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French Polynesia

Dusk, the Island of Mo'orea
French Polynesia

If you have the opportunity to go to French Polynesia, go! It isn't surprising that so many people find the islands of the South Pacific so enchanting. If you head for French Polynesia, I highly recommend you fly to Papeete Tahiti on Air Tahiti Nui. From Papeete you can explore the island of Tahiti, and any of the other islands.

One excellent choice is to rent a car and ride the car ferry to Tahiti's sister island, Mo'orea.   It is one of the two or three most beautiful islands in French Polynesia and the 12 mile trip by ferry makes it very convenient to get to.  Parts of three different Mutiny on the Bounty movies were filmed on Mo'orea, and with good reason. The scenery is beautiful.

You leave the hustle and bustle Papeete behind you as you board the ferry. When you arrive in Mo'orea, you are in another world where time slows down. Life moves at a more tranquil pace and everything is more casual. If you want peace and serenity, you can find it here in abundance. If you want snorkeling, shows with Tahitian dancers, and other activities, you can find that too, especially at the larger resorts.

Housing ranges from "delightfully dilapidated bungalows" (that phrase is right out of the tourist guide) with two bedrooms, a living room and kitchen for $100 per night (USD), on up to several hundred dollars (US) per night for a luxury place on stilts right out on the water so you can look down through your floor at the Pacific.

We were on our way to an open air, thatched roof restaurant where we would dine on wonderful, fresh seafood. We stopped just long enough to photograph the Pacific in the last glowing hues of fading sunset light. For the photo above I put a Canon EF 28-135mm lens set to 28mm on my Canon 10D camera. I set the aperture to f/8, the shutter speed to 2 seconds, and the ISO to 100 for maximum image quality with minimal digital noise. With a two second shutter speed, a tripod was essential to get a sharp, non blurry photo.

Wave, Tahiti Nui's Western Shore

June 23, 2011
Updated July 7, 2011

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