Oceania Trip | South Pacific Islands

17/07
Yes, the date is right. We left Auckland, New Zealand at 1:30pm of the 18th of July and arrived in Papeete, Tahiti (French Polynesia) the 17th at 6:30pm. So, we gained a day! The time difference with New Zealand is 22 hours!



So, we landed in a bad way. Though, this place reminded me of Fiji because there were some people singing when you arrived in the airport. The weather seemed to be good; we left the snow and arrived in a warm place! We asked for a cab and took us to the hotel. Our first impressions of the country were “too expensive”. Everything was very expensive: the taxi, the food, the souvenirs, everything.

The hotel was nice and in front of the ocean. Our rooms were better. We got something like an apartment. After putting everything in the rooms we went downstairs to have dinner.

18/07
I woke up and opened the window. Tahiti is beautiful. The water was very clean and transparent. There were high green mountains and islands. We had breakfast and booked a tour around the island. However, before the tour we went walking to the town. We went to a restaurant so my sister could have breakfast (she woke up late). Then we went back to the hotel.



We got ready and took the tour. The bus arrived a bit late. So, we saw the island and the main parts of it. We went to many lookouts, to a blowhole, cascades, rivers, black-sand beaches, Gauguin Musée, and ancient Tiki village. The driver could not drive the bus because it was new for him and it was very big for the island roads.



After the tour we decided to have dinner in a French restaurant. We booked for four people and went there. The restaurant was on the ocean, and looked very Tahitian. The food was great as well as the service. Then we went back to the hotel and to sleep.

19/07



After breakfast we packed up everything and went to the port of Papeete. We saw the Tahitian Princess, the cruise that we were taking, and checked-in. Then we went to the town and bought some souvenirs and stuff. Since my parents forgot something in the ship they went back and I stayed with my sister. They took too long so we went for an ice cream and then for a soda. We went back to the ship to look for them but could not find them. They arrived a few minutes later and then we had dinner in there.

20/07



The ship departed at 4am and arrived in Moorea at 8am. We left the ship and joined a catamaran sailing tour. In this tour we got to see the different colours of the lagoon. We also saw the main parts of the island and caught a glimpse of a turtle that was swimming next to the catamaran.



We made a stop at a place where we could do snorkel and started to swim. The French girl that was on the boat told us about some ancient statues that where on the bottom of the ocean (not too deep). We saw them and saw some coral and fish. As soon as my sister saw a barracuda (1.5 meters long) she went onboard and never swam again on that day. Then the tour finished and we went to the town. There was not too much to do so we went back to the ship and had lunch. On the cruise we did not much. We walked everywhere to see it all and when it was time we had dinner.



21/07
We arrived to the island of Raiatea, still in French Polynesia. However, we took a tour to another island, Tahaa. A large lagoon that is very blue connects them. Anyway, the tour consisted in going to a black pearls farm. We were told about the cultivation process of them. It takes too long and requires a lot of money to cultivate black pearls; this is why they are so expensive.



After the explanation they took us to a private island next to Tahaa and we were provided with snorkel equipment and swam for a bit. They also gave us coconut and tropical fruits. Then, we took the boat and went back to the main island.



As soon as we arrived in Raiatea we went to have lunch on the cruise and then took another tour; this time it was a 4WD safari. We visited different places: the crater, a bay, rivers, Teputapuatea (oldest sacred place of Polynesians), and a vanilla plantation. On the way back it rained… Then we went back to the ship and got prepared for dinner.



22/07



Bora Bora is said to be one of the most beautiful islands in the world and I believe so. This place is unbelievable! We had a tour at 12:45pm so we had time for visiting the town. After being there for a while we took the tour and left on boat. They took us to the immense lagoon that surrounds the island. Then they stopped in the middle of the turquoise-coloured water and gave us the snorkel kit. They told us that rays were not dangerous and that they were going to be swimming next to us.



We went into the water, and at first it is a bit weird but later you gain more confidence and you swim like if the rays were ordinary fish. After a while one of the guides brought some fish to feed them and they started to come closer and closer. We touched them while they were fed. Then I went to the boat and my mother stayed there. She got a fish and then started to feed one of the rays. She was the one that wanted to go swimming the least but at the end she stayed feeding these animals.



The boat started to move and we continued the tour. It stopped in another place and this time we did snorkelling. There were a lot of corals and fish. The water was so clear! Later we went onboard and the guides took us to the best beach in Bora Bora. It is in Matira. We swam for a bit and then they took us back to the pier where we waited to take one of the boats of our ship.



After a great day what else to finish it well? We had dinner in the Italian restaurant of the ship: Sabatinis. The food was excellent.



23/07
On this day we did almost nothing because we were travelling on sea all day long. I woke up early because I had an appointment for having my haircut. My father went to the deck 10 to sunbathe and later we went to have some drinks in front of the swimming pool. We had hamburgers and hot dogs for lunch and then we went to the rooms. My sister and I watched a movie and then we had some drinks with my parents at the bar in deck 5.



The special thing of this day was the formal dinner with the captain. I wore a tie and formal clothes and then we queued to take a picture of the family. Then we had the dinner. I asked for duck as appetizer, then Caesar salad and Alaska king crab as the main dish. Then we went to sleep.



24/07
This was another day in which we were still travelling to Kiribati and did not make any stop. I woke up very early (6:45am) for preparing my university schedule of my seventh semester. The wireless did not want to work, so I used one of the computers of the Internet café. I thought it was not going to work but they did. I had no trouble doing my schedule, though some classes that I wanted were not there. Anyway, I just wanted to finish that quickly and then went to sleep a bit more.

