"They found Paradise and put up a parking lot" - Joni Mitchell (Big Yellow Taxi)

We landed in Tahiti already confused because we left New Zealand on Monday and arrived in Tahiti on Sunday (crossed international dateline) …Were we younger? Had we discovered the secret of eternal youth?

Tahiti had always been our ultimate vision of a Paradise Coral Island and whilst they had not "Put up a parking lot", the main town (Papeete) was a disappointing introduction to paradise - It was a town. We actually stayed about 5 miles outside town with a "surfer dude" called Ralph, his garden backed onto the sea, kayaks and snorkelling gear were available for free and our fellow residents were a couple from Hawaii and two German lads. We saw our first rain in weeks accompanied by angry looking skies - we did not venture into the water.

After two days we left Tahiti and moved to the neighbouring island of Moorea, which turned out to be exactly as we had pictured Tahiti. The weather was now perfect; the coral reef surrounding the island provided a barrier against the wildness of the ocean and gave blueness to the lagoon that was surreal. Our bungalow was one of four owned and managed by a very nice French couple Philippe and Corinne and we were the only residents. Bikes, Kayaks and snorkelling gear were provided gratis and a wooden pier ran from the foot of our garden to the edge of a reef - Welcome to Paradise.

The water was perfect, warm and very clear and within an hour of our arrival we were snorkelling from the end of our garden. There were more fish than we had ever seen - hundreds and perfect visibility - Eat your heart out Jacque Cousteau.

The days passed quickly, we explored the island on bikes and by kayak and it was perfect, although communication was difficult as everybody spoke French - Being part of French Polynesia, the clue was in the name. We did meet one slightly strange English guy, who had lived there for fifteen years and previously lived in India, his name was Clive (Clive of India?). He sported a long scraggly beard and looked every inch a castaway, when we asked him why he came to Tahiti; he replied "God sent me". On hearing we were from Coventry, he quoted the survival of the Cathedral amidst the wreckage of the city centre, as proof of God's existence - One suspects he had never been to Coventry.

Phillipe took us out on his boat one morning to find some Sting Rays, on the way we stopped and spent some time snorkelling in a place where religious statues (Tiki's) had been submerged as a measure to protect them. We moved on to the feeding area for the Rays - The water in the lagoon was about chest deep and within seconds of Phillipe releasing some food we were surrounded by Sting Rays, who not only swam past but virtually climbed on us. They are scarily large when you are that close and seeing the "dart" in their tail bought memories of Steve Irwin and although we were told that they were safe it still played a little on our mind. The appearance of sharks circling around us had the immediate effect of easing the concern about the Rays. The sharks were relatively small about two metres long, so not exactly "Jaws" ….. But still.

We went to a "Tiki" village for a traditional night of entertainment and dinner - Amazing Polynesian dancing (including fire dancing) which recreated historic events and a "haka" like war dance (although Dan seemed more intrigued by the rapid hip sway of the female dancers). The culture is closely related to the NZ Maori culture and likewise the cooking was done in a deep hole where the food was buried and cooked over several hours by geo thermal activity.

The island had a lookout point called "Magic Mountain" …. Guess what? - Heather and her camera had to capture the view. A five mile cycle ride followed by an hour's climb up the mountain and Heather and her camera were happy - Dan was knackered.

Every good thing comes to an end and after five days of holiday bliss, we found ourselves back in Tahiti sadly waiting for a plane out of paradise.