Awe inspiring wales on Moorea

I chose to fly to Tahiti from Rangiora and then take the ferry so I could experience it.   The ferry terminal is about 10 minutes from the airport and the ferry terminal area opens up about 30 minutes before each ferry departure.   In my experience (I took the ferry there and back), at least half of the people on the ferry are locals.  Going to Moorea, I’d say my ferry was about 90% locals and on the way back, it was about a 50%/50% split.  These are large enclosed ferries that also transport cars and motorcycles. 

When I arrived in Moorea, I rented a car.  Moorea is one of the few islands to be completely accessible by road. It was more developed than Rangiora, but not nearly as developed as Tahiti.  Each small town had its own vibe and when I say small town, even the largest areas only had a few shops and restaurants there is nothing like a large town on Moorea.  Papeete on Tahiti is the largest city in French Polynesia. 
 
Moorea also has varied terrain….within 15 minutes or so of driving I went from pretty open area to almost complete jungle that grows down the mountain slopes to the ocean.  I loved the lush vegetation. There are also areas with fruit plantations (mostly pineapple) and beautiful waterfalls a relatively short hike from a road.  They also have a juice factory that also doubles as a rum distillery.  Factory tours are free and there is a gift shop on site where you can sample both the juice and the rum. 

I stayed in another over water bungalow (in additional to a stay at a more traditional hotel) on Moorea.   My overwater bungalow at Manava Beach Resort was smaller than the one I had at Intercontinental (there was a couch and chairs, but they were inside one main room instead of separated), but it had 180 degree views as I had a bungalow at the end of a row of bungalows.  If you want to stay in a bungalow here, I would 100% book this type as it felt much more private.  There were local canoe teams practicing their rowing and I thought it was fascinating to watch, but still not a great place to sit naked 

​My bungalow also had a gorgeous sunrise view.  There is one property that I would consider luxury on Moorea, but most are more 3.5-4 star properties which makes the accommodation more affordable than Bora Bora giving more people a chance to experience a stay in an overwater bungalow.

The absolute highlight of my time in Moorea was snorkeling with humpback whales and their calves. The humpbacks come to French Polynesia to reproduce and give birth. I had considered going on a tour to see the whales before I left, but the snorkeling part didn’t seem like a good fit for me. After one of the lectures at the Conrad on Bora Bora I chatted with the marine biologist and she told me about a friend that started taking out very small groups of people to see and snorkel with the humpbacks---he takes out a maximum of 5 people.

​As with most wildlife encounters, the fewer humans around the wildlife, the less stressful it is for the wildlife and generally gives the humans the best experience as well. The other boats on Moorea take between 8 and 20 people out at a time. With a small group, it is easier to all stick together in the water (important for you safety as well as the safety of the whales) and to be able to get in and out of the boat quickly. I was honest with the guide and he was really supportive of me and my fear of snorkeling and lack of experience.

​The experience is difficult to put into words. It began with a what a small world moment.  I started chatting with one of the other people on the boat and within minutes, we realized we had both gone to the same really small college---College of the Atlantic.  When I say small, there were fewer than 200 students total when I graduated!  Anna is a much more recent graduate, but we had fun talking about our shared history.  It is because of her generosity that I have photos on this blog.  She has a wonderful talent for photographing marine mammals and was kind enough to share with me.  Her Instagram is amazing if you want to see more (her handle is asagatov) and she does underwater photography for a living, so if you have this need, Anna is the best.  

Once you see a whale, you are asked to slide into the water from the boat….splashing can freak out the whales….and swim as quietly as possible for the same reason. I am not an experienced swimmer so again I chose to wear a life vest so drowning wasn’t added to my list of things to be worried about. Whales are generally out in the ocean where it is deep and the waves and current can be very strong. There were times when waves were crashing over my head. My fear of not being able to breathe with the snorkel in my mouth definitely impacted me, but honestly once I caught a glimpse of the whale both above and below water only a few feet away it made all of the uncomfortableness 100% worth it.

In our first sighting, the whale and her baby stuck around for a while, so I had time to calm myself and relax into having my head underwater even with the waves. I watched the baby rise from many feet down in the water to the surface and it was mind blowing. I honestly don’t know how long we were in the water, but I can tell you I drank more than a mouthful or two of sea water and expended a lot of energy trying to stay close to the group in the strong current. We were probably in the water about 20-30 minutes.

I got back on the boat and was tired but wired. Some people sit in the boat for 3 or 4 hours and don’t see any whales, so I felt lucky to have this encounter and it happened shortly after we headed out. I was still trying to get my bearings when we saw another whale and her baby---when you see them, you only have a minute or two to get on your mask and fins and go. I really wanted to go in, but knew I was inexperienced and tired and that is not a good combo, so I sat that encounter out. I saw several whales breach the surface and being on the boat was still a magical experience. When the others got back on board it was hard to not have FOMO…..they had seen a mom sleeping underwater with her baby. They were just there essentially suspended under water.

The group felt such a connection with the whale and they were moved to tears. It was a very primal moment. Of course, after missing out on that, I told myself if there was another whale sighting I needed to go back in---and I did feel more rested.

About 10 minutes later, we did see another whale and we slid back in the water----mom came right up to the boat, but then didn’t seem to appreciate we were there, so the encounter was very short. We didn’t see any babies. It wasn’t too long before we saw yet another whale….and this time it was actually 4 together. I again was exhausted from the effort and didn’t want to put myself in a bad position, so I stayed on board.

Even from the boat I could tell there was a party in the water. In addition to the 4 whales breaching, there were also a handful of dolphins getting in on the action. It was close enough to see, but very difficult to photograph even above water with the waves. What an amazing sight! At this point we had only been out a little over 2 hours and it is rare to see so many marine mammals in that amount of time.We slowly started to head back and chose to do a snorkel stop on the reef where there were turtles, eagle rays, manta rays, and many colors of fish.

​This all kind of sounds like a wild Disney ride or something, but in reality, it was more a commuting with nature and serene and spiritual outing. Some of that is due to the people on board and some of that is how can you not feel something spiritual when you have swum with such beautiful and gentle creatures.
I aspire to try this again when I am better prepared and in better form to be able to swim, view and not feel like I am going to drown.  The video is also courtesy of Anna....and no that is not me swimming so gracefully, but I was in the water.