After two full days in Tahiti it is time to move to the next island, Moorea. After some thinking we decide to use the ferry as it allows us to take the rental car so we do not have to change cars between the islands. And it seems easier and more fun and maybe we can also see some interesting birds along the way. Supposedly you have to be one hour before the ferry leaves in the harbor and we hurry but the info is not accurate. We are the second car in line and most locals arrive only about 15 minutes before, right when the ferry arrives.
And so we have time to wait and explore the ferry terminal, besides the cafe there isn’t a lot to do except looking at the ships and wait for our ferry to arrive.
When it arrives at least we are one of the first cars to enter the ferry or so we think. But no, first are the trucks and then the other whole row before our row is processed.
One of the interesting things about boarding the ferry is that the passengers are separated from the drivers so we have to find each other again on the boat. At least we know where to meet, on top of the ferry because we want to see outside and the birds. And it doesn’t take long for the ferry to depart, they are quite efficient and have a fast turnaround.
There are quite a few birds along the way but many are common for the area. Very common is the Great Crested Tern while the White-tailed Tropicbird while common is at least a lifer for us.
There are not a lot of other people on top, most decide to stay inside in the AC cooled room while we and a few other hardy ones depend on the wind to cool us as the ferry starts catching up speed as it exits the harbor.
Exiting the harbor we now pass the city and we can identify the buildings and the harborfront we walked the previous days before it starts to disappear into the distance.
We see Moorea in front and seemingly it remains the same while Tahiti becomes smaller and smaller. This should not be possible unless Moorea is much further away than we think or we are not going straight to it. Probably an issue of perspective but we are a bit shocked until we notice that Moorea is starting to become larger.
Soon we are in the middle of the ocean looking for birds and not seeing many. We see one feeding frenzy but it is quite far away to identify any birds positively. And otherwise we see yachts, quite a few of them passing between the islands, still far away but at least we don’t have to identify them.
There are a few Brown Boobies and as we start to approach Moorea we finally find our first special bird, a Tropical Shearwater, the one and only of our trip.
Approaching Moorea is faster than we expect and soon we are in the harbor and ready to take on Moorea, just as soon as we can meet again. Because the cars exit without the passengers and then they have to be picked up, without any place to stop the car on the way. But we make it and then we spend a few beautiful days on Moorea before returning to Tahiti.
After visiting the island and doing an around the island drive on the last day we are ready for the ferry back on time, island time this time. We also know the process, driver and passengers are separated on entry and then reunited on the boat.
As usual the boarding process is really fast and soon we are on our way leaving beautiful Moorea shrouded mysteriously in clouds. And rain, lots of rain that we are happy to escape as we were not sure the ferry is even working today.
The protected harbor area is quite extensive but we are still quite apprehensive of exiting it as we have seen what can happen when we took a ferry to Lanyu in Taiwan and half the boat got sick.
From here we can also see one of the two remaining over the water bungalows resorts, it is not the one we stayed in but supposedly it is still quite a nice one, maybe after we become multi-millionaires…
And then just after exiting the protected harbor suddenly everyone on the top deck gathers on one side of the boat and gets quite excited. So we also move to that side to look and lo and behold there is a Humpback Whale playing around at the edge between deep and shallow water. Quite unexpected and cool.
Returning there aren’t any special birds, just Great Crested Terns following the boat. We see some Sargassum in the ocean but nothing else fun really unfortunately.
What we see is lots of boats like ferries and cargo ships and expedition ships. Most of them are far away but still fun to think where they are going and what they are doing.
And then after a surprisingly smooth ride we reach Papeete and then it is time to take the car and drive to our AirBnB for the night. Tomorrow we leave again to another island so we have to return the car and then walk to the airport the next day, quite an adventure.
