Today we were up early to get ourselves ready to meet the car hire company ashore. Once all the paperwork was completed we then had the major decision on which way to start our explorations - clockwise or anticlockwise around the island.
A visit to the Moorea Fruit Juice Company, where we could sample various fruit juices, virgin or otherwise, was the deciding factor, so anticlockwise it was. Besides enjoying a sample of their Tahiti Drink made with rum, pineapple and coconut, we also got to sample their new juice, watermelon and passion fruit - Delicious! In fact it was so good, we bought some and finished it before we even got back to Paw Paw this evening. At least we still have the Banana and French Vanilla to enjoy.
Our next stop was the Le Belvedere, accessed via La Vallee de Opunohu. The views over Baie de Cook, Baie de Opunohu and Magic Mountain were absolutely stunning and well worth the drive up to the lookput point. En route we stopped at the Lycee Agricole, the Agricultural School, where we sampled the various fruit jams made there. The pineapple jam won flavour of the day and just had to be purchased, along with some fresh pineapples.
By then it was lunch time, so taking the recommendations of Albert at Albert Car Hire, we stopped at Snack Manaha and enjoyed Breaded Mahi Mahi in a Coconut Sauce (Elaine) and Steak and Chips (Roy), accompanied by fresh pineapple juice.
The remainder of our day was spent at the Tiki Threatre Village, stopping off at various lookout points to enjoy the fabulous views, including Point de Vue de Toatea, where we had great views of the reef, the turquoise lagoon, the Pacific Ocean and the island of Tahiti, snooping around some of the resorts on the island and geting a few errands done while we had the car. Unfortunately we were unable to stop at L'Eglise de La Sainte Famille in Haapiti, built in 1897, as is was being restored.
Exhausted, but charmed by Moorea, we returned to Paw Paw after enjoying sundowners and snacks at our favourite Resort and Spa, the Moorea Hilton.