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The Islands of Tahiti · GowayPro Travel Tales

• 0:00
  you
• 1:11
  Hey there everyone, I'm Don, Professor Goethe and welcome to the GoethePro Travel Tale Podcast.
• 1:23
  Double-Fart and Travel Lofty.
• 1:27
  Hello everyone.
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  uh Today we are talking about one of the most stunning areas in the South Pacific.
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  That's not Australia, that's my bias speaking.
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  ah We're talking about Tahiti and we are talking to Norman Schaeffer and he is from Far and Away Adventures Tahiti and he is one of our suppliers that helps us with all the
• 1:53
  amazing trips that Go Way offers in to French Polynesia, or commonly known as Tahiti.
• 2:00
  So welcome, Norman.
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  How are you today?
• 2:03
  Great to be with you.
• 2:05
  Thank you very much.
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  We always ask, where are you actually coming to us from?
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  Are you in the US?
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  Are you actually in Tahiti?
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  I'm actually in Victoria, British Columbia on the west coast.
• 2:17
  oh
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  Okay.
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  My, I have a son out there who's, uh, just finished a season of tree planting and he sort of bumming around in a car waiting for the next season to go back and plant trees.
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  So he's probably in your neighborhood.
• 2:32
  Yeah, exactly.
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  Um, okay.
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  So we always start off our podcasts, um, to let our listeners know a little bit about our guest speaker.
• 2:41
  So, um, you're in Victoria BC, Canada.
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  So what is your connection to Tahiti and why are we speaking to you today as an expert on Tahiti?
• 2:52
  Oh, I say probably about 18 years ago, I went to Tahiti for my first time.
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  um and absolutely fell in love with it.
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  Um, I, I actually went with my family and with my children.
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  Uh, I have at the time I only had five kids.
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  Um, I have eight now.
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  Uh, they've all been to Tahiti.
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  Yeah.
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  Um, but I brought my kids there and we actually went for two months and I.
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  fell in love with the islands.
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  There was so much warmth and friendliness in these islands that since then I've just returned over and over and over again.
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  I've been to over 25 of the French Polynesian islands now and I can't go there.
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  I have to find a new place or new island to visit.
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  It's so huge, these islands.
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  So every time I go, I visit another island.
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  Okay.
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  And we will touch on the expanse of the French Polynesia Island group in a minute.
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  um So your first trip was with your kids, as you mentioned, ah and you went down for two months.
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  Was it a choice of two months from the outset, or was it something you went down and ended up staying for two months?
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  Because most people, when they look at Tahiti from a professional point of view, i.e.
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  travel agents speaking to globe travelers looking to travel to Tahiti, two months would not be the normal request of time down there.
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  So I'm just curious to know.
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  Why two months was your choice?
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  um Well, at the time I actually had a roommate from university that I kept in touch with and he had hooked us up with places to stay and we as a family had just really wanted to
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  immerse ourselves in the culture and in what it was like and so we uh yeah I had someone kind of take over things at work
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  for a period of time and once I had that arranged, yeah, we just went for little bit more time.
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  I really wanted to uh familiarize myself with these islands and I knew how big they were as well.
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  uh combination of having a few local connections really helped as well along the way.
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  Right, so was that also the reason you chose Tahiti, say over Fiji, Samoa, the Cook Islands?
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  Was it because you had some local connections down there or was it something from childhood?
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  I have a fascination with Tahiti because of the early sea explorers and they use it as a port of call for and other reasons as well.
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  Was it something like that?
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  Well, I had lived in France for a few years and I really wanted to have a chance to use my French.
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  um And uh I thought, well, what better way than to go to Tahiti.
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  uh so that was a little bit of it.
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  yeah, was just on the same trip we did about two weeks in the Cook Islands at the time.
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  And so we did the Cook Islands first and then uh Tahiti, which are a great combination of islands.
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  ah But yeah, then we ended up spending most of the time there, but having those local connections did help with the amount of time that we wanted to spend there.
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  Right.
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  So again, going back to this first trip, we'll get into your more recent trips as we, as the conversation continues.
• 6:20
  But on that first trip, did you do what most people would do on a first trip to Tahiti and hit the main island of Tahiti and then across the Bora Bora?
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  Actually, before we get into that, let me just, well, I'll have you explain to everyone.
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  Everyone generalizes the island group as Tahiti, but it's technically named French Polynesia.
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  and it's made up of multiple island groups.
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  Can you maybe just give us a quick overview of the island groups before we get into some details here?
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  Yeah, so there are five regions in French Polynesia that uh people can visit.
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  The most popular and the most uh common one that people go to are the Society Islands.
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  And that is where the International Airport of Papiete is on the island of Tahiti itself.
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  But 30 minutes away by Catamaran Ferry is the island of Morea.
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  which I did do on my first trip there, as well as many other trips.
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  It's so easy to get to, you don't have to get on another plane.
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  and you know, 30 minutes later, you're on the island that all the Tahitians go for holidays.
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  Um, also within the society islands are Bora Bora, which everyone has heard of and wants to visit.
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  And it's yes, you should go there, especially on a first trip.
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  And I did go on my first trip.
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  think I've been there about six.
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  times now.
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  uh But then there's also Hua Hinei, Reatea, Taha'a, and even a little tiny island of Maupiti in those society islands.
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  And that's kind of the main island group that people, you know, if you're going on a cruise, you'll usually, if it's a seven day cruise, you're visiting those islands.
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  uh There are
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  The other group of islands are the two motus and they're not really islands.
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  They're atolls.
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  So they're coral shaped atolls.
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  ah It's like a donut shaped island, if you will, with a lagoon in the middle.
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  So it's like a volcano that erupted thousands of years ago.
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  And as it's sunk, there's just this coral, really low lying coral reef that's left and the marine life inside the lagoon is breathtaking.
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  um So the two motus and there's
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  dozens and dozens of Tumutu islands.
