Wine Making
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Tahiti, mon amour
   
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Shiraz is the dominant red winegrape variety in Australia. It is the key component of Grange, the flagship Australian wine label. At the .....
Every time I write of Tahiti I find myself using the cliche -
Tahiti, Mon Amour. But Tahiti is my love. A place that I have
returned to more times that I can count. A place to which I
shall return again and again. We had landed at Faaa airport in
Tahiti at two oclock in the morning. The air was warm and heavy
with the scents of tropical flowers and fruits. Vahines in
pareus had put garlands around our necks. The bus was taking us
from the airport to the main town of Papeete. There was a full
moon. On our right was the dark bulk of Tahiti. On our left, the
sea - a silver tray in the moonlight. In the centre of the sea,
the black high mass that is the island of Moorea. Along the
harbour walls were moored the island traders and the yachts.
Ahead were the flickering lights of Papeete. The Australian lady
behind me tapped me on the shoulder and said: Excuse me, if
this was the Parramatta Road, would this be about Homebush?
Thankfully most travellers to Tahiti have a little more romance
in their soul. I am at one with Maurice Baring who wrote:
Tahiti is the whole thing; the real thing; the thing that one
has dreamt about all ones life; the thing that made Stevenson
leave Europe for ever. All tellers of fairy tales, and all poets
from Homer downwards, have always imagined the existence of
certain Fortunate islands which were so full of magic and
charm that they turned man from his duty and all tasks ... and
held him a willing captive. Tahiti is, indeed, the Fortunate
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has changed, is changing. No longer is Quinns on the waterfront
the bar for ramping, stamping, tearing, swearing sailors, French
legionnaires and misfits. (Was it not there that a legionnaire,
taken with le cafard, smacked a wine bottle against the side of
my head because, as he later explained, I reminded him of
someone he disliked? It was). And LaFayette, the most notorious
night spot of the Pacific, no longer runs from late night to
dusk with a non-stop demonstration of the hip-snapping tamure -
a dance which is, indeed, a vertical expression of a horizontal
desire - or features fights on the hour, every hour. Yes, some
of the sweet simplicity of the islands and the vahines is now
missing, but this is still Tahiti. The island of Gauguin, of
Nordhoff and Hall, of Melville and Somerset Maugham, of Pierre
Loti and of, yes, Marlon Brando. A Fortunate isle which is the
most romantic spot on earth. No longer can you clamber on a slow
steamer and work your way to Tahiti through a pattern of
islands. Instead, fly direct to Papeete, the capital of French
Polynesia. The cheapest way to visit Tahiti is by package tour.
You need a visa. Please note that there is no tipping in Tahiti.
Tipping is considered offensive by Tahitian standards and
customs and you will look an illiterate boor if you insist. Do
not tip. Bring certain essentials with you for in Tahiti, where
everything is imported over a long distance, they can be
expensive. The essentials are sunblock - and a lot of it, insect
repellent and at least three swimming costumes and a pair of
reef sandals so that you do not cut your feet on dead coral. You
need bring no formal clothes and, indeed, hardly any clothes at
all. This is not a formal dressing up sort of place. The weather
is never less than perfect. The scenery never less than
stunning. There are, in theory, two seasons. From April to
November it is said to be cooler and drier and from November to
March warmer and wetter. I have never noticed this. In the past
I always stayed on the island of Moorea opposite at the Bali Hai
simply because of the insanity of the then owners Muk, Jay and
Kelly. On the lawn of that splendid hotel I played frisbee with
Art Buchwald and James Michener and lost. And then sat with a
bucket of banana daiquiris and listened to Shel Silverstein sing
mad, bad songs and then danced the tamure through the night. I
was younger then. The Bali Hai Hotel is still there as both a
time share establishment and a hotel. Kelly has gone but the
place is now run by Rose, a most splendid person,with Muk and
Jay around there somewhere. If you stay at the Bali Hai try and
get an over-the-water bungalow, well worth the extra money. The
hotel used to have an advertisement - If you are coming to
Tahiti and are not booked into the Bali Hai someone has made a
terrible mistake. One of the few advertising campaigns with
which I ever agreed. The Hotel Hyatt Regency Taharaa probably
is the most upmarket hotel and is visually stunning; built on a
cliff face. A bus takes you down to the beach for water sports.
