aaronbchristianImagine landing at a small airport, you feel the warm breeze as you exit the plane. While you gather your luggage someone comes up to you with a lei and shows you to the boat that will transport you to your ‘almost’ private island. You jump on the boat with a few other people and set off through the clearest blue waters you have ever seen.
As we skipped across the water we passed other hotels with over-the-water bungalows. The anticipation grew. This must be a dream, pinch me! As we glided up to the dock at the Sofitel Private Island we were greeted with a fresh coconut, a cool towel and ukulele music. This was the moment we knew this was truly PARADISE. (Disclaimer: the Sofitel Private Island has since closed down due to the COVID pandemic).
Sofitel Private Island is very small island off of the main Bora Bora island. We walked up to the main lobby/restaurant and had some tropical drinks while we waited for our room. Once it was ready we were escorted down to the wooden paths that lead out to the over the water bungalows.
While a land bungalow is an option, if you are going to be taking a trip to Bora Bora, you made it this far and payed this much already, springing for the over-the-water bungalow really is a necessity.
As we walked into our room it was apparent that this was going to be a relaxing time. First thing is first, one must test out the bed. Get ready to feel like your melting into a cloud. Next open up the slider door and let the sound of the water and the warm ocean breeze lull you to sleep. No really. We fell asleep for a few hours when we intended to just lay there for a moment. The room had everything you needed comfy bed, couch, port hole in the floor to see down into the water, and robes. Robes are always a must for total relaxation.
After waking up refreshed it was time to enjoy the water! That is the reason everyone comes here isn’t it? Having the over-the-water bungalow really allows you to be one with the ocean. First there is a port hole in the room so you can look down at the floor and see into the ocean or your husband snorkeling when you didn’t even know he was jumping in. Second, with a deck and a ladder you now have two ways to get into the water. Just jump on in! Trust me, the waters so warm!
Water activities are a must and really pretty much the only thing to do while staying at the Sofitel Bora Bora Private Island. Utilizing your bungalow is the easiest for snorkeling. Just take a dive off your deck and you’re ready to go explore the reef. The really good snorkeling is actually on the other side of the small island where there are no huts. But it is an easy swim around the island. The snorkeling though is to die for. Clearest water, the most colorful fishes, and someone wrote “I heart Bora” with rocks on the bottom of the ocean floor so one must take part in that photo opportunity. Oh, and bring your underwater camera or go-pro if that wasn’t clear enough.
Other activities can be booked while staying at the island. We did a photoshoot boat trip which enabled us to get beautiful shots of us and the blue waters without getting the selfie arm in the picture. For the more adventurous, jump on a jet ski tour, which takes you out to the reef and other pretty areas. Lastly a snorkel day trip. Yes the snorkeling around the hotel is amazing, but if you are up for an adventure, like swimming with sharks and sting rays then a guided tour is the way to go. On the snorkel trip we did we were able to get lunch at Bloody Mary’s which is a popular restaurant on the island that many celebrities have been to. The floor of the restaurant is all sand and right when you enter they have fresh fish laid out for you to choose for your meal. A tradition at this restaurant is to take paper money, write your name and date on it and pin it to the wall. Highly recommend coming here.
While staying on the Sofitel Private Island you also get the benefits from the hotel on the island of Bora Bora, Sofitel Bora Bora Marara Beach Resort. They have a small boat that will take you back and forth as you please whenever you want to. The only times we went over to the island of Bora Bora was to explore the Island one day and to eat at that hotels restaurant called Latitude 16 degrees. One day we rented a moped to explore the island. You can drive around the whole island in less than an hour. While it was fun to ride, the beauty is in the water here!
A few fun memories we had here was snorkeling with the sting rays and the sharks! The sharks made me nervous but after getting in the water I realized they could care less about us being there. It was so marvelous to see these creatures in the wild. Second memory was just snorkeling around our island and having this pufferfish come and “attack” my husband. It kept going for his fins and was probably warning us away from its family. So we kept swimming away. The third memory was just the awe that we had when we arrived and couldn’t believe what our eyes were seeing.
After 4 nights of bliss exploring this island it was time for an adventure. Off to New Zealand! Comprised of two main islands we started on the north and ended on the south. We flew into Aukland and stayed 1 night there before starting our adventure south.
First stop was to drive over to Whitianga where we stayed one night before heading over to Hot Water Beach. Say the word hot water and beach together and I am in! During low tides naturally occurring hot springs are able to be dug up through the sand making these “hot tubs”. We got a shovel, dug our hole and soaked for a few seconds realizing it was actually too hot! We hoped some waves would come to cool us down but we were too far away. Deciding to give up on the hot springs, we drove north a little bit to visit Cathedral Cove and Te Hoho Rock. Beautiful beach with an arch to walk under to a rock that juts out of the beach. Here we found another beach with a rope swing, that entertained us for awhile!
