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TopDive Resort, Bora Bora

Posted on February 11, 2009 by: Traveler

Closest City: Vaitape, Bora Bora
State:
Country: French Polynesia

Top Dive Resort, Island of Bora Bora

The Flight: Danielle and I were now off to our fourth island of a seven-island honeymoon tour in French Polynesia. Bora Bora would be the most remote of the Society Islands we would be visiting. Our intention was to fly out farther and island-hop back to Faa’a airport in Papeete, Tahiti. The flight out to Bora Bora passed over some of the other islands we would be staying on. Our inter-island Air Tahiti flight first passed the island of Moorea (which would be our final stop in eight days time) with its two symmetrical looking bays. I am now able to instantly recognize an ariel image of Moorea’s high peaks with Cooks and Ohunohu Bays below. Next we flew past Huahine (which we wanted to visit but couldn’t coordinate flights to), then to plane passed by Raiatea and Tahaa. Raiatea and Tahaa would be our fifth and sixth islands, respectively. A deep blue channel separated the two islands of Raiatea and Tahaa and the hourglass shaped reef with numerous motu surrounded both.

Finally, Bora Bora began to take shape. The pilot initially passed up the island’s airport, which was constructed on a motu during World War II by U.S. troops. Up to 6,000 United States servicemen were stationed on Bora Bora during “The war to end all wars,” but fighting never made it that far south. Not a bad station I was thinking as I peered down at the picturesque lagoon and motu surrounding what appeared to be just a couple mountains jutting skyward from the water’s edge. As the pilot maneuvered in for the final descent, Danielle and I were amazed again at how it seemed the plane was going to be landing in water because the airstrip was on such a narrow piece of land.

The Resort: Envy almost took over before we had even landed on the outer airport motu of Bora Bora. Some of the resorts we had just passed appeared to have over-water bungalow “tentacles” snaking out across the shallow reef toward the main island body of Bora Bora. We could see private balconies and ladders dropping down into the lagoon. From above, we also looked down at numerous shades of blue in the lagoon and instantly missed the Tuamotu islands of Rangiroa and Fakarava. Choosing one of these gorgeous resorts would have been difficult had I never visited before… or heard any good reviews (on MOA J). Our choice was made simple though, because we would be staying at the TopDive Resort. Danielle and I reserved a 10-dive package through TopDive Resort (good for diving on every island they operated on) and we were looking forward to getting back in the tropical aquarium that is the South Pacific. We had already been scuba diving with TopDive through Tiputa Pass on Rangiroa and would be saving some dives from the 10-dive package for diving the island of Moorea. NOTE: Since our departure from French Polynesia, TopDive has expanded their operation to the island of Fakarava.

If you have booked your Bora Bora stay on one of the outer motu resorts, you will approach their respective counter inside the airport building. For everyone else, your resort pick-up will occur in the mainland town of Vaitape. A waiting catamaran (ferry boat) transfers arriving guests from the Motu Mute airport to the main island wharf in the town of Vaitape. There might be multiple catamarans so after your luggage is thrown off the plane (just kidding) you will see it being carted away to a respective ferry. Hop on that boat! That’s all we did was wait to see our luggage stacked on a cart and followed it aboard. After a forty-minute ferry ride, we were ready to begin our vacation. Just a little waiting for our TopDive taxi (mix–up, I’m sure) and a short drive just outside of the north end of town. The TopDive Resort is a walled off enclave separating guests from the local surroundings / residents. Take that information for what you will but I am here to say the “walled off enclave” is absolutely stunning. You immediately pass the TopDive souvenir shop and the entrance to the restaurant. Then you pass over a small stone path with vegetation growing all around and emerge out to the poolside deck overlooking the infinity pool. The dive shop is on the right side of the deck as you initially see it at the pool and the Bora Bora lagoon is to the left side. All bungalows are straight ahead on the opposite side of the deck. The TopDive Resort was constructed in an area of Bora Bora’s lagoon where the reef made a precipitous drop to the depths below. This did allow the dive boats to maneuver right alongside the deck but did not give us a vantage over the shallow area of the lagoon where twenty shades of blue compete for your attention. I am usually of the mind to worry what our hotel room looks like because it is just for sleeping in each night. That was until Danielle walked away from our first island location (Miki Miki Village, Rangiroa) with 29 mosquito bites (on one leg).

