Raiatea 3 of 5

Earlier in the morning we'd booked a snorkelling tour from the local tourist agency and at 11.30 we joined 10 other tourists at the wharf and took off in a fast jet boat towards some smaller islands. The trip involved visiting three different snorkelling areas and the water was warm and transparently greenish-blue. Our first spot was from a private island beach with many palms and fine silk sans. We spent at least an hour swimming over many varieties of coral, colourful sea anemones, shy fish and blue-lipped clams. The water was warm and inviting and incredibly clear so that we had excellent underwater images and a colourful patchwork of corals, seaweeds, rocky outcrops and coy fish darting in and out of secret hidey-holes

We had fun chasing some larger fish but of course they always outsmarted us.

The coral was nowhere near as brightly coloured as our Great Barrier Reef but the reef was pretty and interesting to explore and there were some species of coral that we'd never seen before. We were also impressed by the insistence of our guides that all snorkelers not touch or stand upon the coral and for his expertise in talking about how we need to preserve this special place.

It was a warm day but cool breezes drifted across the waters and we were felt like we were in 'paradise' as it was SO relaxing and pleasant and exhilarating at the same time. Our guide provided us with a platter of freshly cut pineapple, pawpaw and mango during one of our breaks and we relaxed on the waters' edge enjoying the sound of waves braking on the coral reefs' outer edge. It was with reluctance that we finally boarded our jet boat and headed to another snorkelling area.