The fast ferry King Tamatoa will go into service at 7 am on Friday, March 5, 2010, as it leaves Quai Sud near the Tahiti Tourisme office on the Papeete waterfront. This sleek, modern 134-meter vessel will arrive at Huahine at 10 am, Raiatea at 12:50 pm, and Bora Bora at 4:35 pm. The first return voyage from the Leeward Islands to Tahiti will embark from Bora Bora at 3:15 pm on Sunday, March 7, 2010.
As well as serving the needs of local commuters, the King Tamatoa will give a shot in the arm to French Polynesia’s ailing tourism industry. Fares on Air Tahiti have continued to rise and it now costs over US$450 to fly from Papeete to Bora Bora and back with stops on Raiatea and Huahine. Fares on the King Tamatoa will be half that. Air Tahiti’s stranglehold monopoly on travel to the Leeward Island is about to end.
The regular schedule of the King Tamatoa will be two trips a week, departing Papeete Wednesdays at 9 am and Fridays at 1:45 pm with variations on holiday weekends. From Bora Bora, the departures will be Thursdays at 7 am and Sundays at 1 pm. This ferry is operated by the shipping company Raromatai Ferry in Papeete which you can call at 45-32-63 or fax 45-32-43. Bon voyage!
Patterson Brothers Shipping is one of the oldest transportation companies in Fiji, founded by Levuka planter Reg Patterson and his brother just after World War I. Over the years, Patterson’s buses and ships have carried generations of travelers from Suva to Ovalau and Vanua Levu. The best known Patterson route is from Suva to Levuka via Natovi Landing on the east side of Viti Levu. This service currently operates five days a week, costing F$30 from Suva Bus Station to the Levuka waterfront. Compare that to F$88 one way to fly Pacific Sun with airport transfers not included. Patterson’s other longstanding route is from Suva to Labasa (Vanua Levu) via Natovi and Nabouwalu, also five times a week (five hours, F$55).
Since 2007 Patterson Brothers has been using the 385-passenger car ferry Spirit of Harmony on these routes. The ship leaves Buresala (Ovalau) in the early morning, calls at Natovi (Viti Levu) 45 minutes later to load/unload Suva passengers, then turns north to Nabouwalu (Vanua Levu) where it loads/unloads Labasa passengers. In the afternoon the ship retraces its route to Buresala, picking up a bus or two from Suva at Natovi.
The MV Spirit of Harmony is a fine ship, but two previous Japanese-built car ferries used by Patterson Brothers have sunk in recent years. In August 2003 the MV Ovalau sank off Nananu-i-Ra, Fiji, while carrying a full load of logging trucks from Nabouwalu to Ellington Wharf. Fortunately no lives were lost on the Ovalau but almost a hundred people went down with the MV Princess Ashikawhen it sank off Tonga on August 5, 2009.
A few months before the 2009 tragedy, Patterson Brothers had sold the Princess Ashika to the Shipping Corporation of Tonga, which failed to carry out proper safety checks on the vessel before putting it into service on the Nuku’alofa to Neiafu run. Many ships currently operating in Fiji and Tonga are well beyond their expiry dates but local governments have no choice but to allow them to continue sailing as funds are not available to buy newer ships. Most outer islanders cannot afford the cost of air travel.
The French tour operator Nouvelles Frontieres has sold its two Novotel resorts in French Polynesia. Beginning in 2010, Accor will no longer manage the Novotel Rangiroa Lagoon Resort and the Novotel Bora Bora Beach Resort. The 38-bungalow Novotel Rangiroa Lagoon Resort on Rangiroa Atoll has been acquired by the Tahiti Beachcomber group which owns the four InterContinental resorts in the Society Islands. Last year Beachcomber also purchased the Papeete-based cruise ship Paul Gauguin and Beachcomber’s CEO, Richard Bailey, is currently constructing a 47-bungalow ecotourism resort on Tetiaroa Atoll, once owned by actor Marlon Brando. The Novotel Rangiroa will become the Maitai Rangiroa, a sister to Beachcomber’s Maitai Resort on Bora Bora.
The three-star Novotel Bora Bora Beach Resort next to the Sofitel Bora Bora Marara Beach and Private Island on Bora Bora was bought by the Antipodes Group and will trade under the name Antipodes Club Resort Bora Bora. The plans of the new French owners are still not clear but the 80 air-conditioned rooms in 10 thatched buildings may be sold as timeshares. At last report, rooms here are still renting for CFP 20,500 single or double, plus 14 percent tax, a bargain for Bora Bora!