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  uh Then you go a little further afield to the Marquesas in the northeast.
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  It's where tattooing originated.
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  It's a very, it's actually a completely different culture than the Tahitian culture as far as the music and the dances go.
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  um And then in the southwest are the Austral islands, which is another group of islands.
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  can be have a bit more of a uh differences in the seasons in the austral islands and then in the southeast are the Gambier Islands which are just a few islands really close
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  together uh...
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  but again uh...
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  very distinct uh...
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  area and there's only like two flights, one or two flights a week to the Gambier Islands
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  Right.
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  Yeah.
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  We were speaking to Dan, who looks after the tourism aspects of Tahiti here in North America or Canada, primarily in North America.
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  And uh I've done a lot of chats with people about Tahiti, but I never knew or it escaped my memory at the time that tattooing was uh or came from the Tahitian islands.
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  And it was brought to Europe through the back to my sort of fascination with the area, the many sailors.
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  In the early days who drop into Tahiti, they had to buy the local Tahitians.
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  They went back to the, back to Europe and that was, became a fad or started to grow because of that.
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  that was.
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  Patu is actually a Markasian word.
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  ah So it really more so comes from the Markasus, but then that influence is all throughout Polynesia.
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  Yeah.
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  Yeah.
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  And again, a lot of the islanders as they're lumped together and that's anything from New Zealand, Cook's to Maori, actually.
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  Yeah, they're famed for their tribal tattoos, which are very, very detailed um and beautiful too.
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  So going back to that original trip, you mentioned already as you introduced the different regions to us all that you spent some time, I see on Tahiti, Morea and Bora Bora.
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  Was the bulk of that first stay, the two months in the sort of more popular islands, or did you do a bit of some exploring to the outer islands on that first trip as well?
• 10:54
  Yeah, so we spent most of the time on the island of Tiki, uh but as well as Bora Bora, actually.
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  But we did go over to Morea, uh Rayatea, Taha'a and Maupiti even on that first trip.
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  um Maupiti was like a kind of one day trip from Bora Bora.
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  Although nowadays, I think you have to least spend a night there.
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  um
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  I never made it to Hulahine on that first trip, so it was a good excuse to return back.
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  You don't have to do everything the first time, and I've just discovered that there's always new places to visit.
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  Well, yeah, because what's the actual island stroke at all count for French Polynesia?
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  Do you know that number off the top of your head?
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  believe it's 116 if I'm not misrepresenting.
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  Now, obviously not all 116 have development, at least for travelers on there.
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  So again, you may know this, now ask this question.
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  How many islands can you visit or accessible for travelers to visit and would be welcoming of travelers?
• 12:05
  Um, that's a good question.
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  I don't have an exact number.
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  I would say there's probably about 20 to 30 that are fairly easily doable where they have accommodations that you can uh actually stay in that are tourism purposes.
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  There are a number of different islands, however, though, that, um you know, they do have like a handful, two or three different types of places that you can stay at, but,
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  They're not part of Air Tahiti, which is the domestic airline uh main tourism network.
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  So the prices do tend to go up quite a bit for those islands like Mateva.
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  uh But when you go there, you're really having an authentic, uh really person to person experience with the local people that live there.
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  Right.
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  And the South Pacific islands in general are famous for their friendliness and their warmth.
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  So even if you are the type that wants to get away from the bigger islands and the bigger sites, by doing what you say you need to say, maybe off to Mativa and not being sort of in
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  the standard tourism infrastructure, you would still be welcomed on those islands as a traveler.
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  certainly, yes.
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  On the main islands especially in the tourism industry, people do speak English.
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  It is their third language after Tahitian and French.
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  ah But ah if you do know a little bit of French, that always helps out quite a bit while you're there.
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  Okay oh then.
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  your initial stay, and now let's get on to some of your other trips down there.
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  On your initial stay, due to the length of time, were you staying in a standard type accommodation, hotel, resort, or were you doing homestays?
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  Did you do a combination of both on that first trip?
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  And what is your mode of accommodation now that you go back or have been back multiple times?
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  I do everything.
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  It's so fun to try all these different experiences.
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  So I did a lot of home stays that first time, you know, when you have uh five kids in tow and I've gone back with seven kids as well.
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  um You know, yeah, we did some home stay experiences and then ah we also did some resort stays.
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  So we went to the intercontinental.
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  uh
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  in Morea which is now closed.
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  There are some others but so we tried everything from the big resorts to homestays, little tiny boutique hotels as well.
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  In Reatea we went to a little, it was more like a guest house style accommodation.
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  They had three little bungalows on uh property on the water and so uh each
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  type of accommodation has something to different, uh different to offer and very different experience.
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  So you'd be the perfect person to either endorse or not.
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  And I think you will endorse it.
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  The fact that one Tahiti is a great family destination and two, traveling with a family in and around Tahiti is not a big challenge.
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  Traveling with a family is a challenge.
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  I have three kids.
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  We just came back from Africa this year.
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  There are challenges with traveling as a family, but...
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  There's no added issues because it's Tahiti or because you have in your instance, on stage, seven kids traveling with you.
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  It was all welcoming, easily get things done.
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  Yeah, I would say em I have no issues going there.
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  The one challenge is some accommodations will only accommodate up to three people in a room and it's quite common in a lot of places, maybe even four.
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  But a lot of the overwater bungalows, for example, they're not really as geared towards um families, I would say.
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  um
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  and so if you're wanting that experience you do end up having to have multiple rooms.
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  With the uh kind of guest house style accommodation there are a lot that will accommodate up to four.
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  Once you hit that fifth it does really complicate things a bit in French Polynesia I'll be honest.
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  You just have to know what you're looking for and you get an expert that uh
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  learns about the options and it can really make a difference in what you offer your clients.
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  And that was a beautiful segue because GoAway does have those destination specialists.
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  So if you are a single traveler, often it's a couple going down there for romantic reasons, honeymoons, weddings, et cetera.
