Yes, You Can Bird On A Layover In Melbourne

Posted on September 5, 2014 by Tara

One doesn’t usually associate birding with Australia’s cosmopolitan 2nd largest city but you would be surprised! After doing some research online, I decided it was worth taking a red-eye from Perth to Melbourne to allow about 6 hours to explore near MEL before the onward flight to Hobart. Less than 15 minutes from the airport is the Woodlands Historic Park with a very impressive bird list!

We got a taxi to drop us approximately where the red dot is and started walking with eyes and ears wide open.

It didn’t take long to spot the Sulphur-crested Cockatoos and Slender-billed Corellas!

Walking down a small lane, we spotted a tree full of Musk Lorikeets with a few Little Lorikeets and possibly Purple-crowned Lorikeets as well (hidden in the foliage).

Common Myna

Common Starling

We were really lucky to see a small flock of Red-rumped Parrots at a nearby farm! It was pretty had to get a decent shot of them in the tall grass.

After a successful birding excursion I used my new Uber app to get back to the airport where we boarded a Red-tailed Qantas bird to Hobart, Tasmania.

Shopping In Papeete

Posted on September 1, 2014 by Tara

It was mostly “window shopping” as souvenirs in Tahiti are not cheap! We had a few XPF to spend before going home so we ended up with a couple pareos. The jewelry is amazing but costs a fortune!

Leaving the ferry terminal

Cool artwork on a cafe

Pirates greet you at this cafe

These stunning necklaces were out of reach for me

But these pareos were around $10 each!

Farewell Moorea, Ferry Back To Papeete

Posted on August 31, 2014 by Tara

I really wish we could have stayed in Moorea 2 nights (especially since we got upgraded at the Intercontinental) but the flight home departed at 07:30 so there was no way we could leave Moorea on time to make that flight. I do want to point out that we have been to Moorea before we got into the miles and points game and already done the touristy things like a snorkel trip and the Tiki Village which is lots of fun! So the main purpose was really to check out the IC Moorea.

This time we had reception book us a shuttle back to the ferry terminal at 1250 XPF each so we could just relax and enjoy the scenery.

Hitting rush hour traffic

in more ways than one!

Back to the ferry terminal

Terevau arrives on time.

Arriving in Papeete ferry terminal

Around Moorea – Enroute To The Intercontinental

Posted on August 28, 2014 by Tara

After disembarking from the Terevau, we discovered that the local bus doesn’t meet this ferry (2pm sailing) as it is transporting kids home from school. We saw a couple buses go past but none would stop so apparently they aren’t allowed to mix tourists with kids. Taxis were taking full advantage and trying to charge around $50 for the 18 km ride. I hate being taken advantage of so stubbornly rebuffed the taxis and stayed on the road waiting for the bus.

A local couple spotted us as they drove past and offered us a lift as they were headed in the same direction. We chatted to them while admiring the beautiful scenery of Moorea, my husband speaking Tahitian and me getting by in French.

The lesson learned here is to make sure what land transport is available for your sailing! Another option would have been to get the Intercontinental to arrange a shuttle. We did this for the return trip back to the terminal and it was 1250 XPF per person.

Overnight In Moorea Via Ferry

Posted on August 27, 2014 by Tara

Even if your main interest in a visit to French Polynesia is birding the remote islands, there is nothing wrong with being a bit touristy. The way the airline schedules are set up and the availability of award tickets (or lack thereof) to Papeete can leave you with a few days to kill in Papeete. I highly recommend hopping over to Moorea which is a lot more scenic and relaxing than Papeete.

You can fly to Moorea from Papeete if you wish but I thought the flights were a bit pricy for us. Since we only had small backpacks for the trip, it was easy to catch a bus downtown, grab lunch at the Grande Marche and hop the next ferry. There are 2 ferry companies on this route – Aremiti and Terevau.

Fares on Aremiti 5 from Papeete to Moorea

Terevau doesn’t have a website but their one-way fares are 1160 XPF. Since they accepted credit cards, I bought round-trip tickets for us. The tickets are valid 6 months.

There really isn’t much to choose between the two ferries, just take whichever one is leaving next. You don’t need reservation unless you are bringing a car.

The ferry awaits.

Seating is comfortable enough for the 20 minute trip across to Moorea. You can see how I was “drowning in flowers” still from Rimatara!

The ferry has a small snack bar, prices aren’t bad but not a very good selection. We were glad we ate at the market. We were in Moorea pretty quickly, barely enough time to admire the topography from the sea!

Disembarking at Moorea.

