French Polynesia: Moorea and Rangiroa: Undercurrent 02/2025

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Dear Fellow Diver,

Niu Beach Resort, Moorea Before my first dive in Rangiroa, our guide, Manu, told us: "Do not go into deco. Let me know when you are down to 800 PSI. You can touch the dolphin if it touches you first. Sometimes, they are a bother, and you want them to go away. If you are rubbing a dolphin and it starts to sink, drop the dolphin." It seems that dolphins relax so much they begin sinking, so divers must be careful not to sink with them. "It's OK," he said, "they will come back to you."

French Polynesia diving is full of surprises, and that certainly would be one. I was first drawn to the remote Fakarava atoll by a video showing huge numbers of sharks, clear water, and healthy corals.

The beautiful volcanic islands of Moorea had plenty of lemon sharks, and Rangiroa promised dolphins and mantas. These two islands featured modern conveniences, but Fakarava had hard-to-book air-conditioned digs in the north, with air conditioning in south Fakarava unheard of. As a Floridian, I've had enough hot and humid weather, so I was hesitant. And when I learned that hotel meals included a Polynesian staple, raw fish, I wrinkled my nose. But if I wanted to sample that diving, I'd just have to get out of my air-conditioned shell, cowgirl up, drop my first-world attitude, and tough it out. I'll take three weeks and dive them all.

From Los Angeles, French Polynesia, which is only two time zones earlier, is an easy 9-hour flight with no jetlag. I began booking the four destinations, which required island hoppers, ground transportation, and places to stay, and it was daunting. So I called eTahiti Travel (www.eTahitiTravel.com) in Papeete, and they packaged everything to the smallest detail, including early check-ins, late checkouts, and even the diving, saving me hours, for less money than I would have spent had I done it myself.

After landing at 6 a.m. and spending the first day decompressing at the Te Moana Tahiti Resort, the next morning, my partner and I took a 30-minute ferry ride to Moorea, where knife-edged cliffs make their own misty clouds. Our van drove us to the 16-room Niu Beach Hotel, backed by mountains cloaked in green tropical forests and views of the pale aqua sea dropping into cerulean blue. After registering in their small lobby, we were led to our luxurious bungalow with a sofa, separate bedroom and bathroom, a full kitchen, and a roomy front deck with large chairs. Though we were in the second row of bungalows, if I opened the window to our covered lanai, we had beautiful views from every room; I was in paradise....

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