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  But um as Norman has done multiple times, family travel as well, your destination specialists will be able to advise you on type of hotel based on budget, based on family
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  size or group size, and what you want to do.
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  So Tahiti, again, I'm talking, well,
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  Tahiti and the main islands, Bora Bora Marea, uh do have a combination from all different levels, but they're probably more famous for more higher end, the resort style.
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  And a resort environment has all the infrastructure that goes with it.
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  You can do data as you can do, know, spa treatments, all that type of thing.
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  So that's an easy one to answer.
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  It's all there, generally speaking, on a resort.
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  But if you get away from the resorts, be it on the larger island, Tahiti,
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  and you're down to a four star, three star, or even the homestay environment, or particularly when you get to the outer islands, um does the infrastructure drop off in
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  respect to being able to do things?
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  So if you're on one of the outer islands and you wanted to go diving, are there gonna be dive shops or snorkel shops nearby, or is it something you need to plan ahead for to be
• 18:02
  able to just be willing to hop on a motorbike, a car, or walk down to the lagoon to do it yourself?
• 18:10
  uh Yeah, really French Polynesia is not really one that's easy to just wing it and and just try to figure it out as you go uh And there are certain islands that have dive shops
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  in the more remote islands uh Rangiroa, Tkehau for example in the two motu's Well, actually maybe not Tkehau as much but Rangiroa and Pakarava Have good dive facilities.
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  In fact, Pakarava is a world unethical
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  go by your reserve for its lagoon.
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  uh then Bora Bora and Moria and the bigger islands have a lot of infrastructure for diving, for example.
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  But when you do go out to these outer islands, you do have to plan ahead.
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  And even to maximize your time, you kind of plan your excursions ahead of time, if you can.
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  If there are things that you really want to make sure you include, ah it's
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  always a good idea to do it.
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  If they're nice to have or not critical, then you can just do it as you go.
• 19:14
  Right, so if you are looking to go to Tahiti then and get off the main islands and do a more, I don't wanna say authentic, more grassroots type of experience, then as you just
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  said, if you have things you want to do on your bucket list, you need to either check that they can be done on that island or failing, they can't be done there, do them on say
• 19:32
  Tahiti or Bora Bora or Morea.
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  So having been there multiple times and explored the islands probably more than most,
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  Um, I guess it goes without saying that if someone's heading down to Tahiti for the first time.
• 19:46
  And the reason I asked this is because I've been asked this question many times, um, around Latin America.
• 19:52
  Uh, when people asked me about say Peru, say, well, you know, there are so many other, not nicer per se, but as interesting or different things to see than the usual.
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  Costco, Soka Valley, Machu Picchu using Peru as an example.
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  But the average person first time to Peru, they're not going to miss Costco.
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  Sacred Valley Machu Picchu.
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  So I would assume it's the same scenario for Tahiti.
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  Someone's heading off there.
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  They probably on their first trip.
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  You couldn't really convince them otherwise to do other islands other than Tahiti, Morea, Bora Bora or a combination thereof.
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  Yeah, you really need to that is uh a perfect kind of first trip to do having said that if you're doing a cruise or something like that then you can kind of include those two
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  islands with a few more options quite easily um and you know there's even a freighter cruise 250 passenger freight ship that goes out to the Marquesas um that uh agents can
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  book that is a phenomenal
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  experience too.
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  uh But that mostly covers the Marquesas, kind of further afield, and does stop in Bora Bora at the end.
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  Bora Bora and Morea are really those iconic Tahitian islands that people should visit.
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  And if they have more than 10 days and they want to stretch out their trip, I always say include a 2.02 atoll in the mix because
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  It is such a contrast to be on this low-lying atoll that doesn't not have much elevation at all, but the lagoons are just absolutely beautiful.
• 21:35
  So just to clarify one thing, you mentioned a couple of times cruising.
• 21:39
  Now, are you talking about cruising amongst the islands in French Polynesia or are you talking about people on a larger cruise ship using or having Tahiti as a port of call?
• 21:51
  My preference is to go to Tahiti and start and end the cruise there because you really get an immersive experience.
• 21:59
  yes, if you're doing a Trans-Pacific cruise, you're going to hit one or two islands and then you have another three, four days at sea before you get to the next island outside of
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  French Polynesia.
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  By going to French Polynesia, there's a lot of different options um just to visit the islands within...
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  uh...
• 22:20
  french polynesia and you're basically there's very few at sea days you're exploring islands uh...
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  virtually every day
• 22:29
  Okay.
• 22:29
  So again, going back to the Latin um comparison, often when I'm asked about the Amazon and experiencing that, I always recommend a vessel simply because the vessel will get you off
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  into the river system.
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  And you see more of the river system versus being a lodge is like a sort of out each day, back each day.
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  So you don't get to explore as much.
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  I guess the same analogy could be used for cruising around French Polynesia by a cruise.
• 22:56
  This, as you mentioned, you would get to see
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  more islands um in a shorter space of time.
• 23:02
  Is that fair?
• 23:04
  Yes, definitely.
• 23:05
  um It's another way to be over the water without being in an overwater bungalow, depending on what you're looking for.
• 23:16
  Right.
• 23:16
  um So if someone on their first trip, again, as we both concede, they're probably going to want to just do the big ones, Tahiti, Moraya, Bora Bora, a combination of all those.
• 23:28
  We have mentioned there are different levels of accommodation, but most people, particularly if they hit Bora Bora or Moraya, they're to be looking for a resort style
• 23:35
  thing.
• 23:36
  Overwater bungalow, maybe, if not, maybe something a bit uh less expensive because the overwater bungalows are premium properties.
• 23:45
  If someone is doing that type of first time trip, but like myself, they wanted to maybe they don't plan on coming back or they want to cover their bases.
• 23:54
  And like me and my family, we always want to do something more authentic in that we'd like to stay with the family or experience the local culture.
