, and play in the water.  Since we had hoped to buy drinks we did not bring anything to drink or snack on so it was time to mosey back to the bar.

Sofitel Hotel

This is a beautiful hotel!  The Sofitel does not disappoint as a 4-5 star resort.

We situate ourselves on the upper deck and enjoy the cool breeze and beautiful view of the bay.

Over the water huts.  Isn’t this the same thing as living on Sugar Shack?

Once we get back to the boat, the boys take the SUP out to the reef.  Cameron explores the amazingly healthy sea life just past the break and drags Cole out with him.

Return to Tahiti

The next day is a slow motor back to Tahiti. It was a little rough for our guests. They did well by holding on to the boat at all times.

It is always hard to say so long – especially if you know you won’t see them for 9-12 months.  So, I won’t bore you with the sad details.  We head to Casa Bianca for some cocktails and my beloved family heads back to the States.

In our last blog with the Konis family we visited an underwater tiki garden, juice factory, and introduced them to our cruiser friends.

Events from this blog post occurred during the first week of August, 2021.  Our blog posts run 10-12 weeks behind our adventures.

Sunken Tiki Garden

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A beautiful recreation of an underwater tiki garden can be found right by the Opunohu anchorage.  Many Tahitian tikis were thrown in the ocean when the missionaries were converting the French Polynesia islands.  In protest, many locals tossed their own tikis in shallow waters as a sign of respect and preservation.  The tikis we found were placed underwater about 25 years ago.  There are 8-12 tikis which can be found in less than 2 meters of water.

Not sure if we found all 12, but we found a lot.  There has been a tremendous amount of growth around the tikis, even since our last visit.  The boys humor me by posing with the tikis.  This first one has 4 different faces.

This tiki had weird bubbly eyes.  Well, probably not eyes, but that is what I am going with.

This tiki looked like a mermaid to me with her tail curling up around her.  She had a lot of growth on the sunny side which had a lot of sea life. 

This is a mother and daughter tiki or two sisters.  Different interpretations.

My favorite tiki us almost unrecognizable.  He has so much growth by his head that you can’t tell it is a king sitting on his thrown with his hands on his lap.  Cameron is trying to look him in the eye to tell him it’s ok.

Is this a turtle tiki?

The boys decided they needed to stick their head inside the tiki.

Manutea Tahiti: Rotui Juice Factory and Distillery

Konis family loved, loved the Rotui mixed juice that I was buying so we decided to visit the factory located on Mo’orea.  Manutea Tahiti aka Rotui Juice Factory and Distillery.

Unfortunately for us they were painting the actual distillery so we could not go in and see it.  But fortunately for us their tasting room was open!  So, we enjoyed sips of all their juices, wines, Champaign, liquors!

And man o man are they fabulous!  We walked out with 2 boxes of goodies and had to rush back to Sugar Shack as we had invited a few cruiser friends over for Happy Hour.  We had Rachel and Josh from Agape, Brian and Sue from Sea Rose, and Jan from Hannah.

In our next blog we visit Vaiare Bay.  Did you miss our play time at Coco Beach on a private island? – check it out.

Events from this blog post occurred during the first week of August, 2021.  Our blog posts run 10-12 weeks behind our adventures.

Coco Beach: Mo’orea

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We needed a beach day to decompress from all of our activities.  But a beach day for the Konis family is anything but relaxing on a beach.  Love them!  We head to Coco Beach which is located on a small motu called Tiahura just off of Mo’orea.

The restaurant is located on a heavenly islet. Hidden in the trees and on the sand are dozens and dozens of tables and benches. You rest your toes in the sand as you enjoy their tasty morsels.  Service can be a little slow but not surprising when you see the dozens of tables.  Right as you enter the eatery you are met with a very humorous sign.

We take every opportunity we can for photo ops:

Sisters, the very best of friends.

The Konis’s and Mitchell’s

Of course, there was loads of volleyball

An amazing lunch to go along with the bevy of cocktails

And loads of swimming to cool off from the hot sun. I love the shameless branding photo with Cole.

In our next blog we explore an underwater tiki garden, a juice factory, and introduce my family to some of our cruiser friends.  In our last blog the boys learned how to foil and we did a transparent kayak tour. – check it out.

Events from this blog post occurred during the first week of August, 2021.  Our blog posts run 10-12 weeks behind our adventures.