Boat International US Edition – June 2019

VOYAGE

boatinternational.com• 062019

PHOTOGRAPHY:

GREY

VILLET/THE

LIFE

PICTURE

COLLECTION/GETTY

IMAGES

hoteldevelopment.It’sclosetoreachingitsgoalofbeingcarbon-

neutralandself-sustainableaswellasbeingthefirstpropertyto

useseawaterairconditioningtoreduceenergydemands.Its

A-listguests,whohaveincludedBarackObama,Leonardo

DiCaprioandPippaMiddleton,leavewithoutmosquitobites

thankstoasterilizationprogramthatavoidstheuseof

fumigation.And,accordingtothesmilingstaff,eventhebees

thatmakethehoneyforbreakfastdon’tstingbecausetheyare

justsodamnhappy.

TemptingasitistostaycocoonedinBrando’sHollywood

hideaway,oneofthebiggestdrawsforvisitingsuperyachtsisthe

vastcruisingareathatFrenchPolynesiahastooffer–it’sabout

thesamesizeastheMed.Mostsuperyachtssplittheirtime

betweeneithertheSocietyIslands,agroupofpredominantly

volcanicislandstothewestofTahiti,ortheTuamotus,agroup

ofatollstotheeast.“Itdependsonyourguests,”saysClaud

Akers,captainoftheTahiti-basedyachtAskari(availableto

charterthroughFraser).“Iftheywanttoexploretheislandsand

gohiking,youhavetodotheSocietyIslands.TheTuamotusare

forpeoplewhowanttogetaway.Thereareveryfewpeople,very

fewboatsandit’sreallyadivingandsnorkelingdestination.”

OneSocietyIslandthatisbeggingtobeexploredisTaha’a,

whichliesabout 50 nauticalmilesfromthecapitalcityofPapeete

onTahiti.Hometojustasmatteringofhotelsandhomesteads,

theflower-shapedislandhasapopulationofjustover5,000and

itsprimaryindustryremainstheproductionofvanilla.Adrive

safariisthebestwaytoexploretheisland’stopography,which

isreminiscentoftheCaribbean’srainforestislandsandequally

burstingwithnaturalproducts–includingcoconuts,Tahitian

blackpearlsand,ofcourse,vanilla.Withapoundofvanilla

sellingforasmuchas$600,itremainsalucrativeindustry.

Asitismuchlessdevelopedfortourismthansomeoftheother

SocietyIslands,Taha’aisalsoagreatplacetogetamore

authentictasteofFrenchPolynesia.Iaminvitedforlunchwith

theownerofPoeraniSafaritoursandhiswifeattheirwaterfront

home.Spreadbeforemeisanunbelievableselectionofdishes–

includingtheTahitianstaple,poissoncru(rawtunamarinated

inlimejuiceandcoconutmilk,andmixedwithdicedvegetables)

RINGOFGOLD

TheStRegis

BoraBoraResort

isaccessible

byhelicopter

orbyyachtat

itssizablejetty

WORD ON

THE STREET

In a park by the port in the

capital Papeete, dozens of

roulottes (French for

caravans)cookupa

culinarystormevery

evening.Thecash-only

stallscreatedishesfrom

allovertheworld,from

padthaiandthin-crust

pizzatopoissoncruand

Nutellacrêpes.

STARS IN

THEIR EYES

Under executive chef

Marc Lintanf, Le K

restaurant at the Sofitel

Moorea la Ora Beach

Resort is pushing for

Tahiti’s first Michelin star.

Work your way through

the five-course tasting

menu with wine pairing –

highlights include roasted

scallops with almonds and

Black Angus beef fillet.

129