Visiting French Polynesia has been a long time dream of hours. During our 6.5 weeks we will visit Tahiti, Moorea, Maupiti, Bora Bora, Rangiroa and Huahine. See blog posts below:
San Fransisco will be our first stop on our 3.5 month 2022 round the world trip followed by French Polynesia, Fiji, Western Australia and Singapore See blog posts below:
We will land in Cairns and spend 2,5 weeks in campervan along the coast and in the national parks inland. Great Barrier Reef is of course also on the agenda 🙂
We land in Darwin and will spend a week exploring the national parks in the area.
This is a travel blog about our family of 4 (Jesper, Line, Noah and Vitus) from Denmark and our travels overseas.
We have always loved to travel but in 2015 we took the big step and planned a 6,5 month trip around the world visiting Cyprus, Thailand, Vietnam, Philippines, Australia, Hawaii, California, Mexico, Cuba and the Deep South (USA). That was a great experience and we documented it all on this travel blog.
In the summer of 2017 we headed out again visiting The Northern Territory and Queensland in Australia as well as Bali and some nearby islands in Indonesia.
In 2018 we spent the summer vacation on the Island of Sardinia (not documented on this blog), but in 2019 we decided to chase another dream and visit the States again to discover the national parks of Rocky Mountains, Yellowstone, Bryce, Zion, Anthelope Canyon and Grand Canyon.
Our 2020 and 2021 travel plans were cancelled due to Covid but from May to September 2022 we are on the road again visiting San Francisco (5 days), French Polynesia (6.5 weeks), Fiji (2 weeks), Western Australia (6 weeks) and 3 days in Singapore to break up the long journey home.
Come along and experience the world with us.
To find blog posts concerning a specific country just click on “Countries” in the menu and select the country – posts will be at the bottom of the page.
Tahiti
Alcatraz, Redwoods, Marin Headlands and Golden Gate Bridge
Monterey Marine National Park
Splendid views in Bryce and Zion national park after a forgettable stopover in Salt Lake City
Days in Grand Teton National Park
Unfortunately Jesper had brought a serious cold with him from San Francisco so we had to take it easy for the first days in Tahiti. Ready to head out one thing did however quickly become clear – in Tahiti you need a car if you want to explore the island. Though buses exist there are no schedules and you basically need to be a local to guess the actual routes. Therefore we ended up renting the smallest car we have ever driven, a Renault KWID – great on milage but not so great on space, built quality, safety, features and getting up steeper hills. After returning the first car we got (fan and AC not working) we did however learn to slam the doors with enough force to make them close and with a bit of practice and driving in very low gears to get us up the steeper hills. This was despite the fact that the car was brand new 🙂
Blow hole and waterfalls
From Papeete we drove clockwise around the Island guided by the classical tourist map. Our first stop was the “Arahoho Blowhole” which unfortunately must have required considerably larger waves to actually blow – it was more like a “tiny splash hole” 🙂 . We did however discover a funny feature on the way back as it turned out that right near the entrance the waves ran through a hole under the pathway blowing strong currents of air up through a small hole in the cliffside.
From the blow hole we drove just 100 meters before turning off to see the Faarumai Waterfalls just 1 km further down the road. They were surprisingly nice and resent rains made them even more impressive. We have however noticed that whenever we are able to drive right up to a great view point or waterfall we never get the same “wow” experience when compared to similar views after having hiked to get there. There really is a difference between the feeling of having earned it and just walking 200 meters from your car.
Beaches and sunsets
Continuing south we crossed to Tahiti Iti (small Tahiti) to find “Plage Maui” (Maui Beach) which was supposed to be good for snorkeling. The reef is right next to the shore with only about 100 meters of sandy beach. Fortunately it was not too crowded and we easily found a place in the shade. To get to the interesting part of the reef you need to swim through a narrow channel with a very strong current. To get back in the same way you either need finns (and) or be a very, very strong swimmer. Even with finns and Jesper’s help Vitus could not make it so Jesper and he had to drift back out and swim 200 meters further down the reef until they found an easier (but shallower) path through.
The reef itself was in great condition and we saw no indication of the bleaching which had had such a devastating effect on the reefs in both Thailand and Australia when we visited a few years ago. We also saw all the typical reef fish as well as a few turtles and 3 sharks – great signs of much more to come when we leave Tahiti and head for the islands.
