Fiji and Tahiti Adventure: Vibrant Reefs and Cultural History

January 11 to February 2 we took another expeditionary cruise with Linblad Expeditions, this time to the South Pacific. We started in Fiji and ended in Tahiti and spent the bulk of the time aboard the National Geographic Orion, the same ship we sailed on in Indonesia last September. We stopped in Wallis and Futuna, Samoa, and the Cook Islands along the way. Here are the daily programs compiled by the expedition staff and the guest slide show - compiled by photos submitted by the guests.

Nadi, Fiji

We flew overnight into Nadi, Fiji where we camped out for a couple of days at the Sofitel, Fiji in the adults only pool area. We then connected with our fellow passengers for a brief tour of the west side of Fiji including an overllok, a local village and botanical garden before boarding the ship in the late afternoon. Here is Care's Rizbee on the Road blog for Nadi, Fiji.

Beqa Island, Fiji

Our first stop was volcanic tropical Beqa Island. We took the zodiaks to the village of Naciva, where we were greeted by the locals. After walking around Naciva, we hiked over the hill to another village where took our zodiaks back to the ship. In the afternoon, we went to a different village on the island where we saw local firewalkers and did a beach snorkel before we met our zodiaks and returned to the ship. Here is the Daily Expedition Report and Care's Rizbee on the Road blog for Beqa Island, Fiji.

Ono and VuroLivu Islands, Fiji

We tried to find some rays in a snorkel off the zodiaks but got caught in a rain squall and did not see any. After lunch, the weather cleared and we did a zodiak ride around the island looking for birds with commentary from our naturalist guide. Here is the Daily Expedition Report and Care's Rizbee on the Road blog for Ono and VuroLivu Islands, Fiji.

Taveuni, Fiji

We visited the coastal village of Waitabu for a cultural celebration and Kava ceremony followed by a trip to a waterfall in the Bouma National Heritage Park. In the afternoon we did a spectacular snorkel in a protected reef preserve. Here is the Daily Expedition Report and Care's Rizbee on the Road blog for Taveuni, Fiji.

Leava, Futuna Island

We left Fiji and sailed to Futuna Island in the tiny French protectorate of Wallis and Futuna. We were greeted by locals playing music on the beach. The music was quite different from Fiji. We took a trip up to a cannibal BBQ pit. One of the early chiefs used to round up poeple to eat them. This was practice put to an end by the arrival of Catholic missionaries. We toured one of their large churches. We then went over to a neighboring island, Alofi Island, where The locals put on a (non cannibal) feast for us and we did some snorkeling from the beach. Here is the Daily Expedition Report and Care's Rizbee on the Road blog for Futuna Island.

Mata Uta, Wallis Island

Our next stop was Mata Utu, on Wallis Island, the capital city of Wallis and Futuna. We drove up to the highest point and walked down, exploring the town as we went. the locals prepared a feast with delicious pineapple and we visited the local cathedral. Here is the Daily Expedition Report and Care's Rizbee on the Road blog for Mata Uta, Wallis Island.

Apia, Samoa

We then sailed to Apia, Samoa - the capital of another small South Pacific country. Our plan was to snorkel in a local marine preserve but the winds and swells were too strong. In fact, we could not even dock - alhough we had a dance and music group to greet us. Instead we shuttled into town on Zodiaks and visited the local Immaculate Conception of Mary Cathedral and Robert Louis Stevenson's home and museum. We stopped by the local market before returning to the ship. Here is the Daily Expedition Report and Care's Rizbee on the Road blog for Apia, Samoa.

At Sea

Leaving Samoa, we had three days at sea to reach the Cook Islands. We crossed the international date line and had to reset our clocks - gaining a day. We passed the time with lectures, reading, a kitchen and supply room tour by our executive chef, and a demonstration of coconut husking by Cultural Expert Kura (with Divemaster Ross as her prop). Here is the Daily Expedition Report and Care's Rizbee on the Road blog for our days at sea.

Rarotonga, Cook Islands

After our days at Sea, we docked in Raratonga, on the Cook Islands, a small Polyneisan nation. Our cultural experts Tua and Kura are from Rarotonga so we had a warm welcome from their relatives. The island - like most Polyneisan islands is mostly populated on its circumference with a ring road and has mountains in the middle and a surrounding reef. We hiked up one of the mountains and We spent the morning hiking up into the hills. Back aboard, we set sail for French Polynesia with a rum bar and Polynesian BBQ under the stars. Here is the Daily Expedition Report and Care's Rizbee on the Road blog for Rarotonga.

At Sea

After we left Rarotonga, we had another sea day en route to French Polynesia. We had a number of lectures and an evening capped off with the crew talent show. Here is the Daily Expedition Report and Care's Rizbee on the Road blog for our day at sea.

Ra'itia, French Polynesia

We anchored inside the reef that surrounded two islands Ra'itia and Tah'a in French Polynesia. We took zodiaks over to Ra’iatea’s revered Marae site where polynesian chiefs used to gather for multi-month sessions to discuss how to govern Polynesia. After touring the Marae site we hiked up the mountain to get a specacular view of the reef and the ocean. Here is the Daily Expedition Report and Care's Rizbee on the Road blog for Ra'itia.

Taha'a Motu, French Polynesia

We spent the last full day on the National Geographic Orion at Taha'a Motu, the second island inside the reef. In the morning we went ashore to visit a vanilla plantation. Vanilla is one of the few agricultural exports from this area. In the afternoon, we went ashore to a private island where we had a feast put on by the ship's dining staff and then went for a swim with the sharks. It was a bit daunting to have blacktip reef sharks swim right by us, but they seemed to ignore us. Afterwards we returned to the private island for one last snorkel. Here is the Daily Expedition Report and Care's Rizbee on the Road blog for Taha'a Motu.

Papeete, Tahiti

We awoke dockside in Papeete on the island of Tahiti and the capital of French Polynesia. We were docked next to a huge Holland America cruise ship - with thousands of guests. We were happy that we were on the Orion with less than 100 guests. We toured this island and visited the home of James Norman Hall, author of Mutiny on the Bounty. We went to a beach and a waterfall and then to the Intercontinental Hotel for lunch and an afternoon wait for our flight to Bora Bora. Here is Care's Rizbee on the Road blog for Papeete and Bora Bora.

Bora Bora

After or cruise on the National Geographic, Orion, we spent several days at the Four Seasons Bora Bora on the island of Bora Bora. Bora Bora has a fascinating history, among other things, it was a trans-shipment base for supplies between the Mainland US and the Pacific Theater, with a significant military presence. We took a guided hike in the hills of the main island of Bora Bora and saw a gun emplacment built by US Navy Seebees to protect ships in the harbor. At the Four Seasons, we stayed in an over water "Bura" and enjoyed some nice meals, relaxation, tennis clinics, and several snorkels in the resort's dedicated snorleking lagoon. Here is Care's Rizbee on the Road blog for Bora Bora.