The Marquesas Islands of French Polynesia are one of the remotest island groups of the South Pacific. The easiest and least expensive way to go is on the passenger-carrying freighter Aranui which leaves Tahiti 15 times a year on 15-day cruises. Everything from an air-conditioned dormitory to comfortable cabins is available aboard ship. You get to visit all six inhabited islands with many shore excursions and meals included in the price. It’s a great trip I thoroughly enjoyed.
Air Tahiti flies to the Marquesas from Papeete daily. If you go that way, I recommend Jocelyne Henua Enana Tours in Taiohae on Nuku Hiva island. They can book your accommodations on Nuku Hiva and Hiva Oa with extensions to Ua Huka and Ua Pou and organize tours at local rates. Their full day 4X4 excursion to Hatiheu on the north side of Nuku Hiva includes a visit to Taipivai village where Herman Melville stayed two centuries ago, the archaeological sites of Hikokuha and Kamuehi, and lots of stops and explanations of the flora, fauna, archaeology, and history of the Marquesas Islands. The price of CFP 16,000 for the car for two people is about the same as you’d pay for a rental car but an English-speaking guide is included. If three people go the price drops to CFP 6,500 each, and for four it’s CFP 5,500 per person (CFP 4,500 each for seven or more). The eight-trip doesn’t include lunch but there will be ample time to sample the cuisine at the famous Hatiheu restaurant “Chez Yvonne”.
Jocelyne Henua Enana Tours also organizes boat tours to bays on the south side of Nuku Hiva with a chance to see dolphins. This costs CFP 13,000 for the boat for two people or CFP 5,000 per person for three or four or CFP 4,500 each for five or more. Check their website or call them in Taiohae at (689) 92-00-52 or (689) 74-42-23. Jocelyne speaks excellent English.
Metropolis Nightclub on boulevard Pomare opposite the Moorea ferry wharf is Papeete’s top nightspot. Here you can catch a glimpse of the action late one Friday or Saturday night as strobe lights flash and the crowd gyrates on the packed dance floor.
I’m currently updating my guidebook Moon Tahitifor publication late next year. There have been many cosmetic changes since the 6th edition came out in November 2007 but the current edition is still quite usable. I road tested it on my recent trip to French Polynesia and it seldom led me astray. Facilities on Moorea are largely unchanged except that the Sheraton is now the Hilton and a few restaurants including Le Pecheur, Maria@Tapas, Les Nouveaux Mondes, and Chez Michele have gone. My biggest disappointment on Moorea was to find Rotisserie Royal Chicken closed. I guess Alain has moved on to greater things and I wish him well.
A surprising number of Papeete hotels have gone belly up. I knew beforehand that the Hotel Royal Papeete had closed but was surprised to find the 72-room Hotel Prince Hinoi boarded up. Granted, its location next to rue des Ecoles isn’t the best. Even more surprising, the Hotel Kon Tiki Pacific was closed for “renovations”. Nothing seemed to be happening there and I hope they get their act together because the Kon Tiki is an attractive medium-priced choice opposite the new Gare Maritime. The spanking new Hotel Tahiti Nui on avenue du Prince Hinoi is open for business. I suppose they’re hoping to grab business travel market because frankly, at US$230 for the cheapest room, the Tahiti Nui is overpriced.
The Papeete hotel closures may or may not reflect the current drop in tourist arrivals to French Polynesia. During the first nine months of 2009 there was a 21 percent fall from 150,395 visitors during those months in 2008 to only 118,625 this year. Hotel room occupancies have declined from 53 percent last year to 45 percent this year. Packaged tourists from the United States are now an endangered species in French Polynesia due to the declining dollar, rising prices, and the credit card blues. Yesterday I adjusted the accommodations listings in my guidebook and a good many hotels and pensions had to be bumped up into the next higher price category. Tahiti is still a wonderful place, but bring money and lots of it.
UPDATE: In late February, 2010, it was announced that the 200-room Hilton Hotel Tahiti would close and the building would be converted into a private clinic. What next?
