Praying for Tutae Moa

More wrecks waited at another nearby site aptly called the Aquarium. Here, a Cessna and two small schooners rest in what can only be described as coral gardens in the sand filled with so many colorful, flitting fish that it looks as if it has been invaded by an army of undersea butterflies. Jittery clownfish roll and twist in their shag carpet anemones, which hang off the plane’s wings and fuselage. The turquoise water gives the place an aura of magic.

Lava Tubes
Since our itinerary included several intra-island flights, we had plenty of time to explore the terrestrial side of Tahiti. Usually, for visitors, this entails spreading a towel on a lounge chair and soaking up the lagoon life, which is fine, and we certainly enjoyed a moment or two during our trip. But my husband and I couldn’t look up at the sharp-ridged, rain forest- and waterfall-covered mountains and not feel the compulsion to explore. We were picked up by a man named Vincent from Polynesian Adventure, given a shorty wetsuit and, with a like-minded couple (Dan and Jen, on their honeymoon, of course), we jumped into a 4x4 and bounced our way to the trailhead for what we thought would probably be an interesting, but not terribly challenging, lava-tube adventure.

The trailhead turned out to be an actual lava-tube cave with a river running through it and waterfalls spilling out of its dark maw. The river itself was the trail, which is why we exchanged our cargo shorts for a wetsuit and followed Vincent into the dark. We spent the rest of the day winding our way up waterfalls, through dense and lush rain forest and several lava tubes that had formed 3 million years ago when Tahiti was a rumbling, violent mass forcing its way up from the bottom of the sea. We crawled, swam, waded and climbed through one of the coolest expeditions I’ve ever been on. I wouldn’t recommend it for anyone of questionable fitness, but for people with a bit of explorer left in them, it’s one of the most genuine treks you can take, even if you’re on your honeymoon. There was nothing of the usual doting, coddling or pandering of typical tourist excursions. We all ended the day dog-tired and infinitely more impressed with ourselves.

Bora Bora Bound
The next day, we were off to a place that needs no introduction: Bora Bora. The name itself has become an incantation for romance, and fully 95 percent of visitors come on their honeymoons (Dan and Jen had just come from Bora Bora when we met them in Tahiti). We settled in at the TOPdive resort, which serves as a haven for divers who make their way to the island intent on indulging in some of Bora Bora’s big-animal action. And there’s plenty. Rene, one of the owners, had us in the water almost before we’d unpacked our bags. We headed just outside the lagoon to a place called the White Valley, which crawls with lemon and blacktip sharks.

Ty Sawyer / Sport Diver

Oh, did I say sharks? It was all my husband had talked about for weeks before we came to Tahiti. He could hardly get a sentence out about the trip without mentioning sharks. But as I was about to learn, it was because Tahiti is famous for sharks. Lots of them. It’s a given on almost every dive that at least a few blacktips will be meandering on the periphery, with lemons, silvertips, grays and even hammerheads all lurking nearby and often materializing from the blue like an illusion.

Lemon Twist
I did my now-expert back flip off the boat and descended. With other divers on the boat, we settled around a coral head in which one of the divemasters had stashed a tuna head. The scent wafted over the fields of hard coral and soon three, then four big lemon sharks started nosing around. And they weren’t alone. Striped grunts, Moorish idols (see, I’m starting to figure out what I’m looking at), surgeonfish and a massive titan triggerfish showed up as well. The titan triggerfish, always enterprising, got a tight grip on the coral holding down the tuna head and, like an Olympic weight lifter, heaved the coral away with its mandibles. I was fascinated by the lemons. Here were these huge creatures just gliding around like wisps of air. Beautiful, untamed, dignified, and then ripping into the tuna head with a fury so focused I couldn’t help but be reminded of Moby Dick. I could’ve stayed for hours watching them, but as quickly as they’d come, they disappeared into the shadows, one swimming within just a few feet of me. I tried staring him down, just to see if he’d notice me, but he moved by me, like a royal dictator, completely uninterested in my obvious adoration and awe. The chicken-manure prayer was working. Later, it went into overdrive, during a lagoon drift dive from Toopua to Toopua Iti.

We were meandering along in the aquariumlike sea as I was enjoying my first sensation of being carried along by the water, when Rene put his hand up to stop. He’d come to a halt at the edge of a sand valley, through which about 50 spotted eagle rays were passing. Their elegance and grace were startling enough that I think I forgot about the breathe-in, breathe-out stuff and got caught up in the reverie of this magical creature.

Turtles in the Mist
Another thing you will find everywhere in Tahiti is images of turtles. The turtle is a sacred animal in these islands. Tahitians believe that eating turtle meat will make them more virile, since it was once the preferred and exclusive meat of the chiefs. Seeing one in the wild, however, is not as common as it used to be. Perhaps there were at one time a lot of very virile men in Tahiti. (And I don’t mean the honeymooners.) But there is a movement to protect these amazing animals, and one of the places working toward this goal is, oddly a hotel called Le Meridien Resort, which houses the South Pacific’s only turtle sanctuary in its lagoon. Guests are only allowed to snorkel with the 1- to 5-year-old turtles. There’s a marine biologist on staff to answer any questions you might have. After five years, the turtles are released back into the wild.

Ty Sawyer / Sport Diver

One turtle had recently arrived by way of a fisherman who had found it, he said, still alive, inside the stomach of a mahimahi. True or not, it made a good story, and the turtle to whom the story was attributed seemed quite content to recuperate in the idyllic world of Le Meridien lagoon, watched over by the incessantly curious honeymooners. My husband was so fascinated by the turtles that he spent several hours photographing them. They seemed equally fascinated by him, swimming up to his camera and practically posing.

A Night of Indulgence
Besides the sharks, there was one other thing my husband couldn’t stop talking about: his favorite restaurant in the entire Pacific, the restaurant at TOPdive Bora Bora. I have to admit I was skeptical. Days of amazing dives, sharks, turtles, a huge grouper I saw on my own and pointed out to everyone else (I’m good at the huge stuff that bumps into me) had left me just wanting to relax in the room and enjoy being with my husband, away from the kids. Tahiti is really good for that, too. But he insisted that I would not be disappointed.

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