Around Moorea By Scooter

We had such a lovely day circumnavigating around Moorea by scooter.  We rented our scooter from Rent A Scooter, and we were very pleased with the service.  Stephan dropped off the scooter in Papetoai at 8am and we were off. We went around Moorea by heading east from Papetoai and stopping at the Belvedere, Marae Titiroa, Temae Public Beach, Toatea Lookout, Vaiare, Putoa River Waterfall Hike, Pineapple Beach, Hauru Point, and back to Papetoai by 4pm.

Belvedere Overlooking Mt. Rotui, Opunohu Bay and Cook’s Bay

We were pleasantly surprised to find the incline to the Belvedere overlooking Mt. Rotui, Opunohu Bay, and Cook’s Bay to be fairly modest; although, the scooter struggled we made it to the top and down with no troubles. To quote Wade when we arrived at the top “The picture looks like it could be a puzzle” because the landscape was so beautiful. We launched the drone, but honestly the pictures taken from the lookout platform were just as good.

Marae Titiroa and Others

Below the Belvedere there is a short hike through multiple Marae’s the largest being Titiroa.  We learned from this Marae, the God of creation is like a bird, called Ta’aroa and he shook his feathers to dress the earth with trees, vines, weeds etc. Ancestors believed birds and trees were important to Maraes because it signified the presence of God, so the ancestors planted many trees around the Maraes. There were signs around in French and English giving descriptions, but this was one of the places we thought it would have been nice to be part of a tour group because the English-speaking guides were very informative.  Cruising tip: Bring misquote repellant because the bugs were biting terribly.  We could hardly stay still without getting eaten.

Temae Public Beach

We drove past a few sites and shops from Opunohu Bay to Temae Beach because our boat was anchored fairly close and we could potentially visit them by dinghy if we wanted.  Temae beach was a very nice park overlooking Tahiti, which we thought would make a beautiful spot to watch the sunrise. There was not much for sea life or snorkeling, but the sand was soft and the water was sparkling clear. The reef was fairly far away and broke down any waves. There were many benches under trees and because we were there on a Saturday there were local families barbequing and playing island music. The paths were made of dirt and sand so you could walk or ride a bike through the park. We could have easily spent the day relaxing and picnicking here.

Toatea Lookout

We had launched the drone at Temae Beach so we kind of captured the same picture you would get from Toatea Lookout, so it was a nice stop but we quickly moved on.

Vaiare

Vaiare is the major town of Moorea. Giant ferryboats carry passengers to and from Tahiti, so the town is a bit busy.  South of the ferryboats is the only marina in Moorea and of course we had to stop. We met a friendly local Frenchmen, Adrian, who is preparing his boat for Hawaii, with his wife.  They hope to leave this year and are working hard to get it ready.  He was extremely helpful and knowledgeable about Moorea and Tahiti, so we look forward to hearing of their journey in the future. After the marina on the ocean side of the road (-17.519,-149.7741667 ), we sat down at our now favorite roulette (food truck), we felt a little guilty eating out with all of the yummy thanksgiving leftovers in the fridge, but oh my, heavenly! We had jambon fromage panini (ham and cheese panini), frites (fries), and churros  (fried batter like an elephant ear). The sandwich is a full baguette so one is plenty to split in two.  The chef offered two sauces BBQ sauce or Roquefort we chose Roquefort sauce because we could not pronounce or understand what he was saying and oh my, the Roquefort sauce was yummy! Later research determined that Roquefort is sheep milk cheese.

Putoa River Waterfall Hike

We needed a little exercise so we stopped off at the Putoa River Waterfall Hike.  To get to the beginning of the trail we traveled inland from the main road up a dirt road about a half-mile. The dirt road was a little difficult to find with no markings or signs. Adrian had told us the dirt road was just after the hospital in the valley, so we turned down a road and asked a friendly local to be sure. The coordinates 17° 33’4” S, 149° 47’27” W (-17.5566667,-7878333) is the intersection between the main road and the dirt road leading to the trail. We went up the dirt road until literally it would have been very challenging to go any further on the scooter. As the dirt road turned left, if you were to keep going straight is where the trail begins at 17° 36’47” S, 149° 36’48” W (-17.607833,-149.608).  We saw other scooters with helmets and cars parked, so we left our scooter with our helmets too. The hike to the waterfall was around 20 minutes and at a beginner level.  Adrian had told us that the waterfall would be better during rainy season because right now there wasn’t much there from the lack of rain and he was right, but by size of the rock we could imagine its beauty. Traveling tip: Bring misquote spray, also we did the hike in our slippers (flip flops), but if it was during rainy season then we really would need good hiking shoes that can get wet because there are times you walk through the river and the trail could get really muddy.

Pineapple Beach

After leaving the falls we tried to find the Marae’s marked in our Lonely Planet guide, but to no avail. We did however find at PK 33 the most wonderful little stop. We enjoyed lovely hospitality and extremely friendly locals at Pineapple Beach.  Pineapple Beach is a nice spot to stop and have a rest on the beach under a shade tree with a cool breeze. The water is clear and you’re welcome to jump in and get wet. Prices are reasonable for drink and food. We were still stuffed from lunch so we didn’t have much for food, but the menu looked delightful.

Hauru Point

Last stop for gas before Papetoai is Hauru Point. There are several shops to look around for pearls, art, clothing, and much more.  We filled up our tank for $3.40 (340 Francs).

We made it back to Papetoai just in time to return our scooter.  If we had to do it all over again, we do feel that it might have been better to do one of the tours around the Belvedere and lookout, then rent the scooter and spend the whole day in the southern half because there just wasn’t enough time to do it all without feeling a little rushed.