• 24:02
  So on, I hate to use the term, but I will use it for the sake of conversation on the tourist run of those three main islands.
• 24:09
  Can someone also get something more grassroots authentic as part of that experience?
• 24:15
  You can, yes.
• 24:17
  mean, there are guest houses on each of those islands.
• 24:21
  It's one way to do it.
• 24:23
  But also in Moraya, they have a place called the Tiki Village, and it's a cultural center where you can learn the Polynesian culture.
• 24:33
  They have some day activities, and they have a night show with dinner that they do, and that kind of pulls you into the culture of the islands.
• 24:45
  But yeah, if you're wanting to kind of do more authentic experiences, there's guest house style accommodations.
• 24:53
  uh And I would say get out of the main cities a bit, rent a car.
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  Although car rentals are usually about $100 a day.
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  uh but it gives you lot of freedom to really kind of, you know, get out of the bigger cities and into the countryside.
• 25:14
  m
• 25:15
  Although I will say Bora Bora really doesn't have much of a city.
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  You know, we've got two or three grocery stores and three or four banks and a few tourist shops.
• 25:25
  It's people think Bora Bora, it's probably this built up place, but they've got a road that goes around the island and most of the resorts are on the little motus in the outer
• 25:35
  reef.
• 25:36
  So everything is really spread out and all circled around the water.
• 25:42
  So just on that point, sorry, didn't interrupt there.
• 25:45
  Just on that point you said of hiring a car, the biggest island that's mentioned is Tahiti and you mentioned Bora Bora has a road running around it.
• 25:55
  Where else would you self drive or hire a car?
• 25:58
  Would it just be those two islands?
• 25:59
  Is there a need to even hire a car on Bora Bora?
• 26:04
  um You don't need to hire a car on Bora Bora.
• 26:07
  um Some people will do it just for a day or two just to kind of tour around if they'd like to.
• 26:12
  But all of the excursion companies, whether it be on the water or on land, they'll pick you up from your accommodations and that's included in the cost of the tour.
• 26:23
  um If it's a lagoon tour and you're on the water, they'll actually come by boat to pick you up.
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  If it's a land-based
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  trip they'll just come by car or uh minivan.
• 26:36
  Right.
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  So you don't really need transport to do anything, as you say, any transport to and from a tour is included in the tour.
• 26:43
  So it's more if you just want to do some self-exploring.
• 26:46
  Yeah, that's like, as you're kind of talking about, if you kind of just want to meet some of the local people and you will run into people everywhere, but if you just kind of want
• 26:56
  to just go exploring a little bit more on your own, it is an option really more so only in those three islands, Tahiti, Morea and Bora Bora.
• 27:06
  There are some car rentals on the society islands, but they're pretty few and far between on the Easter islands outside.
• 27:14
  Now in the Cooks on the main island, which I've forgotten its name.
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  uh Rarotonga.
• 27:20
  Rarotonga, thank you.
• 27:22
  It's not a big island and it has a bus service that loops around in both directions.
• 27:27
  Does the main island, Tahiti, have public transport that people could use if they want to be more independent in their explorations?
• 27:35
  On the island of Tahiti, yes, there is.
• 27:37
  um Everyone that I talk to from Tahiti though says, don't bother.
• 27:43
  They say their schedules are very unreliable and you never know when they're going to show up.
• 27:50
  I don't know because I've taken them at their word and I've never tried it.
• 27:54
  I've seen people waiting at the bus stops and they could just be waiting for a long time, who knows.
• 28:01
  uh
• 28:02
  Right.
• 28:02
  So I'm gathering there is something I'm just coined or maybe I'm not calling the phrase Tahitian time.
• 28:08
  So I would assume by that statement that the attitude in Tahiti, or sorry, the larger island groups, French Polynesia is that very relaxed, take it easy type five.
• 28:20
  There's no sort of pent up energy to get things done quickly.
• 28:25
  Yes, it's just island time and there is also some bus service on Morrea as well.
• 28:33
  um But I think there's two buses that do two halves of the island.
• 28:38
  uh But apart from that, um everything else is either by shuttle or um having, know, pre-arranging your transportation in advance.
• 28:52
  Okay, which again, GoAE can arrange for your clients out there based on whatever they want to do.
• 28:58
  So on the touring aspect, be it on the three big islands or the outer islands, can you give us a quick overview of things that you can do?
• 29:06
  Obviously swimming, snorkeling and in turn diving are options, but is someone, is not a resort person or just a day or two of lounging and doing nothing is enough for them and
• 29:16
  they then want to get active or cultural, what are some of the things that people can do throughout the
• 29:22
  the island group.
• 29:24
  Yeah, the Tiki village in Morea is a good cultural center.
• 29:29
  Apart from that, most of the resort will have a specific day of the week where they do a Polynesian night.
• 29:38
  It could include a fire dance show, uh Tahitian music drumming, and so the music and the dancing of the island.
• 29:46
  So I always recommend, you know, find out what
• 29:52
  day of the week it is at the resort you're staying at in advance if you uh can because you know if you're five nights in one place five nights in another you might miss the day of
• 30:03
  the week that they have a really good show and dinner show so that's great as far as the lagoons go most of the islands have phenomenal lagoon activities in Morea and
• 30:19
  Bora Bora shark and ray uh snorkeling trip is a highlight where you can go out in Bora Bora you can go a mile out into the lagoon and be waist deep in water with uh rays and
• 30:35
  sharks all around you just a little small reef tip sharks and uh the the rays will come right up to you and they're a little slimy but they it's
• 30:46
  quite fun to see them right up close on top of you almost.
• 30:50
  In fact they are a lot of times.
• 30:53
  But it's very safe, you're in waist deep water and so in Bora Bora that's a great uh excursion.
• 31:01
  Bora Bora they also have the World War II cannons up in the mountains and so you can kind of go on a 4x4 Jeep tour and they'll take you up these really steep, this real steep
• 31:11
  terrain to see the cannons that are still up in the mountains.
