Tahiti: Taaroa Lodge review

It has been a month since I came back from unpaid leave and from South Pacific. If I wanted to express how that trip made me feel, my adventures and impressions, it would take hundreds of pages...so I will briefly explain my itinerary in the next few posts and give tips about travelling around. Let's start by the island of Tahiti itself, the first part of this amazing trip I made.

I stayed at the Taaroa Lodge, which is 18 km away from Papeete. It is very cheap compared to hotels (think 30$ a night for a bed in a beautiful, clean lodge waterfront side). It is also a pension, which is from my point of view the best option when you travel there. Why make it so far to stay at a Sofitel hotel where you can find the same in another country. By staying in a pension, you get to know local people and feel the place much more. Taaroa Lodge is facing Moorea Island and has beautiful sunsets. The owners offer to pick you up at the airport and take you to the lodge for about 20 US $. Every morning you get free breakfast: coffee and baguette bread. There is a kitchen facility, kayaks to rent for free. Near the lodge, there is a bus stop (be careful, buses stop at around 5 pm and if you are stuck in town, taxis are expensive, the most expensive taxis I have ever seen), pay phone, little food joints, a souvenir shop). It is in the middle of nature, on the best beach area of the island. The owner Ralph Sanford is a world Longboard Champion, and Tahiti Champion, so he will kindly give surfing advices to anyone interested. His wife is absolutely lovely. Diane will kindly give you tips about what to do and will answer any of your question about Tahiti, she will also arrange excursions for you (ex: hiking tours). They have two dogs and a rabbit. The cool thing about the lodge is there are people from every age group. You can meet a 22 year old or a 70 years old. They also have two beautiful wood bungalows if you dont want a bed in the lodge. The place is really safe and I suggest it to any traveller going to Tahiti. It is a great place to go to first when you get to Tahiti...then from there you can plan going to other islands and even feel safe to leave your luggages in storage for free at the lodge while going to the other islands.

I recommend this lodge to anyone going to Tahiti!

WHERE SHOULD I START?

These are the main lines of what happened lately in my life, I will write about each topic separately later, as it would take me days to write everything down!

-I MOVED TO THE BUILDING I WANTED TO MOVE IN SINCE I JOINED EMIRATES....A BEAUTIFUL EMIRATES BUILDING IN DUBAI WITH A HUGE POOL, HUGE GYM, CLOSE TO EVERYTHING, AND MY BEST FRIEND ANGELINA TOO YAY YAY YAY!

-I HAD ONE MONTH OFF FROM WORK. JUST WENT ON THE TRIP OF MY DREAMS: FRENCH POLYNESIA, TAHITI AND TUAMOTUS AND HOPPED ON A CARGO SHIP! THEN WENT TO EASTER ISLAND. IT WAS BEAUTIFUL.

-I HAD A CAR ACCIDENT, AND I AM ALIVE. I AM SO GLAD I WORE MY SEATBELT. YOU REALIZE THE IMPORTANCE OF A SEAT BELT WHEN SOMETHING LIKE THIS HAPPENS TO YOU AND HOW FRAGILE LIFE CAN BE.

-I WENT HOME, TO MONTREAL AND ITS NICE TO KNOW THAT EVEN IF YOU LIVE FAR, YOUR FRIENDS ARE STILL HAPPY TO SEE YOU AND THEY HAVE NOT FORGOTTEN ABOUT YOU.

-I WONT HAVE ANY PAY NEXT MONTH, BECAUSE I TOOK ONE MONTH UNPAID LEAVE AND IM CURIOUS TO SEE HOW IT WILL GO!!!! WILL I EAT RAMEN NOODLE FOR A MONTH???? :s

-I THINK MY NEXT HOLIDAY WILL BE IN SOUTH INDIA (MAYBE GOA IN OCTOBER). WHAT IS THE NICEST BEACH HOLIDAY IN INDIA?

THAT IS THE BIG LINE OF WHATS NEW AND WHATS ON MY MIND. I will be back to Dubai for some flight attending in 3 days :) see you soon Dubai.

HASTA LUEGO.
Carine, in Montreal, home sweet home.

:)

In transit in Auckland: I am a wannabe backpacker LOL

So, after having spent a wonderful layover in NYC with my mom I got back to Dubai and arrange my stuff in my new appartment in Dubai. The next morning, without any sleep, I left for my one month unpaid leave. It is supposed to be a backpacking trip in the South Pacific, but I left with my rolling luggage. Lets face it: I have never been able to pack light. In a way, it does make it more funny. I am a lame backpacker, a wanna be backpacker. What is the definition of a backpacker? Is it mandatory to have a backpack to be a backpacker? ...well...I travel low budget, (no choice, I am a bit broke! and I cant make serious budgets) hahaha! And I am adventurous, but again, I have no backpack...it hurts to much to carry it. I prefer to roll my rolling suitcase.

I flew from Dubai to Sydney (13 hours) then from Sydney to Auckland (3,5 hours), slept a lot during the flights and hate a lot- soon I might be crowned Emirates fattest air hostess if I continue like this hahaha, just kidding, but I do love eating, it is such a pleasure in my life.

I have to spend one night here in Auckland as my flight to Papeete, in Tahiti (French Polynesia) leaves tomorrow. I went to the travel desk at the airport in Auckland and asked them where I should stay. I was planning to book a dorm bed in an hostel, which was about 25 NZ dollars, but ended up paying 69$ for a private room in a hotel (budget one from a famous European brand name)...the only thing is now I regret. I dont know how I will sleep well, since it is a bit creepy: it looks like a hotel where they kill people in the movies, it is tiny, there is a chinese restaurant and a sex shop downstairs and the room is a bit stinky. I know, I am being a princess here maybe. With all honesty, with Emirates I got used to four, five stars hotels. If I was not alone in that creepy room, I think I would not mind it, its just that as a female traveller, travelling alone, security is part of my priorities...

I think this city is nice, not as cosmopolitan as I imagined, but laid back. I had a latte and walked around. Then, I hopped on a ferry to Devonport. It is a marine village that boast tons of victorian villas, sandy beaches (apparently). There was some stylish shops, cute libraries with interesting second hand books, galleries, gift shops, coffee shops. The ferry runs every 30 minutes so I stayed an hour then crossed back. I enjoyed the harbor views.

I will keep you posted on the development of my trip!
The owner of the pension where I will stay in Tahiti says he will wait for me with a sign with my name on it at the airport. He says if he is not there to just call him. What does it mean "If hes not there"...haha oh well, this trip is going to be interesting I can already tell...

Carine, in Auckland New Zealand