Page 14 - DreamScapes Magazine | Winter/Spring 2024
P. 14
BUCKET LIST TRAVEL
POLYNESIAN
PARADISE
How creative souls are luring culturally curious tourists in The Islands of Tahiti
BY ILONA KAUREMSZKY
PHOTOGRAPHY BY STEPHEN SMITH/MYCOMPASSTV
In a scene akin to the popular HBO streamer The White Lotus, my personal concierge at this luxury outpost, famously known for overwater bungalows in only the bluest waters on Earth, is calling me on WhatsApp.
“We have the Royal Pool Overwater Villa available and wish to invite you and Stephen.”
Welcome to the Conrad Bora Bora Nui where surprises await even for the discerning traveller.
Surrounded by a blue lagoon, rife with the most abundant living aquarium, life’s simple pleasures—as this Tahiti first- timer discovered—are easy to encounter when you’re in French Polynesia. The day before, the resort’s resident marine biologist had brought to life her manta ray conservation pas- sion on a private catamaran tour that had us up close and personal with them.
The Islands of Tahiti, a necklace of five archipelagos each linked by an ancient Polynesian civilization, are home to 118 fantasy islands and atolls that have intrigued early settlers for
14 DREAMSCAPES WINTER/SPRING 2024
