Auckland-Tahiti-Moorea if you don’t know your airport codes, the last two being islands in French Polynesia. A flight with Air Tahiti Nui first:
Business class on the 787 is 2x2x2 but there’s nobody in the seat next to me:
The menu sounded a lot nicer than it actually was:
Some of this:
And this:
And this:
And this:
Depart Auckland at 16:55 and arrive Tahiti at 22:35. The day before.
Leave on the 7th, fly for over 4 hours and arrive on the 6th, because we cross the international date line.
It’s the second time I’ve done it, and no matter how often I look at a globe and convince myself it’s right, it’s still really weird. Time travel. When you book two hotels in different countries both for the 6th, and two flights in different countries both for the 7th, it’s hard not to think you’re making a stupid and possibly expensive mistake, and it’s a relief when you arrive and everyone seem to agree that it is the 6th just like it was yesterday and you have successfully gone back in time…
After a very late arrival and a short stay in the disgusting Tahiti Airport Motel, the next morning I fly from Tahiti to Moorea, the shortest flight I’ve ever taken at just over 4 minutes from take off to landing. Tahiti is the “Big Island” in French Polynesia, but my first stop is in smaller Moorea for a couple of days before heading to the “so small it’s barely an island” Bora Bora. Weather in Moorea is less than perfect but at least there’s no cyclone:
On the theme of small, none of the luxurious hire cars like in NZ. This one is a turdbox and drives like a rotten banana, but the island only has one road and a 60kph speed limit so no matter:
That photo makes it look a thousand times better than it is and doesn’t show the million dents and scratches or how noisy, slow, and uncomfortable it is. I could make something better from milk bottle tops.