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Moorea Pacific Tahiti Travel

Off Track in Moorea

Just in case you get fed up with lazing on a white sandy beach admiring the clear turquoise waters on the island of Moorea in Tahiti, you can always opt for a break from the meditative tranquillity and embark on a half day Safari trip in a 4×4 wheel drive.

Aerial view of Moorea, Tahiti
Moorea from the Air

Inevitably, you’ll be taken through the backroads of the island and driven through rugged terrain as you ascend towards Mount Belvedere. At some point you will be left for a few minutes to admire Moorea’s natural beauty with the imposing mountain and the twin bays either side of it, Cook Bay and Opunohu Bay.

Then suddenly, your tour guide will ask you, “You see the monkey playing the piano?”

Surely, he’s having you on.

You may raise a brow behind your dark sunglasses. You may feel off track from having too much sun. You may think it’s the native brand of humour. So you play along and scan the vista of mountain, vegetation and rock formation and wonder if this is a local version of a Rorschach inkblot test.

And then you see it. The monkey is playing the piano.

Right next to the woman rising from the water.

Woman rising from water Mt. Mouaputa Moorea
Woman rising from the water

Bay of Opunnohu (L), Bay of Cook (R) from Belvedere
Bays of Opunohu and Cook

About the author

Corinne Mossati

Corinne Mossati is a drinks writer, author of GROW YOUR OWN COCKTAIL GARDEN, SHRUBS & BOTANICAL SODAS and founder/editor of Gourmantic, Cocktails & Bars and The Gourmantic Garden. She has been writing extensively about spirits, cocktails, bars and cocktail gardening in more recent years. She is a spirits and cocktail competition judge, Icons of Whisky Australia nominee, contributor to Diageo Bar Academy, cocktail developer and is named in Australian Bartender Magazine's Top 100 Most Influential List. Her cocktail garden was featured on ABC TV’s Gardening Australia and has won several awards. She is a contributor to Real World Gardener radio program and is featured in several publications including Pip Magazine, Organic Gardener, Australian Bartender and Breathe (UK). Read the full bio here.

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