Moorea ferry terminal.

Turnaround was pretty quick, we watched the Terevau take off back to Papeete while looking for the bus.

Conde Nast Has 9 Reasons To Visit Costa Rica In Green Season…….But I Have 3 Of My Own

Posted on August 26, 2014 by Tara

Conde Nast has a nice slide show depicting their top 9 reasons to visit Costa Rica in “green season”, the more enticing name for what is basically the wet season. I was there last year in August and got a fantastic deal on some wonderful eco-lodges. My Costa Rica posts can be found here. To see the CN slideshow, click on the butterfly.

And now for my reasons…………..

1. Fewer people makes it easier to see the birds. There is nothing worse than arriving at a beautiful nature reserve like Monteverde or Los Quetzales National Park and not seeing Resplendant Quetzals because they are hiding from all the noisy tourists!

2. You can have a world-class birding guide such as Alejandro Esquival from Selva Verde all to yourselves! Walk at your pace, target species that are most interesting to you, spend as much time as you like observing one species without being hurried along by other people!

3. Private boat cruise on the Tarcoles River! Luis Campos’ excursions are especially tailored for birders and he knows exactly where to find all the local species. In high season his boats are packed out. We had a boat all to ourselves so we could change seats at will depending what side the birds were on. Luis was an excellent spotter and made sure we got great views of all the birds.

Farewell To Rimatara – Drowning In Flowers

Posted on August 24, 2014 by Tara

In Rimatara, they really know how to leave a lasting impression! First, our hostess, Aline Kato from La Perruche Rouge gave us both beautiful leis.

Not sure whose tombstone this is but they picked a really nice view!

We checked in for the flight, then hung around the airport and visited the small gift shop. No products had lorikeets on them. They specialize in basket weaving but we would have had a hard time getting them into Australia.

The plane was right on time and we watched our backpacks get loaded on board.

Meanwhile new passengers were arriving and being greeted by leis. One of the ladies decided to give her lei to me so I now had two of them on! I could barely see over the top as I walked to the plane! Drowning in flowers isn’t a bad way to go!

You can see how flat this island is flying overhead.

Not a full flight so we got a row to ourselves for the short 1.5 hour flight to Papeete.

Exploring Anapoto Village – Rimatara

Posted on August 21, 2014 by Tara

After a very successful birding trip to get up close and personal with Rimatara Lorikeets, Ina and I decided to take a leisurely stroll to the nearby village of Anapoto.

Ina enjoyed talking to the locals as he spoke their language.

I was content to admire the artwork on the bus stops. I really love how they honor their native birds!

Just behind the bus stop is a small general store where you can buy simple groceries, drinks, produce and such things as needles and thread which I needed to repair a torn bag.

We sat there for awhile watching the islanders go about their business.

Just before the general store is a small lane leading past the Anapoto church to the beach. We walked down there and watched the locals fishing for a while. The church is really beautiful!

Anyone Want To Sleep IN A Bird’s Nest?

Posted on August 17, 2014 by Tara

Yes, I said IN a bird’s nest! A very large, luxurious bird’s nest! The one drawback is that it is in a pretty cold location so you won’t see any tropical birds such as parrots, toucans and hummingbirds. If anyone is planning to visit Sweden it’s worth a look. I really wish they would build more of these! I have slept in a treehouse in Belize but a place like this that blends into the environment would be amazing!

Circle Island Tour Of Rimatara

Posted on August 15, 2014 by Tara

Shortly after we arrived on Rimatara and checked in to La Perruche Rouge, the owner’s son took us on a tour of the island. The blue dot below shows the location of La Perruche Rouge just near the airport.

The first place we stopped was at a small general store where we were able to buy some t-shirts with Rimatara Lorikeets on them. The store doesn’t have a sign and would be easily missed if you didn’t know where it was in Amaru

As we drove through the town, I was really loving the bus stops with the Lorikeet motifs!

There is a small handicraft shop in Amaru. Unfortunately they sold products that would have been difficult to import to Australia. I wish they had paintings of the Lorikeets!

The cemetery is a short walk away towards the sea. This is where you find the grave of Queen Temaeva.

We continued driving clockwise around the island, passing more Lorikeet bus stops and churches. Even the stained glass windows in the church were in Lorikeet colours! I love how the residents of Rimatara really appreciate and care about their native bird!

Very quickly, we reached the next village of Motu’ura. Another pretty church, some nice beaches and a small snack bar. I wish I had known there was a snack bar before we came or I wouldn’t have brought food from Papeete!