• 31:14
  uh
• 31:15
  In fact, Bora Bora's airport was uh built by the US military uh during World War II.
• 31:22
  And so there's a bit of a history there.
• 31:25
  There was no actual conflict on the islands though during the war, there?
• 31:29
  was just a base.
• 31:32
  I think it was a holiday for those who were building the infrastructure on the island.
• 31:37
  was a beautiful place to hang out, I think, during World War II.
• 31:41
  Okay.
• 31:42
  Um, when people travel to foreign lands, as I do, I like to shop or see what's for sale.
• 31:50
  And I personally like to bring back one, one really nice piece that sort of, that either is a memory of me to that country or is a representation of that country.
• 32:01
  So far, so for Tahiti is shopping a big thing.
• 32:05
  And as an extension, is there anything that is sort of famous from Tahiti that people might
• 32:10
  want to be aware of from a shopping
• 32:14
  Well, Black Pearls probably jumped to the top of the list.
• 32:20
  Tahiti is famous for its Black Pearls and there are pearl farms throughout the island.
• 32:24
  You can actually tour the pearl farms.
• 32:27
  ah But a lot of people like to know that they can come back home with a Black Pearl.
• 32:32
  ah If you're going to the Marquesas or some of those other islands, you can take carvings uh like carved drums and
• 32:43
  uh...
• 32:44
  you're just kinda like a almost like a log with the hole in it you tap on it with what looks like chopstick but um...
• 32:53
  oversized chopstick uh...
• 32:56
  but uh...
• 32:57
  yeah carvings would say uh...
• 33:00
  black pearls vanilla is another one there's vanilla farms throughout the island people can tour and uh...
• 33:07
  they make manoy oil which is if you look at the picture behind me there's uh...
• 33:12
  the coconut that they make this oil out of.
• 33:17
  um There are number of different beauty products as well that come from the coconuts.
• 33:25
  Is, again, I've not been to Tahiti, I've been to the other Pacific islands, but is Tahiti from a dress point of view, uh the colourful patterns and the sarongs that the females
• 33:39
  wear?
• 33:40
  And obviously in Fiji, the men wear, they look like skirts, but it's like a sarong wrapped around the waist as their bottom half.
• 33:47
  Is it similar in Tahiti for the local dress?
• 33:50
  It is, yep.
• 33:51
  They call them perios, um but it's basically a sprung or a wrap.
• 33:57
  uh if you go on the Tahiti Tourism website, they'll even probably show you a thousand ways to tie these to rongs.
• 34:07
  And men and women both wear them.
• 34:10
  ah I think in the tropics, it's just really nice to have uh cool weather wearing.
• 34:18
  uh
• 34:18
  lot of people will buy them as souvenirs and then when you're at the beach they're just an easy thing to wrap around when you need to go to restaurant or something like that.
• 34:29
  Yeah, great.
• 34:30
  When I was in Fiji, I bought a lot of the Fijian, you know, the men will wear the very colorful floral pattern shirts.
• 34:38
  And they're really, really nice.
• 34:39
  So I was just wondering if that extended to Tahiti, which obviously it does as well.
• 34:44
  spoke about having some authentic experiences staying with families is an option.
• 34:48
  The cultural shows.
• 34:50
  Are there any cultural things that a traveler should be aware of when traveling to Tahiti?
• 34:55
  I'm going to make an assumption here.
• 34:57
  Again, Pacific, South Pacific Island, I'm assuming they are quite devout.
• 35:01
  So therefore, like the Cooks and Fiji, that Sunday is a true day of rest and church services are a big thing on the Sunday.
• 35:10
  It is and uh you can be outside of a church building and just listen to the music or you can just join them and go inside.
• 35:21
  I've gone to some of the very remote islands.
• 35:24
  I was in an island called Rapa, which is not Easter Island, Rapa Nui.
• 35:32
  And just being, you almost...
• 35:35
  vibrate right through your body with the music that comes from these Polynesians who are incredible singers.
• 35:40
  ah I would say French Polynesia is bit more relaxed in its uh Sunday things as far as doors being open and others, but it is certainly a quieter day of the week on each of the
• 35:54
  islands.
• 35:55
  Yeah, say I've not had the luck to go to Tahiti yet, but my experience in the cooks, I'm far from devout, but we do go to a church service.
• 36:04
  And as you said, like, it was uplifting hearing the singing.
• 36:07
  It was just, you know, it was, it was a spiritual on whatever view you have it, it is a spiritual experience.
• 36:13
  And again, back to the, you they welcomed us in as well.
• 36:16
  It was fantastic.
• 36:18
  The cooks pretty much shut down on the Sunday, but you're saying Tahiti is a little bit more sort of, um,
• 36:24
  as you say, relaxed and therefore a uh more activities and stores and stuff will be open on the Sundays compared to some of the other South Pacific islands.
• 36:33
  Yeah, that's right.
• 36:34
  And honestly, it's a great...
• 36:36
  go to the search services whenever I'm there because it's a great way to meet the local people and to have conversations with them as well.
• 36:45
  And they're so welcoming and they love to uh see visitors come.
• 36:50
  Yeah, yeah.
• 36:52
  Again, this, I know what is popping in my head, but I just, as we're chatting away and you're speaking of the lagoons, you know, I have memories of some of the video that we use
• 37:00
  in our promotions and stuff.
• 37:01
  And Tahiti is stunningly beautiful.
• 37:04
  You know, some of the landscapes, particularly around extinct volcanoes, which are now covered in lush greenery.
• 37:12
  So the vistas are stunning.
• 37:14
  So it's great for photography.
• 37:15
  I'm just curious because it's more and more.
• 37:17
  a common theme these days.
• 37:19
  Can you use drones in and around certain areas of Tahiti or are there bands around resorts?
• 37:25
  you know about those rules and regulations?
