Laid back Tahiti

SONIA GERKEN/151181

AAAH, PARADISE: Luxury hotel bungalows stretch out into the lagoon off Moorea Island, just a 30-minute boat trip from Tahiti. The French knew they were on to something when they claimed the vast network of islands.

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If I was allowed only one drink, it would be Bombay Sapphire gin.

And if there was only one place in the world I could have it, it would have to be French Polynesia.

Wading through the tepid, clear waters of a sandy lagoon; snorkelling across coral as bright blue and orange fish dart passed or a stingray glides by; or just lying on a lounger on the manicured beach by the hotel pool ... if those are not good enough reasons to fall for this tropical paradise, I don't know what is.

The French knew they were on to something when they claimed the vast network of islands, each more breath-taking than the last. Obviously, conquering Europe was never going to work, and the South Pacific was probably a better deal anyway – French Polynesia and its 118 islands span 4 million square miles, about the same area as Europe.

Despite its vastness, French Polynesia is like a small village, with a total population of just 256,000. More than half live on Tahiti, whose population swells by another 700 daily as islanders flock in by ferry for work, business or services unavailable at home.

Papeete is the main – in fact, the only – city or town of any size in French Polynesia, and is often called the lungs of the archipelago network.

In all honesty it's not a destination that would draw visitors for any length of time, even though it offers some of the less expensive holiday options in a country where very little is cheap. There are just too many pristine islands beckoning.

However, Tahiti deserves more than a cursory whizz around to view some of its historic sites, such as the home of James Norman Hall, author of Mutiny on the Bounty, the Paul Gauguin Museum, or the Robert Wan pearl museum, an exquisite salute to the black pearls of the outlying islands and best place to buy a little trinket. Just make sure the credit card limit has been extended, these beauties don't come cheap. It wasn't hard to find a string of pearls with a NZ$250,000 price tag, if my trusty cellphone calculator is to be believed.

Sometimes, though, the calculator just needs to be put away.

The magical island of Bora Bora or one of the 50 luxury hotels and resorts that litter the islands have earned reputations as romantic retreats and favourites with honeymooners. Admittedly, they come at a price but can a price ever be put on romance ... gosh, I wish I was young enough to believe that.

In Papeete, visitors can easily escape from their hotels, though it's hard to drag yourself away from the pool, padded lounger and nearby bar. Public transport is cheap and fun – for a couple of dollars you can go just about anywhere. Most locals speak English but, if not, it doesn't hurt to try to dredge up some remnants of high school French.

For a whole day away there's nothing easier than catching the boat to the island of Moorea, just 30 minutes away but a lot more low key than its nearby big sister. The island's attractions include swimming with the stingrays and a barbecue lunch on an uninhabited island.

As any traveller knows, it's the people who make a destination special and in French Polynesia's case, stunning beaches and scenery aside, the locals are its best asset.

It's not so much the exemplary service at the hotel or the tour guides. That's their job after all. But where else would you find a teenage girl willing to lead a couple of hapless journalists four blocks out of her way to show them where to catch the bus, and smile the whole time? Or a family happy to invite aforementioned journos out for the day? It should have come as no surprise that one of the most memorable experiences was tagging along with a local couple, their extended family and friends of friends, and their children to celebrate a birthday.

It was doing what Tahitians do best and a tradition this Anglo-saxon could easily adopt – parking up halfway between the reef, which surrounds Tahiti, and the shore in a shallow lagoon, cooked chicken from the roadside rotisserie in the hamper and a humungous chilly bin laden with ice and the local beer, Hinano.

The area, Taapuna, isn't on many tourist maps but there's good reason the locals flock there on Sunday or anyday they have off. Apart from the sandy bottom, shallow and tranquil waters, a break in the reef offers some of the best surfing in Tahiti. As our hosts, including a former coach of the national surfing team, put it – if you can surf Taapuna you can surf anywhere.

Unintimidated by the razor-sharp coral lurking just metres under the water, a flotilla of bronzed bodies litter the water daily. Lounging on boards, the surfers look to sea with some inner knowledge that evades the average person, and they wait ... and wait ... and wait for that perfect wave.

I was reliably informed that islanders were very good at waiting – that they like nothing better than hanging around. Maybe it's that combination of the French laissez faire and "island time", or the fact the French Government generously picks up the tab for a lot of things, like education and health.

As Ruth, a local guide who knows much more than anyone should and shares it with such enthusiasm, succinctly put it – "Polynesians aren't so much lazy; we have a different sense of proportion".

Life on Tahiti and its islands is so laid back it's almost horizontal, just what a holiday should be.

Ruth is typical of the `tropical cocktail', as she puts it, of French Polynesia. Born in Hamilton to a Tahitian mother and Cook Island father; she married a Japanese and is mother to 14 children (yes, 14, and that's not considered exceptionally large in these parts). Her lively banter delivers many gems, things you never imagined you'd need to know and probably never will. But just in case you get stung by a deadly stone fish, urine is an effective anti-venom, to be administered on the skin, that is.

Be warned – don't go to Tahiti if you want to party hard each night in Wild On style or want to spend days in the mall shopping for bargains. But do go if your "bucket list" includes indulging yourself in one of the most spectacular places in the Pacific.

Unfortunately, this writer's visit to Tahiti has just whetted the appetite to explore the other four archipelagos and their islands that , I have it on good authority, get more spectacular the further from Tahiti you venture.

Come to think of it, I never found my perfect beach (I have extremely high standards) so what better excuse to return.

Could even pick up another bottle or two of Bombay gin on the way through duty free.wThe writer visited Tahiti as a guest of Tourism Tahiti and stayed at the Intercontinental Hotel, in Papeete.wAir Tahiti Nui flies twice weekly to Papeete from Auckland. Flight time five hours. Try to get into business class, even just for the extra leg room let alone the pre-flight bubbly.wExchange rate: NZ$1 buys 59 french polynesian francs (FCFP), which will buy you a french bread stick.

- © Fairfax NZ News