Franz Polynesien aka Paradise

The next morning we went to the very empty airport in Auckland with a queasy feeling. There was only one row of desks open for check-in in the entire international terminal, as there were only a few planes still flying. After a short wait, we were able to board the plane. The flight to Tahiti took about 5 hours. The announced health check turned out to be a farce, fever was measured briefly and we were asked if we feel healthy. So we entered the country without any problems (even without a medical certificate). We took a taxi to the center of Papeete to our hostel. From there, we explored the surroundings during a walk and had a great tuna dinner at a food truck.

After breakfast, we packed everything back into our backpacks and went to the airport. Our destination was the Rangiroa Atoll. While waiting for the flight after check-in, we received a call from the local health authority, as we are citizens of a corona risk country. But since we had been in New Zealand for the last 6 weeks, everything was fine and we were allowed to continue from Tahiti. In Rangiroa, we were picked up by the landlord of our guesthouse at the airport. On the short drive to the accommodation, she told us that she had just heard on the radio that there might be a 14-day shutdown and we would have to stay on the island longer. We spent the afternoon snorkeling.

After a warm night (we didn't have air conditioning and were not yet used to the humid hot climate), we enjoyed breakfast on the terrace in front of our bungalow. Then we were picked up by the diving center. After the dive was explained in French, we went by boat to the nearby Tiputa Pass. It was a great drift dive with lots of sharks, barracudas and many other fish. After the dive, we walked back to our accommodation along the beach. Since we didn't know how long we would stay here, we wanted to save some money on food, so we got a baguette and Boursin for lunch.
In the late afternoon, we did a second dive. We saw many sharks again, an eagle ray and a turtle. After the dive, we received the news that the diving school would be closed immediately due to the coronavirus.

After contacting all the diving bases on the island and finding out that they were either full or already closed, we prepared for a cozy day. First, we did a home workout suggested by our Crossfit, which made us sweat a little. Then we bathed in the beautiful sea. For lunch, we had pizza and in the afternoon we took some more baths in the sea. For the sunset, we rode our bikes to a spot where we could watch dolphins. With a beer in hand, we could admire many animals.

On Thursday, we were able to take a trip to the blue lagoon. With a small boat (there were only 6 of us), we first crossed the atoll for an hour. We stopped in the middle of the atoll for a short visit to an island with many birds. A little later we arrived at the "Shark Point". While snorkeling, up to 10 sharks swam past us at the same time. From there we continued to the blue lagoon. From the boat, we waded through the water to an island for 10 minutes. In the shallow water, there were many baby sharks. We were able to walk around the island and admire the beautiful flora and fauna. We felt like in paradise. After the walk, we snorkeled through the blue lagoon. Our guide had set up chairs in the water for us, so we could have lunch in the water with a view of the lagoon and the sharks. After lunch, we went to a pink beach. Here, too, it was beautifully paradisiacal. We drove back to the starting point, where we could snorkel in the "Aquarium". Here, there were many sharks again, and many fish. Happy, tired, and slightly sunburned, we returned to our bungalow. There we learned that the government had decided that all tourists should leave the country as soon as possible.

In the evening and the next morning, we spent our time searching for meaningful flights back to Switzerland. First, we tried to reschedule our already booked flights. But this was only possible by phone. We would also have very long waiting times in Auckland, where there is no transit hotel, and since entry into New Zealand is no longer possible, it would mean spending a night at the gate. So we decided to take the next available flight from Tahiti to Paris. From Paris, we then booked a flight to Zurich. 3500 francs lighter, we set out to the beach to enjoy the remaining time. For inexplicable reasons, all grocery stores on the island were closed in the afternoon. For dinner, we went to the only open restaurant, the pizzeria. There we met two French people whom we had spoken to before. After they told us that they had already been to the airport 5 times to fly to Tahiti and the planes were always full, as all tourists have to leave the island, we became a little nervous.

The next morning, we asked our landlord if it would be possible to fly to Tahiti today instead of on Sunday with one of the last flights. 5 minutes later, the answer was to pack immediately, the plane leaves in 2 hours. Shortly afterwards, we were already in Tahiti. Shortly before departure, I had extended the booking for an apartment in Tahiti by one day. When we arrived at the accommodation, we found that it had worked. We walked to the center of Papeete on foot to buy groceries for the days until departure.

We spent the next few days reading, doing home workouts on the balcony, taking walks, and waiting.