Moorea is a very short sail from Tahiti, only 10 nm. It normally takes less than two hours to get across the straight between the islands.
We have been watching the beautiful contour of Moorea for the two and a half weeks we have spent in Tahiti. We have also heard from cruisers we know who have been there, that it is a great place to explore from many diverse anchor spots.
We weren’t originally planning to be in the Society islands this season, but did so to get some fixes on the boat. We are still going to sail back east to Tuamotu islands as we are going to Gambier islands just south of Tuamotu islands for the upcoming cyclone season. So, we weren’t sure if we would have time to visit Moorea this season. However, it is in the middle of whaling season, and we so would like to swim with them. Moorea offers a lot of options to swim with them, and is supposed to be one of the best places to go from, so we decided to prioritize it.
We were very excited when we finally got Noxoma back in the waters, and sailed straight to Moorea. We entered a pass through the reef on the Western side of the island. We were very lucky to find a spot to anchor by the reef, just at the edge of Cook’s Bay. We were so happy to be back in turquoise waters yet again!
We spent the first few days getting the boat back into tiptop shape, and exploring our new neighborhood. Moorea, like Tahiti, has lots of lovely hiking possibilities in the lush and beautiful mountains.
We were so happy to meet some of our friends from earlier this season, as we shared the anchorage with a couple of boats we know from before. We soon headed out for a lovely hike with Michael from SV Gerty. Unfortunately his wife, Jill, had recently broken her ankle, so she couldn’t join us.
Michael guided us on a great hike that went from the bottom of Cook’s Bay to the lookout point called the Three Pines, as well as the Belvedere lookout point. The hike lasted three hours, and took us through lots of different vegetation, such as a pine forest, dense jungle and pineapple fields.
We really enjoyed the anchorage the week we were there. We enjoyed swimming from the boat, snorkeling the nearby reef, and the easy access to the onshore shops and cafes.
We quickly found a favorite cafe with great coffee and lots of nice pastries and breakfast choices. Our friends from SV Gerty took us there for breakfast to celebrate Carine’s birthday! Such a nice gesture 🥰
We also celebrated the birthday with dinner at Moorea Bach Cafe – a tres chic place that seemed to be sponsored by Veuve Cliquot.
Our big bucket list experience, swimming with the humpback whales, was something we were eager to get to. The whaling season lasts here from August 1 to November 10. The humpback whales come here from Antarctica to mate, give birth and rest. They do not eat while they are here, but need to rely on fattening up before they start their journey.
We booked a tour with a local operator, Enjoy Boat Tours, to swim with the whales. We headed out on quite a windy day with heavy swells, but our guides were persistent to find the whales, no matter what. When all of the other tour boats went to the calmer side of the island, we went to the other side, where we met big swells.
We quickly found a pack of six whales on the move. Or guides managed to get us perfectly located in the waters. A few minutes later, we had the pod of whales swimming around us. What an amazing experience!
We were on such a high after this, and thought that this certainly had made our day. There are no guarantees that we would see any whales at all. However, shortly thereafter, we got tipped from the other boats that there was some action on the quiet side of the island.
We rushed over to join a couple of other groups, and swam with a baby and his mother. It was such a special experience. The baby was so curious and wanted to interact with us, and the mother quietly lay below in the deep and paid attention to what was going on.
We even got so close that we had to swim away from the calf, and sometimes that didn’t work. The captain had at least two very close interactions with the calf, when he bumped into him. Definitely a playful little kid!
We also got to observe two sleeping whales, in about twenty meters depth. They made a sound which we only could interpret as snoring. Whales come up for air about every twenty minutes. We waited, and sure enough, up they went to get some air. It felt like they were almost sleep walking. As they descended into the deep again, we got the perfect view, lying in the water, of the tail of the whale rising against the horizon. What a perfect ending!
The last stop of the tour was in a shallow bay inside the reef, where we swam with stingrays and black tip sharks. We got really close up to them, and enjoyed the winding down activity.
The captain made a video of our experience from this day, which gives some insight into how close we really got with the whales.
We had one last stop to do in Moorea, before we left, and that was a visit to the local juice factory Rotui and distillery Manutea. You get a sneak peak of the factory floor, there is a tasting session, as well as a store where you can buy their products.
We were now getting ready to head back to the atoll lifestyle on the Tuamotu archipelago. We left Moorea on a forecast that looked favorable, but we saw substantially higher winds and waves than forecasted as we got outside the reef. After 4nm we decided to turn back, as we faced 3.5-4 meter high waves coming straight towards us, and saw up to 35 knots of True Wind Speed.
The last night we spent tucked inside Cook’s Bay, with majestic and lush mountains surrounding us. It almost felt like we were back in the Marquesas islands where we first landed when we arrived in French Polynesia back in May. We are struck by the diversity that French Polynesia offers. It is truly beautiful, and it definitely is a cruiser’s dream playground.
The next day, we stocked up on the final necessities, such as fuel and fresh groceries, then headed out for an overnight sail to a very special place, Makatea – the only raised atoll in French Polynesia.
We look forward to further exploring the rest of Moorea and the Society Island next season, as we definitely plan to return!