Bora Bora 1 of 2
Bondi Tram
Peter Colquhoun and Sandra Colquhoun
Mon 3 Oct 2011 01:25
|
Bora Bora is our last stop in French Polynesia and we really enjoyed our
stay.
We sailed the short distance from Tahaa with Bora Bora's famous peak always
in view.
 A heavy surf is pounding the southern side of the reef, but the pass
on the west side was calm.
 The Hilton hotel is huge stretching along the side of a motu between the
reef and the main island.
 We anchored for the first night near the Hilton.....
 ....and went swimming with the sting rays out on the reef.
   Downtown Vaitape, the main town on the island, is slightly scruffy which
was a little surprising since
Bora Bora is home to some of the world's most expensive hotel
resorts.
    Sunset over the lagoon....
 ...and again with a cruise ship, the Dawn Princess, which was on the last
legs of a round the world
cruise from Sydney to Sydney. Consequently the ship was full of
Australians. They spent one day
only in Bora Bora!
 Local tourist official welcoming cruise ship passengers ashore.
 The obligatory sign post reminding people how remote Bora Bora is.
 The anchorage near the town
 We hired electric bikes to go round the island. Whenever you pedal,
the electric motor kicks in and
helps you along.
 First stop is the Bora Bora Yacht Club, which is really just a restaurant
with moorings for rent.
   The Sofitel Resort on a motu.
 Beautiful white sand beach.
 We had a fascinating visit to an artist's studio, which is in a house he
has been building since 1995,
a work in progress done in the style of a Tuscan villa.
  The artist, Garrick Yrondi and he came to Polynsia with his parents in
1946, returned to France in
1956, and then moved back permanently in 1978.
 Sandra with a bronze sculpture of the artist's mother, created by his
father.
  A painter, sculptor and potter, Garrick and his Polynesian wife
next to favourite
painting...asking price $28,000! He also makes all his own
picture frames
for his paintings. A very renaissance man and very hospitable.
  |