Tahiti

We spent a week in Tahiti, doing final repairs with parts that Michelle, Adrian's wife brought with her from South Africa, provisioning and catching up on schoolwork!  We spent one day touring the island in a rental car.  While parts of the island were beautiful, we were somewhat disappointed in Tahiti overall.  The city of Papeete was just that, a city, and there are no gorgeous beaches as one might imagine.  Maybe we are already spoiled in what we consider beautiful!!  We image that if you come and stay in one of their resorts, you would have a great time, but as cruisers, we were happy to move on after a week.

This may be the one and only time McDonalds gets a thumbs up from us!!  The kids were delighted to have a delicious tasting milkshake again - what a treat!!  (And sad that we even found a McDonalds in Tahiti!)

Papeete Cathedral

Grottos on our tour around the islands

We visited Teahupoo, which apparently has the most dangerous wave in the world.  It is due to the way it forms and the coral reef directly beneath it.  They were getting ready for the annual Billabong surfing competition when we were there, which takes place every August

Dave wishing he was actually surfing again!

One of many beautiful waterfalls we discovered on Tahiti

This was a lot of fun!  There is a blowhole that shoots out spray from the breaking waves below.  The sound it makes when the sea spray comes out is like a freight train rumbling through!  

Lighthouse at Point Venus where Captain James Cook observed the transit of Venus in 1769 

We left Tahiti on Friday morning, August 12th, and sailed the short distance over to Moorea to begin our cruise of the Society Islands.