The capital city of Tahiti, Papeete, was our last stop in French Polynesia. In the morning, we wandered around town to explore the local market, the cathedral, and strolled through the gardens at the Assemblee De La Polynesie Francaise.
After lunch, we took a tour of the island and stopped at 6 different sites:
- Taharaa point
- Venus Point
- Waterfalls of Faarumai
- Aarahoho blowhole
- Vaipahi garden
- Maran Arahurahu
The trip was about 5 hours long with quite a lot of driving. Some of the sites were quick "instagram" stops and others were in areas that you could wander and explore a bit more.
The stop at the Aarahoho blowhole was particularly special. When we arrived, we didn't see much to look at but fortunately we had a guide to point it out to us.
When the waves crash into the rock-wall along the shore, the air is forced through a small tunnel that ends further up the shore. Check out the video of Dom quickly discovering the impressive amount of wind pressure that comes out of the hole!
Every night, a bunch of food trucks gather in the square next to the cruise ship dock. We took advantage of the opportunity to taste a local speciality called “poisson cru au lait de coco”, which translates to "raw fish with coconut milk". The portion size was quite large so it was a good thing we shared. The national dish is made of sushi-grade fish marinated in lime and fresh coconut milk - sounded so simple but it was SO fresh and delicious! We would definitely have it again.