On this day the main event was the crossing of the equator. There was a show about it and we received a certificate. Then we watched some movies in the room and had dinner in the steakhouse restaurant of the ship: The Grill.

25/07



We arrived to Christmas Island, Kiribati at 11:30am, 30 minutes before the expected time. We went down the ship on a boat that left us on the island. Everything was flat. There were no mountains or anything a relatively higher than the sea level. There were some people dancing and singing in their language. We took a tour with two guides that spoke Basic English.



The tour was around the island. The guides took us to a beautiful beach in front of the ocean. We saw small crabs and shell crabs. Then we went to another beach, but this time it was in the lagoon. In there a wasp stung my father’s arm. Later, we went back to the main part of the island. My father and I went to swim for a bit and later went back to the ship. When we arrived we had lunch with my mother and my sister. They told us that they saw dolphins and small whales next to the boat that took them to the ship. Later we saw some dolphins jumping from a window. In the afternoon we watched another movie and went for a walk. Then we had dinner in the usual Club Restaurant of the ship and went to sleep.



26/07
The next two days were the same. We were on sea all day long without being able to see land during both days. In order to entertain us we bought some playing cards and started to play. The sea was getting rougher and rougher. I think this happened because we are in open sea.
We went to have pizzas for lunch. Then the weather got worse and started to rain. So, we went to our rooms and tried to watch TV or do something else. There was a bingo game in deck 5 and we went to play. Though at the end we did not win anything. It was Italian night, so we had nice Italian food for dinner.

27/07
It was another day on the sea. It was a sunny day. The problem was that it was still rough. Though, I went upstairs with my parents that were sunbathing. Then we went to the room and watched more movies. We went to have lunch and we were supposed to go and play bingo but we forgot. We had a cocktail invitation with the captain but we did not go. We dressed up and went to the formal dinner. This time there were clams and lobster. At the end there was a nice Alaska cake (flamed) that was good. The next days we were going to be in the Hawaiian Islands, no more days on the ocean anymore!

28/07
We arrived in Hawai’i, Hilo in the morning. We had to show the passports and everything to enter to the island. First of all we had breakfast and then we proceeded to go out. There was a shuttle that took us to a souvenir store and from there we took a taxi for going to the city centre of Hilo. We visited the markets and then we walked to the Rainbow Falls. After the long walk we took a cab for going to the Queen’s Gardens and walked in an island. Then we had a snack and lunch in the cruise.



My father booked a tour for us at 1:15pm. So we went downstairs and joined the others. The van took us to the main parts of Hilo and surroundings. This is why we went to the Rainbow Falls again. We also saw other waterfalls, beaches for surfing, and some pools.



The other part of the tour we took was to the Kaumana Caves. These caves had lava flows from many years ago. It was due to the Mauna Loa eruption. We saw some different kinds of lava rocks and then we continued to the last place. The next place was in some lagoons in front of the shore. They were cold sometimes due to the saltwater and hot because of the volcanoes. After swimming we went back to the ship. My sister and I ordered something for eating and we realised too late that we were going to have dinner in less than an hour. Anyway, we had a second dinner.



29/07
Lahaina, Maui was the next stop. We went out to see the town, which was nice. The island was much drier than the last one. There was a park in the town that had a weird tree, and under it an open market. Then at 11:15am we were ready for going to the tour. These guys were not organised at all and did everything wrong. They arrived late and then we had to wait for the boat to come and pick us up. When we arrived to the spot in the crater where we could do some snorkel, they made us wait more time because they could not find anywhere to anchor.



Snorkelling there was nice but Bora Bora was much better. So, after the tour we went back to Lahaina. On the way they gave us some nachos and fruits as snack. There were also some cocktails and I asked for a Mai Tai. In Lahaina we walked around the town and then went onboard the ship. We had dinner at The Grill in the cruise.



30/07
Our last stop for touring around was Nawiliwili, Kaua’i. This island is famous because some movies have been filmed there, like Jurassic Park. We had a helicopter tour at 11:45am, so we had time to do some things before. Therefore, we went walking to the town and found a market where we could buy some souvenirs.



We headed back to the ship for getting prepared and then waited for the guides. They arrived on time and we went to the shop. They showed us a video and then took us to the heliport. Once there they divided all the people into two groups; one of five (my parents flew there) and the other one of six (my sister and I flew in this one).



It is the first time I fly on helicopter. The experience is amazing. We flew so close to the mountains, and then we made some stops on the air and saw the scenery that surrounded us. The pilot showed us the most interesting places of the island (canyons, mountains, peaks, beaches, shores, jungles, waterfalls, etc), and here is where we found out why it is called the Garden Island.





After the flight we went back to the town and had some seafood for lunch. Then we just went back to the ship and prepared the luggage. We had dinner at the Club Restaurant and used our last minutes of the Internet.



31/07 – 1/08
On our last day we arrived to Honolulu, Oahu. With this the trip has almost reached the end. The only thing left to do was to travel back to Mexico. Therefore, we grabbed our luggage and took the special bus arranged by the cruise for all passengers that had to go to the airport. We arrived to Los Angeles in the evening. In there we had dinner and then took the flight to Mexico City. However, as there was an oil leak in the brakes of the aircraft we had to get off and take another one. This problem caused us a delay of 2 hours!

Once in Mexico City, we went through immigration and then waited for our rescheduled flight to Oaxaca. I chatted with some friends and then took the flight. After a 45-minute flight we were in our final destination.