Fiji is experiencing an upswing in tourism as new flights into Nadi proliferate. In September 2009 Fiji received 54,981 visitors, an increase of 4.5 percent over September 2008. Just today Continental Airlines inaugurated its two weekly B737 flights from Guam to Nadi with onward connections to/from eight airports in Japan. On December 3, 2009, the first Air Pacific flight arrived in Hong Kong, offering Chinese tourists their first direct access to Fiji. Pacific Blue has started direct services to Fiji from Adelaide and Melbourne, and Air Pacific, V-Australia, and Jetstar all have new Australia-Fiji flights in the pipeline. On March 29, 2010, the Australian budget carrier Jetstar will begin operating four A320 flights a week between Sydney and Nadi with connections to/from many Australian cities. Advance Jetstar bookings are now being taken at only $149 Australian one way.
For North Americans, the big news is Continental Airlines’ new twice-weekly flight from Honolulu to Nadi which also launches today. Of course, Honolulu is easily accessible from almost everywhere in North America and Europe, giving northern hemisphere travelers an alternative to transiting Los Angeles. Air Pacific also flies between Hawaii and Fiji via Apia, Samoa. And of course, Air Pacific remains the big carrier between North America and Fiji with almost daily flights between Los Angeles and Nadi. Air New Zealand is almost out of the picture with only an Air Pacific codeshare arrangement from LAX still going.
Construction has begun on a new Gare Maritime on the Quai de Moorea in downtown Papeete, Tahiti. Papeete is the third-largest port under the French flag (after Calais and Cherbourg) and a proper Maritime Terminal has been badly needed. Two million passengers and a quarter of a million motor vehicles travel between Tahiti and Moorea each year and until now the only facilities serving them have been a scattered assortment of ticket kiosks, public toilets, and sidewalk cafes. The new terminal should be able to accommodate shipping companies, car rental and travel agencies, maritime-related government offices, and restaurants. The current traffic jams whenever a ferry arrives will be eased and passengers will have a proper waiting room.
Ferry service from Tahiti to the Leeward Islands is about to be dramatically improved with the arrival of the 134-meter fast ferry King Tamatoa. Until recently the King Tamatoa served the route between Nice, France, and the island of Corsica but it should soon be cruising from Tahiti to Bora Bora. This large ferry can carry 983 passengers and 250 cars at speeds of up to 30 knots and it will eliminate the need to purchase an expensive plane ticket to get from Papeete to Huahine, Raiatea, and Bora Bora. Hopefully, the King Tamatoa will use the Gare Maritime and not be inconveniently based on Motu Uta.
The new Gare Maritime is only the latest in a series of ongoing improvements to the Papeete waterfront. The large cruiseship wharfs on the Quai d’Honneur were completed several years ago and extensive land reclamation along the foreshore has allowed the creation of a wonderful pedestrian promenade which now extends from the cruiseship wharfs to the Cultural Center. Sidewalk paving of a new park near Tahua To’ata is almost complete and its thatched pavilions will soon be available to the public.
During my recent trip to French Polynesia I met French blogger Laurent Pichot who also happened to be staying at Moorea Camping. Pichot is currently on leave from his job as an account manager at Google France and traveling in the South Pacific. His Around the World blog carries some photos and impressions of his stay in Thailand. The French version, Autour du Monde has numerous photos Laurent took in Australia. Finally, his YouTube.com site ZeVoyage shares some zany and typically funny amateur travel videos from Asia, the Middle East, and Europe. I wish Laurent Pichot a safe return home to Paris.
My travel guidebooks have been serving island travelers since 1979. Moon Handbooks South Pacific is now in its 8th edition, and Tahiti and Fiji each have guides of their own. This blog site is intended to share new facts as they cross my desk, and to discuss issues of interest to visitors. So grab a seat: We're off on a virtual island tour.
The Marquesas Islands of 
I’m currently updating my guidebook 
Fiji is experiencing an upswing in tourism as new flights into Nadi proliferate. In September 2009 Fiji received 54,981 visitors, an increase of 4.5 percent over September 2008. Just today Continental Airlines inaugurated its two weekly B737 flights from Guam to Nadi with onward connections to/from eight airports in Japan. On December 3, 2009, the first Air Pacific flight arrived in Hong Kong, offering Chinese tourists their first direct access to Fiji. Pacific Blue has started direct services to Fiji from Adelaide and Melbourne, and Air Pacific, V-Australia, and Jetstar all have new Australia-Fiji flights in the pipeline. On March 29, 2010, the Australian budget carrier Jetstar will begin operating four A320 flights a week between Sydney and Nadi with connections to/from many Australian cities. Advance Jetstar bookings are now being taken at only $149 Australian one way.
