Mo'orea

VulcanSpirit
Richard & Alison Brunstrom
Tue 14 Aug 2012 21:15
This was one of our favourite islands, rather a contrast to Tahiti. Everything clean and tidy, and flourishing agriculture. there is a beef farm in the caldera which looks just like France, and lots and lots of the delicious pineapples for which the island is justifiably famous (they taste so much better than those from Tesco's). As usual, it's mountainous (up to 1200m) with several unclimbed peaks but unusually there are lots of walking trails.
 
 
The light patches on the extreme right are pineapple fields.
 
 
I climbed up the ridge in the photo above - right along the ridge line. The path was horrible - lots of sharp vegetation, very steep with long drops either side and very friable rock. I was cut to pieces (cuts are bad news in the tropics, but I escaped without infection) and hurting like anything at the end. Luckily the Hilton's poolside bar was right opposite the trail end.
 
 
A closer view of the pineapple fields, and below, a young pineapple - one per plant per year, so you need lots of them!