Hi everyone,

yes, we are still alive, well, and generally happy!

Sorry it´s been so long since our last entry, but life has been a lot more remote (and at times very expensive) since we left New Zealand. Our last few days there were fine, a little bit more time at Christchurch, giving Maisy our motor home back :-( and then flying up to Auckland overnight. We flew out early on the Saturday morning to Tahiti, and then the "fun" began!

On our flight there was a large contingent who were Tahiti´s women´s handball team - we´d never heard of handball, but as I was sitting next to the team´s interpreter I got to understand a bit about it!. We arrived in the afternoon and were welcomed at the airport Tahitian style with guitars, singing and flowers....... but sadly that´s where the welcome ended! After a very long wait in diosorderly queues to get through passport control we discovered that our usual "ritual" wasn´t going to work. First stop is always the ATM for local currency, but neither ATMs would work, which meant that we had no money, and therefore were unable to make any phone calls. The bank couldn´t help us, the airport is tiny and things only open when flights first arrive (including the info desk) and basically we had absolutely no way of sorting anything out (we didn´t even have the money for a trolley).

To cut a long story short we eventually managed to get things sorted (thanks to some emergency dollars) but it was a real test of our patience and imagination that day. The next day, the ATMs decided to work (phew) so we got lots of money out just in case it was our only chance! We then flew off to Moorea, which is only a 7 min flight, so it´s a bit like getting the local bus and they go every half hour! Unfortunately, our frustration only increased at the other end, because there were no buses running and again nobody would help us - they seem very very reluctant to pick up a phone unless they absolutely have to! Cutting another long & frustrating story short, we eventually had to get a very very expensive taxi and stay in a place owned by the taxi service.

It was a really lovely view of Cook´s Bay, and we had a really nice room given that it was a budget place, but again we weren´t really made to feel welcome - more an inconvenience. As time went on we realised that Tahiti, Moorea etc are just not set up for independent travellers. All will be lovely and great if you are part of a package tour, with transfers, gorgeous hotels etc (at hugely expensive prices) but the infrastructure and info just isn´t there for budget backpackers. After a couple of nights in Cook´s Bay we decided to move further around the island where there were more options for supermarket & places to eat - Hauru, or "Le Petit Village". Having booked by phone, we were told to catch the 8am bus "Le Truck" from outside where we´d been staying. By 10.30am we were still waiting, and all the buses that went past just waved to us every time we tried to flag them down. We didn´t know what the bus looked like, just that it was a bus!

We were sitting outside the posh hotel opposite our "pension" and it all wore a bit thin when all these "helpful" American and Moorean people kept walking past and remarking "oh, you´re still here"! What a shame, and then got into their nice hire cars or trucks and drove away...

Eventually, frustration gave way to hiring yet another very expensive taxi, only to later learn that our new host, Billy, had discovered that there were no buses running that day (due to insufficient numbers travelling over by ferry!) and had set out to come and collect us. Unfortunately, we´d already left by taxi (which apparently he later reaslied he´s passed, with us in it) and then whilst he was en route managed to get his truck stuck in a ditch!

Anyway, when we arrives at Chez Billy, we at long last felt welcomed. Through some very "Franglaise" chat and lots of sign language we got settled in to our beachside bungalow. Once Billy had got out of the ditch and returned home, he brought us coconuts as a welcome. I´ve always wanted to eat coconut straight after it´s dropped from the palm tree, so my dream came true....it was delicious.

Because French Polynesia is sooo expensive we had to pay about 20 quid each a night (but had an amazing view) for an incredibly basic dwelling. We had no toilet seat, no hot water, and had to share with several noisy geckos and an army of ants (that got into EVERYTHING) but we always felt welcomed and at home. They even reduced the price once they knew we were staying longer, and did some washing for us free of charge, gave us bananas and more coconuts and were generally really lovely. It again goes back to welcome and hospitality making or breaking an experience, and Billy & Ugene and their staff were a real saving grace in what otherwise was turning out to be a less than idylic setting.

The views and sunsets from our bungalow were breathtaking, and we also hired a car for 2 days and got to see all of the island, sat on the best beach, snorkelled in a very large warm bath of an ocean (or fish tank!) with the most incredible visibility. The biggest highlight had to be our 2 hour trip onto the crystal clear blue lagoons to swim with stingrays and black tipped reef sharks!! The stingrays were the most gentle creatures ever, and would often clamour up to give our guide, Serge, kisses (as much as a stingray can kiss!). It was absolute paradise, and something that we´ll never ever forget, just breathtaking. However, because of the expense, we decided to reduce our trip by about 5 days, but were still there for over a week in total.

So, although our time in French Polynesia started out as a bit of a nightmare, by the end it had been totally redeemed by the amazing beauty of Moorea and, most importantly, the hospitality we received at Chez Billy. Our return trip to Tahiti was smooth and orderly, because Billy had helped us and we knew what we were doing by then, such a different experience to our arrival.

We then had a 10 hour wait at Tahiti airport for our onward flight, but because we were so relaxed by that point the hours went by and midnight came quite quickly for our departure. Moorea was amazing, but if either of us ever went back it would probably only be if we had lots of money, a package deal and a hunky man in tow....... so we won´t be holding our breaths for a return visit just yet then, on many counts!

So, from very rusty and peice meal French to virtually non existent Spanish..............