• 37:30
  uh I've taken drones there over the years and it's getting harder and harder.
• 37:36
  I'll tell you.
• 37:38
  When I first did it, maybe eight years ago, it was easy.
• 37:41
  could fly it everywhere I wanted to.
• 37:43
  got some great footage.
• 37:44
  ah Now it's locked out around the airport, ah which you may think, well, that's obvious.
• 37:51
  But yes and no, because some of these airports in the remote islands, they have one flight every two or three days.
• 37:59
  um So uh even though it's only every two or three days, the landing and the takeoff kind of area is blocked out and in Fakarava, that's pretty well the whole lagoon or any of the
• 38:14
  land where the lagoon is.
• 38:16
  So you could take it out on the water from a boat probably.
• 38:19
  But so they are relaxed, yes, but around the resorts they do um block it as well as at the airport.
• 38:27
  So you can kind of get some good distance.
• 38:29
  uh videos with drone footage and but it is it is a little trickier now with because these airports especially on an atoll are taking up a good chunk of the the land area and yeah
• 38:48
  Yeah.
• 38:49
  Yeah.
• 38:49
  The reason I bring up because I take a lot of video and I'm traveling as well.
• 38:52
  And so for people who don't know a couple of reasons, one is obviously safety around aircraft.
• 38:58
  Two is for privacy on the, on the resorts, et cetera.
• 39:01
  It's also noise.
• 39:02
  Um, and when Norman saying they're blocked out, they literally block signals.
• 39:08
  So if you have one, I tried it on the cook and I couldn't, it wouldn't, I didn't know at the time it was a restricted area, but it was, you know, the drone will not operate
• 39:16
  because they have all this blocking.
• 39:18
  technology.
• 39:19
  um
• 39:22
  But I guess from a photography point of view in general, it's Let me go back to a cultural thing.
• 39:28
  Taking photos of locals, is it an issue?
• 39:32
  Is it a problem?
• 39:32
  Again, I always say to guess if they ask, always ask someone first, hold the camera up and point at them.
• 39:37
  They say no, then don't do it.
• 39:39
  But generally speaking, are the Tahitians open to having photos taken of themselves?
• 39:43
  And I guess there are lots of opportunities and vantage points to take scenic shots as well around the islands.
• 39:51
  Yes, you can take pictures pretty well everywhere and no one, I've never had anyone have any issue.
• 39:57
  fact, they expect that if you're a visitor, you're going to be taking pictures of them.
• 40:01
  uh
• 40:05
  So we discussed the many islands.
• 40:09
  Just to recap, the Society Islands group I'm reading here.
• 40:12
  I don't know them off my heart like Norman does.
• 40:16
  Society Islands, consists of Tahiti, Morea, Bora Bora, the main ones, Tuamuto, the Macasus, Austral and the Gambia Islands.
• 40:25
  Going back to...
• 40:26
  Actually, I won't go there yet.
• 40:28
  Let's go back to my other question.
• 40:30
  So there's 116 islands.
• 40:33
  that Norman mentioned earlier.
• 40:35
  We have mentioned Air Tahiti as the inter-island connector and some ferries.
• 40:40
  But can you expand for our listeners on how to get around the islands, particularly if you want to get out away from the society and to the outer islands, what are the easiest, best
• 40:49
  ways to do that?
• 40:52
  Yeah, so apart from Air Tahiti, which has great connectivity, there is a ferry service that started a few years ago that does visit the Society Islands.
• 41:02
  So from Tahiti, it goes early in the morning to Huaahine, then Reakea Taha'a, Bora Bora, and then over to Maupiti.
• 41:14
  And uh it's a great way to get around the island.
• 41:21
  From what I've been told, the trip going northbound is a little smoother than southbound just because of current.
• 41:30
  So if people are wanting to do it, but one way, northbound tends to be the best route to go for calmness of the sea.
• 41:40
  But the biggest crossing would be on the ferry is from Tahiti to Hua Hine.
• 41:47
  And if you want to just do short little trips,
• 41:50
  I've done that ferry from Taha'a right by the La Taha'a Resort over to Bora Bora.
• 41:59
  It's an hour and a half for that little short segment and it's quite easy.
• 42:03
  In fact, it's easier to get from Taha'a to Bora Bora than it is to go all the way over uh to the Reatea Airport and then take a flight and all that.
• 42:15
  um
• 42:17
  But yeah, Taha'a doesn't have an airport so they share it lagoon with Reatea and you can go over there for the flights.
• 42:23
  uh Apart from that, uh it is pretty limited.
• 42:28
  There isn't much out to the Austral Islands and other places.
• 42:35
  are some, um there is the Arnui that goes out to the Marquesas but that's more of a cruise uh ship experience.
• 42:44
  So how are the outer islands supplied with food, et cetera?
• 42:48
  Is it one of these ferry services that also act as a cargo run or is there a standalone cargo run for all these outer islands?
• 42:57
  Even the ones that don't sort of have tourism on them.
• 43:01
  Yeah, each group of islands has have, well, there's freight ships that go to each group of islands and a freighter that goes to one group of islands is not allowed to go to another.
• 43:14
  They actually have a limited maybe one or two or even three freight ships that are allowed to go to a specific port.
• 43:23
  The reason is to manage the competition because these islands really depend on having their goods delivered to the islands.
• 43:31
  um You can actually see it firsthand on the Aranui going to the Marquesas because they're bringing horses, cars, uh toilet paper, everything on board this freight ship.
• 43:45
  And I know Go Away does offer that product, but it is a really unique experience way to see the islands in such a different way.
• 43:55
  And when you get to the island, they include all these shore excursions.
• 43:58
  The locals will pick you up in their jeep, tour you around.
• 44:01
  Um, and then bring you back to the ship.
• 44:05
  So it's, uh, it is a different perspective.
• 44:08
  It's not like a five star deluxe cruise.
• 44:10
  I'd say it's more four star, three and a half, four star category.