We tried snorkeling on other beaches around Tahiti but this one was by far the nicest one both on and off the water with less crowds and much more to look at under water.
If you are a fan of pretty sunsets there is also no denying that French Polynesia is the place to go – do however remember to stay 15 to 20 minutes on the beach after the sun has set as that is when the true colors start to emerge.
Maraa Caves and a surprisingly great hike
Another place on our tourist map was the Maraa Caves. Let’s be frank. Unless you have never seen a cave before you are not going to be impressed. Actually, we found them so un-impressive that we totally forgot to take a picture. Adding to the not so great experience was a group of young local people with a boombox who seemed to be having a small techno party during normal school hours.
We almost left the place after just 10 minutes but heading back we saw a few concrete stairs going uphill. 5 meters later they were replaced by a rope leading up a very steep trail which we decided to follow. It went on and on with ropes installed at the steepest places. Rarely have we climbed so high in such a short distance. After about 30-40 minutes we reached the top sweating and panting and boy was the view worth the effort. A small platform had been built to enjoy the view and even a swing for the kids to enjoy (and take some impressive pictures).
Roulottes and fresh fish
There are plenty of restaurants in Papeete but our Airbnb host suggested we tried the Roulottes (food trucks) down at the harbor instead (they are found everywhere). They offer full menues and you can get anything from fish to steak, chicken, soup and crêpes. We tried a couple of different vendors (4-5 are gathered in the same place) and only experienced fresh food and great taste at fair prices (expect about 1500 CFP, 12 Euros, 14 dollars for a main dish)
When not eating at the roulottes we bought fresh fish to cook in our apartment and it is safe to say that we have never tasted better Tuna in our entire lives (fish is the only thing that is cheap in French Polynesia and we only paid about 1500 CFP per kilo).
We spent a total of 5 days in the area around San Francisco. After our trip to Monterey Marine National Park (see post below) on the first day we spent the following days visiting Alcatraz, Redwood Regional Park, Muir Woods,
We started our 2022 round the world trip with a 5 day stopover in San Francisco. After a good night’s sleep and surprisingly little jetlag we woke up early, had breakfast and headed out. Monterey – Sea Otters, Sea
To avoid too much driving in one day we decided to do a stopover in Salt Lake City on the way from Grand Teton to Bryce National Park. A quick search for restaurants near our hotel in SLC surprisingly suggested
After our Yellowstone adventure we drove south to Grand Teton National park. As Grand Teton is much smaller than Yellowstone we only planned to stay 2 nights which turned out to be just perfect. Grand Teton is known for the
On our fourth day in Yellowstone we woke up to rainy and cloudy weather. The kids really wanted to try “mining” for gemstones at the Campsite so they got a chance to try that out We had yet to see
On our third day in Yellowstone, we wanted to somewhere where we were likely to spot some interesting wildlife. So we took a long drive, almost two hours, to Roosevelt Lodge in the northern part of Yellowstone. On the way
After Cody it was time to go to Yellowstone. Being as hyped as it is we were mentally preparing ourselves for a minor disappointment. Boy, were we wrong!! Yellowstone is anything and everything you expect from one of the world’s
Next stop on our trip was Cody – the town named after “Buffalo Bill” Cody, to experience a real wild west ton, go to the rodeo and visit the museum. Cody is a long way from Rocky Mountains, around 7
On the second day in Rocky Mountains we decided to the Fern falls hike. Unfortunately we could not find any parking space near the trailhead and ended up walking 2.5 kilometers just to start the hike. Of course a free
Arriving late the day before we spent our first day shopping the last items for the first part of our camping trip in Rocky Mountains and Yellowstone. Having been forcefully upgraded to a HUGE Nissan Amada we did not have
To say that we had been nervous about the boat-trip from Gili to Lembongan would be a huge understatement. Friends of ours, traveling 2 weeks before, had disembarked on the way (at Padang Bai) because they found it too
When we were finally able to leave Ubud early in the morning on July 29th, we were transported to Padang Bai to take the Bluewater express boat to Gili Air. The weather forecast said no wind, but that turned out
Arriving in Denpasar Bali the first thing we noticed was the humidity. It might not be much warmer than Australia but it sure felt like it. We were picked up in the airport by Nicktours and driven to our hotel
The day after snorkeling at Great Barrier Reef we went to Fitzroy Island to relax on the beach, snorkel and explore. Naively we thought we could just show up at the pier and buy a ticket, but unfortunately the 9
