Little Lolly's Small Adventures: Pape’ete, Tahiti. Excursion: Off the Beaten Track: Tahiti by 4WD

Despite the rain when we arrived in Tahiti, guests were still ready and raring to go ashore to do some exploring. It was a bit of ‘touch and go’ with some of the tours as it would be pointless going if the rain caused a problem with sightseeing. I really feel for the shore excursions team if they have to cancel – and deal with the wrath of some not-so-understanding guests. Fortunately the clouds lifted and things started to look a lot brighter for everyone.

The atae tree

The excursion I was assigned to involved groups of 8 people climbing into the back of 4 large (if I can best describe them) pick-up trucks with a removable wall and roof canvas with seats along each side. Our guides/drivers took us along Tahiti’s northeast coastline, stopping for a photographic session at One Tree Hill near where Samuel Wallis and James Cook once anchored. Wallis originally named this hill "Skirmish Hill" because he fired cannonballs here on the Tahitians from his ship. However, Captain Cook renamed it to One Tree Hill because of a lone atae tree that grew on the top of the hill at the time.

Diadem Mountain

From there we headed into Papeno’o Valley. It was a very beautiful valley; the surrounding mountain sides carved by centuries of erosion were covered with rich thick green rain forest. There were also plenty of waterfalls, more so because of the overnight and early morning rain. We stopped a couple of times to take pictures, either from near the river or higher up the valley. There were good views of Diadem Mountain as well, a very jagged looking outcrop of steep mountainside which was once the rim of a volcano.

Despite this morning’s early morning rain the muggy heat was almost unbearable at times . We had hoped to have a swim in the river but unfortunately we couldn’t because the river water was too muddy. When we got back to the ship after the excursion I headed straight for the shower to cool down.

During our time in the valley some insects had discovered a liking for my freckles and kept pestering me. I sustained quite a few love bites which ended up swelling like golf balls and itching tremendously. My right ankle disappeared, only to make an appearance after I had put an ice cold bottle of water on it when I got back to the ship. I’ve also taken an antihistamine to help stop me from going up the wall due to the itching.

Methinks I will have an early night. My bed is calling me already ….