• 44:15
  But people think of a freight ship.
• 44:17
  It's actually a hybrid ship, the Aranui and they're coming out with a new Aranoa ship in, uh, 2027, which will be going to the Austral islands.
• 44:27
  But they've built a hybrid ship.
• 44:28
  So it's 250 cruise passengers.
• 44:31
  balcony cabins and all that meal service it's not like uh...
• 44:36
  some of these freight ships that you know maybe have twelve people like the ones that go to from the Gambier Islands to Pitcairn Island which is like only twelve people on that
• 44:48
  but uh...
• 44:49
  yeah it's a really comfortable way actually to see these islands but then you get such a different perspective seeing these islands that don't even have some of them that don't
• 44:58
  even have an airport
• 45:01
  Yeah, that's a good way doing it.
• 45:04
  was, I don't think it runs anymore, going back to the Latin world, uh down the coast of Chile through all the fjords.
• 45:10
  was called NaviMag and it was, there was the latter version you mentioned.
• 45:14
  It was a freight ship with a handful of cabins on board and it was a cheap way to get down to Southern Chile.
• 45:20
  ah But there's another cruise company, Hurtigruten, which most people will know.
• 45:26
  Uh, they do cruises around the world now, but their original thing was a freight ship up and down the coast of Norway, which is very similar to what you're talking about.
• 45:33
  Now it's now a tourist ship as still while still maintaining the freight aspect of it.
• 45:39
  And you get to see it, you know, how supplies are delivered both and you see what they're taking in.
• 45:44
  In your instance, you're mentioning horses and, cars and everything else.
• 45:48
  So if, if someone else, if someone's using the ferry service just to get from point A to point B,
• 45:54
  When they arrive, I would assume that the resorts um would include or arrange a transfer from the port to the resort of choice.
• 46:04
  Yes, you can do that.
• 46:08
  Whether you're coming in by air or by cruise or ferry, um there's lots of different transfer services and I believe GOAE does help arrange all of that as well.
• 46:21
  We do.
• 46:21
  I was just sort of feeding you to give us that answer.
• 46:24
  but yeah, we do.
• 46:27
  Talking air, we haven't touched on how to get there.
• 46:31
  There is a national carrier, Air Tahiti Nui.
• 46:35
  What are the airlines and ways to get in and out of Tahiti?
• 46:40
  Oh, other ways to get there are United Airlines through San Francisco.
• 46:48
  Air Tahiti Nui, as you mentioned, through Los Angeles.
• 46:52
  heard in February of next year, they're discontinuing their Seattle service, unfortunately.
• 47:00
  But other ways to get there is through Hawaii.
• 47:03
  There's once a week.
• 47:04
  I think next year, it'll be twice a week and starting in 2026.
• 47:09
  from Hawaii to Tahiti.
• 47:11
  uh Otherwise, can go the long way through New Zealand as well or through uh Asia.
• 47:20
  I believe Air Tahiti Nui has uh one or two gateways in Asia.
• 47:26
  Yeah.
• 47:27
  And that's a nice lead into if people are looking at destinations of Australia or New Zealand Tahiti on the way down or on the way back is a great stopover as well that you can
• 47:37
  add into your Australia or New Zealand itinerary because Tahiti is sort of the Caribbean area of Australians and New Zealanders.
• 47:45
  We we hit Tahiti, the Samoa, the Corks as our sort of Caribbean getaways.
• 47:53
  Going back to my fascination
• 47:56
  with history and the early explorers who were sailing into the New World at the time and then looking to find the Great Southern Continent, which was never there.
• 48:06
  And Captain Cook in Australia, coming up the East Coast of Australia, he stopped in at Tahiti for supplies.
• 48:15
  Probably one of the more famous explorers involved in Tahiti was Bly, Captain Bly, who after leaving Tahiti suffered the famous mutiny on the bounty.
• 48:27
  And long story short, some of the mutineers, they escaped away to a little island called Pit Kana Island.
• 48:34
  Now, is that part of French Polynesia, Pit Kana?
• 48:38
  St.
• 48:38
  Karen is the last British overseas territory in the Pacific, so it is still part of Britain to this day.
• 48:45
  is.
• 48:45
  I didn't know that.
• 48:46
  Okay.
• 48:47
  So is it is it a place you can visit from Tahiti?
• 48:52
  Well, yes, in fact Tahiti you have to go through Tahiti to get there ah The you basically fly into Tahiti and then uh in the southeastern group of islands the Gambia islands where
• 49:06
  there's one or two flights a week Depending on the time of year you fly there and then there's a freight ship 12 passenger freight ship that goes over to uh Pitcairn Island.
• 49:17
  You can actually go do a one-week trip three nights
• 49:22
  on the island itself.
• 49:23
  It's actually the only way you can spend three or ten or sorry, eleven nights if you wait for the ship to come back again.
• 49:31
  um And that's actually how the pitcairn islanders get their supplies that are on and off the island.
• 49:38
  ah But people don't realize to get to a British overseas territory you have to go through French Polynesia.
• 49:45
  um
• 49:49
  some stunning things now also in twenty twenty seven the are you really will be going again back there they stopped for the last year to uh...
• 49:58
  but they have them i think two or three specialty feelings that will include pitcairn island at that as a destination
• 50:07
  Okay, so for those who may not know, as I mentioned, there's a mutiny on the, excuse me, mutiny on the bounty.
• 50:13
  Fletcher Christian is the famous leader of the mutiny.
• 50:16
  He and some men, some stayed, some went back to England, but most of them disappeared over the horizon to Pitcairn, as was discovered later on.
• 50:26
  And I think they've done DNA studies that some of the people on Pitcairn are actually descendants of Fletcher Christian and his crew.
• 50:34
  So.
• 50:34
  prior to Fletcher Christian landing there, I would assume it was an inhabited island prior to his arrival.
• 50:41
  there was no one living on the island prior to them uh...
