Tues 17th - Fri 28th Dec (Weeks 12-13)

Tues 17th - Arrived into Papeete airport at 12:40am after a 6 hour flight. Got collected from our last minute hotel booking Farehau and crashed out until 7am. Back in March when we booked our hotel accommodation for French Polynesia, we decided that if we were landing at 1am, we could probably just sleep at the airport and save money and then just check into our nice hotel later that day. However, when the day actually came around, we decided that that was madness and we needed to sleep, so quickly booked the cheapest place we could find yesterday which was still £60 a night ! Got a taxi to our even more expensive hotel at 10am, and despite only being a 10 min drive, it cost £18 !! Manava Suite Resort is a little too luxurious for backpackers with the largest infinity pool in Tahiti and a huge suite for our room ! Walked 30mins to the local supermarket and then spent 1.5hrs trying to find anything that wasn't 3x more expensive than we expected. We knew it was going to be pricey - but this is not a place to try and be on a budget ! Spent the afternoon by the pool for our first relaxation time since Los Roques in Venezuela. Bliss. Made use of our kitchen for lunch and dinner to try and save some cash, and watched a fabulous if very quick sunset at 6:30pm.

Wed 18th - Nice relaxing day by the infinity pool, looking out over the turquoise sea towards Moorea, 20km away. OK, it wasn't all as perfect as that - we did have quite a bit of cloud, and a few showers, but otherwise pretty good for backpacking ! Managed to Skype home for the first time in 11 weeks of being away as we may not be able to speak on Christmas Day, so thought I'd take advantage of excellent wired internet in our hotel ! Had all 3 meals in our room as we're already slightly over budget for Tahiti so far with our extra nights accommodation and transfer costs !

Thurs 19th - Caught another exorbitant taxi for 20mins to the ferry terminal, costing £22, then another £22 on the two single tickets across to Moorea. Got the 12pm 30min fast ferry across and it was a beautiful sight to see the island get closer, more green, more tropical plants and flowers, and the coral reef surrounding the island. Moorea is said to be the island that inspired "Bali Hai" and you can see why with the beautiful mountains and tropical vegetation. Got a transfer to the hotel which was on the other side of the island, so we got a nice tour to see Cooks Bay, Opunohu Bay, and all the fancy hotels with their water villas along the way. We had a torrential downpour when we arrived which they said was amazing as they haven't had any rain since April - just our luck ! Spent the afternoon wandering up and down the road looking at the shops, and booking a dive for tomorrow. Had our first French Polynesian meal out as we couldn't take another day of 3 meals in our room, and spent £30 on a pizza and burger, but they were good !

Fri 20th - Had our first dive of our travelling trip today, and it was nice to get back into it. We went with Moorea Fun Dive and it was a lovely small operation with only 1 other person and the instructor. We went to the Canyon site first, where we saw lots of black-tipped reef sharks, parrot fish, trigger fish, a Lemon Shark and lots of others. Next dive was Tao Toi where we saw more black-tipped reef sharks, lots of trigger fish, and a few turtles - one of which was so calm that she let us get within 1m while we watched her eating the coral. The sharks were also pretty calm and inquisitive and came within 1m and swam all around us, but they were only about 4ft long, so not too scary !

Sat 21st - Got up nice and early again as the best weather seems to be first thing, and with sunset at 6:30pm, the day just starts and finishes earlier than elsewhere. Took our free snorkelling gear from the hotel and snorkelled out to the Motus (sand islets). Quite a lot of coral and fish, but nothing too bright, or too many fish. The main attraction was the stunningly clear water, pure white sand and turquoise and deep blue sea. We walked along the shallow sea on the white sand around the islands and wished we'd brought the camera as it was picture-postcard perfect. The wind really picked up at 11am so the sea got really choppy and a bit cool, so we headed back. Spent a couple of hours sunbathing by the pool in the afternoon when it had cleared up again. Not a bad day really, could get used to this life.

