Bora Bora

Main Street of Bora Bora

Having circumnavigated Tahiti by go-kart our Captain, Ivan, turned the ship to  Bora Bora. The small coastal town of Vaitape was totally overwhelmed by 2000 cashed up passengers pushing their way into the six or so stores on shore. Most sold craft items and black pearls at indecently marked up prices.

I chose to go scuba diving in some of the clearest, bluest water I have seen. Diving off the coast was like swimming in an aquarium. The sealife was vast including several 3-metre sharks that swam up to us to say g’day. I have been diving for many years and had yet to see a sizeable shark. Not one, but four of these 3-metre monsters swam out of the blue to within a few metres of us. I admit that my breathing went up a bit that shortened our dive, but I wasn’t the only one. 

The sharks swam past and back into the blue and my dive pattern thereafter became circular as I kept looking over my shoulder. The memory of Jaws at Universal Studios was too fresh in my mind…

Next to swim past was a collective of large, majestic, stingrays. The moray eels in the coral and rocks were bigger than your arm. These dives were amongst the best I have ever done. The best, best diving was with Wendy on the President Coolidge in Santo but that’s’ another story.

A lemon shark

Back on the surface, our divemaster told us that the sharks were Lemon sharks, stocky sharp toothed beasties that eat fish and other sharks. They are known as the lemon shark because light interacting with the local seawater gives them a tanned and yellow, pitted appearance, much like the surface of a lemon.

I didn’t care, they were too big and way too close!

The divemaster then pointed out that both my knees were bleeding OMG! I had been sharkbait and didnt know it.....

It was agreed all round that I had been praying too hard on the ocean floor.

Diving over, we navigated back to shore and immediately headed for “Bloody Mary’s”, the local infamous drinking hole, to regale our near death diving stories and taste some local ale. 

A few beers later and our stories told it was back to the beach for a swim. The beaches are the best I have ever seen. They are all blue water with white sand and very easy access.   A full island tour is only $US20 including stops at several beaches,  

-->souvenier shops and cafes.

A small but fun island 

 

Bora Bora is located about 230 kilometres northwest of Papeete, and is surrounded by a lagoon and a barrier reef.  The main town, Vaitape, is on the western side of the island. The products of the island are mostly limited to what can be obtained from the sea and coconut trees, which were historically important for copra. The population is about 8,880 people.
During World War II, the United States picked Bora Bora as a base for military supply and a seaplane base. They also constructed defensive fortifications around the island which can be easily visited and explored. Luckily though, no combat took place here.

The Beach at Bora Bora. Can life get any better?

Today the Island of Bora Bora relies largely on tourism and because of this seven luxurious resorts were built over the past few years. Hotel Bora Bora was the first to build bungalows that stand over the water using stilts which are now a given of every resort on the island.

What’s next, Samoa…………. the fun keeps coming!