• 50:44
  really they went there and one of the reasons why it was a great place to hide from the british was because uh...
• 50:50
  it was improperly mapped on the british chart uh...
• 50:54
  they had mapped it a hundred or so miles north and uh...
• 51:01
  so they went there and uh...
• 51:03
  i think one evening one of the mutineers who didn't want anybody leaving and
• 51:09
  giving up their location, burnt the ship right off shore and they marooned themselves on the island.
• 51:15
  uh And if you go there, you can see the anchor that they've pulled out and that's kind of there for people to take pictures in front of.
• 51:24
  um there's a lot of history.
• 51:28
  In fact, there's only, there's less than 50 residents left on the island.
• 51:32
  And I would say over probably 90 % are descendants from the mutineers uh for their spouses.
• 51:40
  So yes, they even have a doctor that comes there on rotations, so they've got a doctor on the island.
• 51:51
  uh you're very much in history when you go there.
• 51:56
  Yeah, because I was going to ask how many people are there?
• 51:58
  And you've just answered that about 50.
• 52:00
  So it's truly isolated destination.
• 52:03
  I had no idea it was that isolated and that low in numbers.
• 52:07
  So my other question was going to be, it, is it kitted out for tourism?
• 52:11
  I guess the answer there is no.
• 52:14
  So when you go there, if you choose to go there, I would assume three days or the three nights would be the usual choice to quote yourself.
• 52:21
  were just basically going to for those three days, you're going to live in history and
• 52:25
  soak up the fact that you're on such a remote historical island that would be its main attraction, I gather.
• 52:31
  Yes, and some people like to go a little bit longer.
• 52:34
  uh The Arnui does about a day and a half on their trip.
• 52:38
  oh So that's when I went and I brought my drone there and took some great videos.
• 52:42
  um But yeah, it's just a couple days.
• 52:46
  In fact, if you're lucky, you can have uh dinner with the whole island because they'll do community gatherings from time to time.
• 52:57
  So where would you stay if you were going to stay there for three or three or longer nights?
• 53:02
  Is there like a hotel or is it like a homestay situation?
• 53:06
  It's all home-stay style accommodation and they provide the meals as well for you.
• 53:13
  That sounds really cool.
• 53:15
  That's my type of thing.
• 53:16
  That's I'd want to do.
• 53:17
  Excellent.
• 53:18
  Okay then.
• 53:19
  ah I think we've got a very good insight into Tahiti from a local, well, he's not a local, but he's been there enough with his family to, guess, be considered a token local or a
• 53:29
  honorary local, not token local, an honorary local Tahitian.
• 53:34
  I've seen more of their islands than they have.
• 53:36
  Well, there you go.
• 53:37
  You are definitely a local then if that's what they're saying to you.
• 53:40
  um Is there anything else you'd like to leave our listening audience with before we say goodbye?
• 53:46
  would just say, know, French Polynesia is an incredible destination to visit.
• 53:50
  uh I've been all around the world and it is one of my favorite destinations.
• 53:56
  So even if people don't have it as their destination, like you said, stop over on the way to Australia or New Zealand, add in a few extra days, and by the time you're done, you'll
• 54:07
  be hooked and wanting to go back again.
• 54:10
  Yeah, it is again, I've not been but if I extrapolate from the other Pacific islands and the fame that Tahiti has, and I've seen enough imagery to sort of uh have a taste of it ah
• 54:23
  from afar, it is a stunning destination.
• 54:26
  The islanders warmth is always an attractive reason to visit um the sunshine, the beautiful beaches, all the things you can do as you've heard.
• 54:36
  today.
• 54:36
  Now, if you'd like to know more about Tahiti and trips, obviously you can call your go away destination specialists.
• 54:43
  Many of our specialists have been there multiple times themselves.
• 54:46
  They deal with it day in and day out.
• 54:48
  So they can give you all the advice you need.
• 54:50
  Be it a five star stay on Bora Bora ah to a homestay on one of the outer islands.
• 54:56
  But another way of getting some more information is Norman has his own podcast based around Tahiti.
• 55:03
  So Norman, you want to give a little plug to your own podcast?
• 55:06
  Yeah, so it's called Tahiti Travel Podcast and I also have one called the South Pacific Travel Podcast.
• 55:16
  So if you're interested in those islands, have a listen to it and might learn something bit new.
• 55:24
  I always try to find just different nuggets that the common person doesn't know and is less familiar with.
• 55:34
  Yep.
• 55:34
  And we're all about education here.
• 55:35
  That's my main role here at Goa to educate everyone out there on all the ways that you can sell, promote all the wonderful destinations we go to, particularly Tahiti, ah which will
• 55:46
  obviously in turn, hopefully enhance your business and bring in the money, make you your targets that you have.
• 55:54
  And also through the Tahitian Tourism Board.
• 55:56
  I know they offer FAMs.
• 55:57
  often for further education as does Go Away.
• 56:00
  So you've got Go Away, you've got the Travel Academy's modules on Tahiti itself, which goes into some more detail about the three main islands and the outer islands.
• 56:11
  You have Norman's podcast available for those insider tips and tricks and some hidden information as well.
• 56:17
  And of course, as always, Tahiti Tourism Board has a lot to offer as well.
• 56:23
  So on that note, I'd like to thank Norman for his time from
• 56:27
  from Victoria in British Columbia.
• 56:29
  Did get that right?
• 56:30
  Yes.
• 56:31
  Island.
• 56:32
  Vancouver Island, Victoria, Vancouver Island, British Columbia.
• 56:36
  Is that right?
• 56:38
  That's right.
• 56:39
  There we go.
• 56:40
  No problems.
• 56:41
  And everyone out there, as always, thank you for your time.
• 56:43
  know how busy you are and we appreciate you listening in uh and we will talk to you next time.
• 56:48
  Thanks, Norman.
• 56:50
  All right, thank you, Don.