Motu Snorkeling and Beach Picnic - Moorea
One of my favorite shore excursions in French Polynesia was a snorkeling trip we made to a motu on Moorea. After snorkeling, we had a beach barbeque featuring pork, lamb, and fish. The snorkeling was the best we had on the trip, and the whole day was great! We swam with the friendly sting rays, and worked up an appetite snorkeling. After we ate, some of the local guides did a coconut cutting demonstration. They got one of the passengers to participate. It was not as easy as it looks!
(click on each small thumbnail photo to enlarge)
Isn't
this motu beautiful? We snorkeled in the area between the two small
islands.
This
small boat was used to ferry us through the lagoon to the motu.
One of the sting rays that flocked to us when we reached the motu.
Notice how clear the water in the lagoon is!
The
rays came right up to us. I think it probably helped that the guide was
feeding them! They are slick and somewhat softer than I thought they would
be. How many of you have "petted" a sting ray?
Here
are two sting rays. We saw as many as five or six different ones while we
were at the motu.
The
guides gave some "volunteers" dance lessons. This guy was a good
sport.
One
of the guides climbed a coconut tree and gathered some fresh coconuts for the
demonstration. They were able to split a coconut with just a wooden stake
in the ground. Very nifty!
This
photo gives a good idea of how high the guide had to climb to pick some coconuts
for us.
This
guide was very funny!
Photos by: Linda Garrison
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