I also have stayed at what was The BeachComber and is now the
InterContinental Resort Tahiti and has amazing views of Moora.
The Puunui hotel is on Tahiti Iti, the small extension at the
end of the island which tourists rarely visit. It has
spectacular views and is near the golf course. Purely in theory
to get around there is le truck which is unscheduled,
disorganised, impossible to predict but great fun. Most visitors
never venture although it is an amazing experience for this is
the basic form of transportation on Tahiti and may very well get
you to where you are going, eventually. These open-sided trucks
start from the market in Papeete. Taxis are ruinously expensive
and should be avoided. Around midnight the prices double. Most
hotels provided regular bus shuttles. Hire cars are widely
available and are good value. The French influence in Tahiti is
all pervasive. The serious restaurants range from good to very
good. Your only problem may be getting a table, especially on
Sunday lunchtime when tout Tahiti goes out to eat. Wine is a
silly price and can range from rotgut to sublime. Restaurants
where I have eaten and which I can recommend are LAuberge du
Pacifique, Le Rubis, and Les Trois Brasseurs. The local French
population is serious about food and standards generally are
high and the prices match this. At some stage try a Tahitian
tamaaraa feast but it is not a gourmet experience. Do not eat
at your hotel. It is too damn expensive. Wander into town when
you want breakfast. It will be half the price and twice as good.
In the evening there is a site on the waterfront - cooked food
stalls called les roulottes. Inexpensive, good food, very
Tahiti. Not expensive certainly compared to hotel food prices.
What else do I do when I am in Tahiti? Hire a car and drive
around (the road does not go all the way around the island). Go
up into the singing mountains. Visit the Gauguin museum. See how
accurately he portrayed the beauty of the place and the people.
Visit poor Pierre Lotis pool. See the only memorial to a member
of a royal family - the Pomare dynasty - that incorporates a
bottle of Benedictine. Sit at a sidewalk cafe in Papeete and
watch the passing parade. In ten minutes you will see a dozen of
the most beautiful women in the world. Noel Coward did this and
hated it. In this, as in much else, he was wrong. Go out to the
lagoonarium - oh, horrid word - at Punaauia and see the fish
life of the Pacific. Take the ferry to Moorea - about 45 minutes
on the Moorea ferry. While on Moorea go horse back riding on the
Rupe Rupe Ranch or ride underwater in an aqua-submarine and
pretend you are a fish. One of the great attractions of Tahiti
is the staggering beauty of the islands and the even more
staggering beauty of Tahitian women. Because of fiction, because
of 'Mutiny on the Bounty', because of folklore, because of the
unbelievably sexy dance, the tamure, there is a worldwide myth
that they are morally loose and available. Nothing, nothing
could be further from the truth. Act with respect and
decorousness and all will be well. Push your luck and you will
be in for a bad time. Tahitian girls are gorgeous, proud, smart
and sophisticated and not into falling for holiday making
visitors. For certain sure. That still leaves the dancing. In
1820, article 23 of the law of the Leeward Islands was passed.
It stated clearly that all lascivious songs, games or
entertainments are strictly forbidden. A law, thanks be to all
the gods, eventually totally ignored. The true nightlife of
Tahiti, of Papeete, revolves around the tamure, a dance which
has no equal. The Tahitians love music, love to dance, love to
celebrate. Papeete reflects this. Especially on a Friday night
when the town is wild. There is a tradition in Tahiti that you
should wear a flower behind your ear. Wear one and go out on the
town.
Useful sites
Tahiti Tourism http://www.tahiti-tourisme.com/ Club Bali Hai
Moorea http://www.balihaihotels.com/ Tahiti
http://www.tahiti.com/ Tahiti Explorer
http://www.tahiti-explorer.com/
This article can be cut, localized, edited. Gareth Powell is a
travel writer and editor who runs www.travelhopefully.com. He is
used to cutting the copy of other authors.
About the author:
Gareth Powell is a travel writer and editor who runs
www.travelhopefully.com. He has been travel editor of two
metropolitan newspapers, has publised, literally, dozens of
travel magazines and has written 11 books, all published by
other publishers.