Nuku Alofa - Tonga

Today a visit to another of Captain's Cook landing points!

A 30 minute bus ride to the landing, and some of the locals put on a display of cooking food in ground ovens,making some of cloth from Mulberry trees which seemed very long and hard work!

Then back to the ship for a wander around the town.

We were moored up only a short distance away. The Royal Palace was just near us.

No more Mondays?

Last night we missed out Monday - we went direct from Sunday to Tuesday. We crossed the International date line of course! Not sure if that makes me one day younger than everyone else, and a few people managed to avoid the Fred Olsen Birthday cake!!!

Despite this loss of one day (sadly we don't get a refund) things are going well. The Captain has managed to avoid the Typhoon, and we hope to make landfall tomorrow in Tonga. We are not sure if we will visit Suva in Fiji yet, but we will wait and see!

Latest update - Typhoons

Well, we failed to get off the ship at Rangiroa today on the Cook islands - too heavy a swell for the tenders.

We also have two cabins - one got a bit damp so they gave us another - but we hope the welding in the roof will fix it.

Typhoon Winston we are going around with some possible changes of Port, we think! These things are a bit unpredictable!!

But today is a lovely sunny day! And we are enjoying the relaxation.

Bora Bora

Helen's small Pizza

Today we had a small tour of the island by 'Le Truck' - a sort of converted lorry. Lots of white sand beaches, very expensive hotels (Meridien, Intercontinental) with villas as houses on stilts over the water, and WW2 american remains.

It rained a bit, but was fun - we had a meal out (Pizza and spaghetti with beer), and got surprised in the local chinese supermarket by firecrackers and dragons!

There is Typhoon Winston forecast for around Fiji - we will have to see if that has anything in store for us ......

Moorea in the Society Islands

We left Tahiti at about 0630am, and sailed into Cook's Bay in Moorea an hour later.

We had a three hour coach tour around the island, including various viewpoints and the Tiki village. We saw the peak of BaliHai (South Pacific filmed here) and the bay where Mutiny on the Bounty was filmed.

Finally a sacred Marai platform (no human sacrifices today).

Lots of animal alarm clocks on the Island!

Papeete Tahiti

View from our cabin of Tahiti

A 7 hour bus tour around the island, a couple of museums, one of James Norman Hall who wrote Mutiny on the Bounty, a Botanical garden and lunch in Restaurant Gauguin by the sea.

It rained quite a lot in the morning, but dried out a little bit with only small showers in the afternoon!
Point Venus is where James Cook did his observation of the transit of Venus across the sun

Rangiroa French Polynesia

Fish!

Moray Eel feeding

Black tipped Sharks

Into the very large central lagoon (50 by 20 miles) through a very narrow passage.

Then we had glass bottom boat tour to see sharks, eels, fish and coral - we then looked at the black pearls! Helen gave the camera to the diver so we had some good pictures .....

Stocked up with crisps and soft drinks, and two beers and frites by the sea, followed by a tender back to the boat.