We were all very excited to begin our expedition voyage that starts in French Polynesia and finishes in Fiji. Our journey started in Papeete. We joined National Geographic Orion yesterday, and today is our first full day aboard this wonderful vessel.
The action started straight away. We had a big day yesterday so we would be ready to go first thing today, and it paid off. Our first port of call was Taha’a. We started the day by visiting a local vanilla plantation, where we learned how this intriguing product is produced and grown. From here, we went straight over to our very own “motu,” which is the local word for small cay or island. Whilst we were visiting the vanilla plantation, the hospitality team brought everything over to the island. We were delighted to enjoy our very own slice of paradise for the day, and we were greeted with an incredible barbecue lunch.
We had the chance to snorkel and swim straight from the island, and we found endless creatures underwater.
When we were done on the motu, it was time to head out for our swim with the sharks. Even for those who swam with sharks previously, this was an incredible experience. We were surrounded by blacktip reef sharks, who were not shy at all and swam very close to us.
The day was wrapped up with Captain’s drinks in the lounge area.
A fantastic day was had by all!