Sun 22nd - Hired a kayak for 2 hours this morning from 8 - 10am and went back to the Motus to get some photos of the idyllic white sands and turquoise waters. The current was surprising strong, so I was glad to get back after 2 hours as my shoulders were killing ! Spent a few hours by the pool topping up our tans and running into the pool to cool off. Then went snorkelling in the afternoon just off the hotel beach and the coral was still a bit disappointing, and the visibility was terrible - but we did see two eagle rays swim 1m below us and we followed them for a while which we really enjoyed.

Mon 23rd - Final day in Moorea, so we checked out at 8am and hired a Renault Clio from Avis for the day - pretty pricey all in - £90 for 6 hours once you include the excess waiver and petrol ! Not a cheap day. First time we've ever hired a car abroad, and first time I've ever driven a left-hand drive (manual as well), but I found it much easier than I expected and quite enjoyed driving again. We ended up doing 1.5 laps of the whole island, stopping at various view points, and driving up to the Belvedere Lookout which was up a very steep mountain, with hairpin bends and 'S' shaped roads all the way up. Wonderful views though overlooking both Opunohu and Cooks Bay with Rotui mountain in the middle. Got dropped off at the airport at 3pm after returning the car, and boarded the Air Tahiti flight to Bora Bora at 4pm. A nice quick 45min flight over stunning deep blue seas, atolls with turquoise waters and white sand. Landed at 4:50, took the ferry shuttle to the mainland, then our transfer to Hotel MaiTai. Again - another place that is a bit too fancy for backpackers, and we're going to struggle with prices for food and excursions - especially over the Christmas period !

Tues 24th - Started the day well with some cornflakes in a coffee mug in our room for breakfast, as well as fresh bread stick and jam, and choc au pain. Not too bad for a budget and beats paying £18 each for the breakfast in the hotel ! Today we had our second diving day of our trip so far - and in Bora Bora ! Went with Bora Dive Centre and just 5 and an instructor in our group. Went to an eagle ray site for the first dive, and after about 30 mins crawling along the sea bed, we finally spotted 3 good sized rays very close to us. The second dive was going to be outside the lagoon in the deep blue waters to see sharks, and after cutting through the huge waves and seeing the breakers over the coral atolls, they decided the visibility was too bad, so we went back into the lagoon. Did the 2nd dive around a coral garden, but again, poor visibility and not very bright coral or many fish. Enjoyable dives, and we got a great tour of the island, lagoon and all the amazing over-water bungalows, but just a shame about the visibility. Spent the afternoon checking out restaurants and stocking up from the supermarket for some cheaper meals !

Wed 25th - CHRISTMAS DAY !!! Both Skyped home this morning and it made the day feel really special and was lovely to see everyone back home. Spent a few hours on the beach, sunbathing and snorkelling around the water villas. Had a lovely lunch of nutella & banana crepes - nice, but not quite the roast that everyone would be having back home ! Pretty cloudy and rainy for the rest of the day so chilled out in our room researching the Thai islands for a few weeks time ! One quote from the Lonely Planet for Ko Phi Phi is "Think of it as a cheaper version of Bora Bora." !! Looking forward to that then ! Celebrated with some cold beers and nuts on our balcony before having a nice dinner in the hotel beach restaurant.

Thurs 26th - BOXING DAY !! Another pretty hard day in the life of beach-living. Another good cornflakes, bread and pastry breakfast, followed by sunbathing all morning. Then took a kayak out for a few hours in the afternoon and paddled out to the Sofitel hotel on a private island opposite and nosed around the water bungalows. Then moored up and went snorkelling in the beautiful multi-coloured blues, and the visibility was much better over there, a good 10-20m in parts. Saw lots of different fish, including a huge moray eel, and an eagle ray. Headed back in just before the rain for a nice cup of tea and biscuit on the balcony - so English !

Fri 27th - Woke up to grey skies and rain, so had a leisurely morning having breakfast and packing etc until checkout at 11am. The sea was really clear and calm, so we took a kayak out again and went back to the coral gardens from yesterday and spent an hour snorkelling looking at the abundance of fish. It started raining again and got chilly, so headed back at 1pm. Had lunch and waited for our transfer to the ferry at 4pm. Sad to be leaving Bora Bora, but maybe we can come again in the future - in the perfect season and stay in a water villa ! Flew to Papeete, and stayed in the same hotel we stayed in on the 16th for one night before our flight to Sydney on 28th.