Our plane hit the tarmac with the rain lashing down around us, we had arrived in the rainy season!! It was 1am and we had nowhere to go until the ferries started running. So along with a few other bedraggled and weary passengers we hunkered down for a long wait.

It is interesting watching how people occupy that vacuum of time between travel connections. A few bodies catching up on lost sleep, baggage doubling as pillows or grasped securely by hands that slowly loosen their grip as relaxing sleep takes over, faces staring vacantly into space the mind a million miles away, restless souls trundling back and forth with baggage trolleys piled high. Then a hive of activity as the lights go on and the coffee shop bursts into action and like moths to a light we are all drawn towards it, coffee and croissants have never tasted so good.

We board the ferry with a warning from the captain that it is going to be a bumpy ride what an understatement! It is a long time since I have experienced anything as bad, the only way to deal with it was to fully recline the seat and take long deep breaths for the duration of the journey which thankfully was only around forty five minutes. Stepping off the ferry the rain still bouncing off the pavements low heavy cloud shrouded the mountains that dominated the island giving them a dark mysterious feel.

Charles went off in search of a car hire whilst I stayed with the bags. I watched as a woman set up an artistic display of fruit and struck up a conversation with a group of women who appeared to just be passing the time of day but whom it turned out were taxi drivers waiting for fares, they informed me that all the rain was normal for the time of year but it was expected to get better later in the week I hope.

We travelled along the one and only road that ran the thirty five mile circumference of the island flanked on one side by the lagoon and the other the densely covered mountains with evidence of the torrential rain all around, swathes of land under water and vegetation strewn across the road, so the rain continued into and throughout the night.

The following day the rain had become intermittent so we set off to explore the island stopping at various points that looked interesting. Wherever we drove the jagged tops of mountains were ever present a vivid contrast to the calm lagoon with its contrasting shades of blue.

Moorea is a small island encircled by a coral reef over which the waves of the Pacific Ocean gently roll creating a vision of pure tranquility. There is no central hub to the island, retail outlets are situated around the many hotel complexes catering for the tourist trade with local crafts and the famous black Tahitian pearls and supermarkets can be found dotted along the road of the residential areas. The local economy obviously depends on the tourist trade through either the island hotels or many cruise ships such as Cunards flagship the Queen Elizabeth and Wind Spirit an automated four masted sailing ship.

There is evidence of a few small holdings raising a few cattle and a pineapple farm cut into the dense vegetation of the mountainside which supplies a juice making factory situated along the roadside that displays a large sign inviting visitors to view the process. Like a lot of beautiful small islands the big hotels have taken over the best of the beaches building large complexes that appear to be self sufficient offering guests all the amenities they could wish for so very few tourists are seen around the island other than those transported from the cruise ships or the more adventurous escapees from the hotel resorts on their mini mokes.

Off we went to explore the island in our hire car finding our way up the one road that veered off the coast road into the mountains up to the Belvedere viewing point that gave us a great view down onto Cooks bay and Opunohu bay the latter being the actual bay in which captain Cook moored many years ago. The two bays are separated by the volcanic peak of Mt Rotui, a single peak that rises out of the lowlands of the northern half of the island.

Back down we came and as the map indicated you could come down a different route we followed the map, well it was more a dirt track than a road and better suited to off road vehicles than a Dacia car but we bumped our way around potholes and ditches until we hit tarmac with a great sigh of relief.

The rain finally gave way to sunshine on our penultimate day so we headed for the beach finding some shade we settled in with beach mats and towels thoughtfully provided by our host. What a great day warm lagoon water to cool off in watching birds come and go on the remains of a mango tree growing out of the water, a wader nonchalantly fishing off the coral, a fleeting visit by a white egret and low and behold a single ray coming right up to the waters edge.

We watched with curiosity as a man came along the beach sat on the waters edge and proceeded to sharpen a knife then noisily clean something he had in a large plastic box, next he swims out into the lagoon and deposits the fruits of his labour into the lagoon??? All is revealed later when we see a dark fin in the lagoon and people leaving the water, yes a shark was in the water, we discovered later that the man had been cutting up a grouper fish.

Not only had we come here in the rainy season but also during a cyclone so more rain than was usual at this time of year and hence the really high winds. Thankfully we had rented a nice Airbnb bungalow set in the owners beautiful garden so we could come and go as we pleased. Now rested we are ready to continue the next and final leg of  our journey four weeks in a camper van around New Zealand.