Tag: manta rays

Impressions of Bali

Since we arrived in Indonesia in November, we’ve fallen in love with this country. From the friendly islands of eastern Indonesia we moved on to the center. In between visa runs, we visited Bali a few times, staying on land and on our boat. Although our short stays are not enough to provide a definitive guide to the island, we developed impressions of Bali.

About Bali

Bali is one of the world’s most renowned vacation spots and has been called “Heaven on Earth.” We respectfully disagree. We found this paradise spoiled by overcrowding, traffic, and pollution. When we were there, it wasn’t even busy with tourists, as tourism has been down lately.

Much like Moorea versus Tahiti in French Polynesia, we prefer Lombok over Bali. Lombok is quieter and more relaxed. I know we’ve been spoiled, and after years of traveling we prefer uncrowded places. But our impressions of Bali also include some lovely places and experiences.

Continue reading “Impressions of Bali”

Eastern Indonesia Highlights

Indonesia has been an adventure. After two years in New Zealand and Australia, it’s been a fun change visiting a new country where we don’t speak the language. And sprawling Indonesia offers new cultures and languages, or at least dialects, on almost every island. From Darwin, Australia we travelled to Kupang, on the island of Timor. Indonesia is a very big country, and we’ve only visited a small section. While traveling from Timor to Lombok, we encountered amazing animals, met friendly people, and ate delicious food, all part of our Eastern Indonesia highlights.

Our Route in Eastern Indonesia

Unlike our excellent sailing conditions in North and Far North Queensland, we had no wind after Darwin. We motored for the 4 days to Kupang and then for the almost 700 miles from Kupang to Lombok. When the wind wasn’t on our nose, it didn’t last, so we motored the whole way. All of our trips, aside from the first jump upon leaving Kupang, were day trips. We only sailed overnight from Kupang to Sagu Bay because we had no choice, as it was too far to do in daylight.

Calm sea Indonesia
The sea and winds were calm on our “sail” from Darwin to Indonesia
Continue reading “Eastern Indonesia Highlights”

Best of French Polynesia

We were lucky to spend a year in French Polynesia, a beautiful and widespread collection of islands and atolls. While we didn’t improve our French language skills, we loved the excellent diving, hiking, and culture. From the Marquesas to the Tuamotus and the Society Islands, these are our best of French Polynesia.

About French Polynesia

French Polynesia has several island groups, but many visitors only go to the Society Islands. You’ve probably heard of Tahiti, Moorea, and Bora Bora. If you can, I recommend exploring the ones you haven’t heard about. The more remote archipelagos of the Marquesas and the Tuamotus are unforgettable. These island chains couldn’t be more different: the Marquesas are lush, mountainous, and full of vegetation. Conversely, the Tuamotus are arid atolls with limited land life and clear waters. We didn’t even make it to other parts of French Polynesia like The Gambiers and Australs. Read on for which locales we think offer the best of French Polynesia.

Best Hiking

Two islands in French Polynesia are our favorites for hiking. If you want to go hiking, visit Ua Pou or Moorea. Nuku Hiva also offers a good variety of hikes.

Some islands are just bad for hiking, full of private land and no paths for independent hikers, or they’re flat and featureless. In good news, most of The Marquesas islands have at least one or two hikes that are worth doing.

Ua Pou is good for hiking independantly, but for the big hike, hire a guide. All the hikes involve altitude, and everyone we know who did the cross-island hike alone got lost. The hills are high and the views are stunning, but there’s not much civilization so packing lots of water is a must for any of these treks.

Hiking in ua Pou best of French Polynesia
Stunning views hiking across Ua Pou
Continue reading “Best of French Polynesia”