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Huahine
| Huahine was the last of the major island stops
and was in many ways the most fun. Fare, the port city, is a picturesque
South Sea village. It's much smaller than Papeete or Uturoa, and
more charming. The wharf tends to be the center of attention, and
there are often people out and about. In the evenings, a few open-air
dinner trucks arrive, making for a relaxed, enjoyable, atmosphere.
I met several fellow travelers, most of whom spoke some English.
I traded a few tales of adventure over beers. At one end of town
is a handicraft shop with the most extensive collection of Tahitian carvings
I saw in all of French Polynesia. It is run by Joe, an American who
moved to Huahine in the mid 1980s. He was married to a French woman
who helps run the store. Joe said that there were about fifteen Americans
living on the island.
If you visit Huahine, be sure to stop by at the place right next to the Hotel Huahine and have a Mai Tai or two. They come in goldfish bowl sized glasses and are outstanding, easily the best cocktail to be found in French Polynesia. If you think your 6 ft. 2 inch waitress with huge biceps looks a touch masculine, it's not the booze talking. She's a guy. French Polynesia is full of surprises. Unfortunately, I was only able to dive once in Huahine. The conditions were better than those in Raiatea, with fairly good coral and fish life. Visibility was terrific, at well over 100 ft., and there wasn't any current at all. The dive was relatively shallow, at about seventy ft.. It was a nice relaxing dive. The dive guide was terrific, finding several
interesting things along the way. He pointed out a Nurse Shark sleeping
under some coral, and a gorgeous anemone, complete with a very pretty pair
of clown fish. I heard later that the next day's dive was even better.
I really wish I had gone.
I went for a long walk that afternoon and saw a series of Maraes, ancient temples that were the site of religious ceremonies. They are very impressive, consisting of dozens of very large flat stones , fit together to create a raised platform. some of them had raised sections at the back as well, creating a stage. Most are at least twenty yards long and fifteen yards wide. They are well worth a visit. There are a couple of small villages along the way to the maraes. I took an outrigger trip around the island on my last day in Huahine. It was interesting, though unspectacular. The coast doesn't vary much from one side to another, so the scenery gets a bit repetitive after a while.
They also provided fresh coconut straight from the shell, and gave us lessons on how to create hats, place mats, and a few other household items out of palm fronds. I can now make hats and place mats with ease. You never know when those skills might come in handy. The interesting part is that the hut is only used to serve lunch to visiting tourists. The staff came about five minutes before we did, and left shortly after. During the trip back we saw a few Eagle rays, though they didn't stay around very long. We also did some snorkeling over a shallow reef that had seen better days. Much of it was dead or dieing. I did see some large (6-8 inch) clams with electric blue stripes on them, an amazing combination of colors that I had never seen before. That marked the end of my outer island adventures. I caught a flight back to Papeete the following morning. |
I
stayed at the Hotel Huahine, which is just across the street from the wharf
in Fare, the capital. It is a large, old concrete building that has
seen better days. The only light in the room was in the bathroom,
so it wasn't really possible to read. There is a nice restaurant
and bar on the ground floor. There is a TV set where family members
and guests congregate to watch French dubbed reruns of American sitcoms.
While it won't win too many Architectural Digest awards, the Hotel Huahine
is a nice place and a good value. I'd stay there again in a moment.
I
dove with Pacific Blue Adventure, a great outfit. They are located
right on the wharf in Fare. The walk to the dive boat is all of fifty
feet, so you couldn't ask for greater convenience. They offer rentals of
BCs and wetsuits, as well as tanks and weights. The dive boat was
a wooden outrigger, something I hadn't seen before. Getting
back into the boat was a bit of a challenge, but it wasn't anything
too difficult.
The
highlight of the trip was lunch, which was provided at a small Tahitian
open air hut. We enjoyed fish, chicken, a few vegetables I didn't
recognize and fresh melon and tiny bananas on an oyster shell plate.
The beers I most certainly did recognize.