Next day it was time to be a Hobbit! Not literally but we got to tour the Hobbit movie set. As fans of the movies it was so fun to be able to see the set and walk around. After this we headed more inland to our next stop. We stayed at Waitomo Caves Guest Lodge. The sweetest bread and breakfast man ran this place. He made homemade cookies for us to enjoy. Down the road from his place was a cave that we were able to see a few of our first ever glow worms! Wow what a sight and it was about to get even better!
First adventure the next day was with The Legendary Black Water Rafting Company. We booked the Black Labyrinth tour which was 3 hours of exploring a wet cave. We squeezed through tight tunnels, jumped off water falls and floated down a pitch black cave river while looking up at the ceiling as it began to glow for us. Seeing the glow worms felt like a once in a lifetime experience. I would highly recommend it to anyone visiting New Zealand to make it the top of your list to see.
From there we spent two nights in the town Rotorua. Here we did a canopy forest tour. Another 3 hour adventure we were walking trails on the ground, suspended bridges above the trees, and zipping from tree top platforms. We got to do so many zip lines and the last one was so long! Day two we did a lake kayak tour. It was fun and beautiful but honestly didn’t compare after the glow worm adventure we had the day prior.
Having finished exploring the North island it was time to make our way south. From Rotorua we flew to Christchurch to Queenstown. We spent 4 nights here at the Queenstown house boutique hotel. I wish we had more time to explore here because we fell in love with it.
Day one we did an adventure day with Dart River Adventures. We booked a duo of the Wilderness Jet Experience followed by funyak. The jet experience was such an adrenaline rush! Those boat drivers really know what they are doing and although it was scary at first once the initial scare is gone it is so much fun! For the second part you get on a funyak which is an inflatable kayak. You get to paddle the river up through this beautiful crystal clear blue water with rock walls surrounding you. What is even cooler is that this is a UNESCO World Heritage Area!
Day two it was time for more adventure! This time it was white water rafting!! Lucky or not so lucky us, we were paired in the front row. This adventure was about half a day. It included 6 rapids, going through the Oxen bridge tunnel and ending in the cascade rapid! We had so much fun on this adventure. The water was freezing, and at one of the rapids me and the hubby fell out of the boat. As we drifted down the river we tried to paddle to the side and tried to catch the rope that was thrown from shore by the tour guides! Luckily the hubby caught it and then took my arm and we were pulled to shore. It was amazing and such a rush! After all the excitement we continued to a calmer portion of the river. Here they allowed us all to jump out and officially float down the river for awhile next to the boat. Again, water was cold, but we had some good layers to keep us warm and float well. To see where all the action happens check out our video at 9:35 minute mark!
Day three was our wind down day. AKA wine time! We had a tour with Appellation Wine Tours. It was a full day of wine and cheese tasting, a lunch and a tour of the largest underground wine cave in Gibbston Valley. This was a great day of relaxing after all the adrenaline the days prior. We were able to chill before our long journey home the next day. After the wine tour was finished we returned to Queenstown to explore the town. For dinner we had to have a Ferg pie at Ferg Baker. The most amazing dish I had thus had in my life. They have so many pies to choose from and were delicious. Our favorites were the meat and cheese ones. Later in the night we found an Ice Bar and had a fun nightcap to end the trip.
The next morning it was time to say goodbye and start our journey home to California. We were so lucky to have been able to take such a long and epic honeymoon right after our wedding. While I would now call us more seasoned travelers this trip was our first international joint adventure and I believe the start of our wanderlust. After this trip we daydreamed of where we would go next and it has not stopped our hunger to see the world.
So how do I plan an epic honeymoon? Back then we had no real idea what we needed to plan a trip like this. In the midst of planning a wedding having to also plan out a honeymoon was too must for us. We enlisted The Art of Travel to help plan and book this epic honeymoon. We gave our wishlist of creating a joint trip to Bora Bora and New Zealand to them along with activity wish list and budget.
This was an amazing trip for us both that we wanted to make sure we remembered forever. Wanting to preserve these memories we decided that we would film our trip and make a video once we returned so we could remember the start of our new lives together and what an epic trip we had! Not knowing it, this became the first video of now every major vacation we have gone on thus far. It is so nice to be able to revisit a place after you have been there and to feel like you are right there once more. Something a photo just can’t always do.
We hope you enjoyed reading and watching our horrible quality video from back in the day (haha). But in all seriousness, if you are planning a trip to either of these locations I hope this helps you plan something epic that you will remember for the rest of your life. Check out the links above for booking or visiting these places and let us know if you have any questions!
Cheers!