We actually booked one of the resort’s three over-water bungalows (the middle one of the three) so we were escorted straight over to our sleeping quarters. We were further amazed at how nice the bungalow was inside. The air conditioning was refreshing and another refreshment (in a glass) was waiting for us on the coffee table. A pineapple and fruity island drink set the tone of hospitality. The patio doors (floor to ceiling glass) folded to the wall and opened the entire back end of the bungalow. We were immediately glad at our decision to spend the next four nights at this location.

Unfortunately for TopDive (good for us) we had hardly any competition for deck chairs at the infinity’s edge because there were only two other registered guests at the resort. They were two sisters from Corona, CA (also avid scuba divers) and we quickly discovered TopDive Resort was a location they returned to time after time (sometimes twice a year). As far as not very many other registered guests, I can’t say enough about the staff’s hospitality and the ambiance of the resort, so don’t get the wrong idea here. Many “outside” guests to Bora Bora ventured over to the TopDive restaurant every evening for some fine cuisine. Danielle and I ate every breakfast and one dinner at the resort so we knew why people came from outside the resort to eat here. The dinner was a tad expensive… but mainly we wanted to eat at other locations.

Scuba divers flocked in droves for the opportunity to experience Bora Bora’s underwater world through the eyes of a Top Divemaster. The morning dive boats were always packed. Mornings were organized chaos getting everyone aboard for a chance to experience shark feeding or other magnificent dive sites along the outer edge of the motu reef. Because we had already registered for a ten-dive package, we had our spots reserved first J. The resort’s dive boats (TopDive 1 through TopDive 3) were anchored just out from the shore and the staff would take a kayak over to the boat in order to start it up and pull up to the edge of the patio deck that jutted out over the edge of the lagoon.

What To Do? What To Eat? Danielle and I seemed to naturally gravitate to the deck and infinity pool of the TopDive Resort. It looked out to a picturesque portion of Bora Bora’s lagoon and there was a large motu directly across. We saw cruise ships come and go and numerous people simply swimming by in the water. Outside of the TopDive restaurant, we ate at some superb locations. Minus our first meal at Le Panda (fatty Chinese food), all eating locations were worth the price. The Bora Kaina Hut restaurant was on our first night. We enjoyed a meal with a fun British couple who had come over to the “mainland” from their over-water resort on the motu. The floor of the Bora Kaina Hut was white sand. Crabs were scurrying across looking for fallen morsels… and cats were scurrying after the crabs.

Come lunchtime, Danielle and I consistently walked over a place called The Pirate’s Bar. It was located a short stroll away from TopDive in the Helen’s Bay shopping area (closer to town). The Pirate’s Bar had good burgers and a nice over-water deck for eating. There are two floodlights pointed directly down into the water (also deep here). At night the floodlights are turned on and like clockwork millions of tiny plankton appear. This is to draw in the feeding Manta Rays… who unfortunately do not appear like clockwork. We learned even Manta Rays have a season because we didn’t see one during any in twelve scuba dives throughout the islands. I wanted badly to see one of the gentle leviathans with gaping mouths (for feeding on plankton) and a wingspan sometimes reaching 7 meters, or about 21 feet. Just a side note here: Danielle had the only Manta Ray sighting of all our time in French Polynesia. It was from the deck of our over-water bungalow. I was taking a shower and heard her scream. After running out to her location, she could barely (excitedly) tell me that a small Manta Ray had just jumped out of the water and dove backwards directly below her (they apparently back flop to get rid of parasites). The Manta Ray immediately disappeared to the depths below.

Bloody Mary’s restaurant provided one of the most interesting dining experiences for Danielle and I during our time in French Polynesia. Two big wooden signs of famous Bloody Mary’s guests are erected just outside the front entrance. I thought, “Hey, any place that’s good enough for Harrison Ford”… Upon entering, you are shown the menu of the day, in the form of fish steaks and fillets (what better way than to see it as it would appear on a dinner plate). After making a selection, you are seated at a table constructed from halved coconut trees lined up perfectly (rounded underside) to create a smooth surface finished with a thick coat of resin and lacquer for sealant. Likewise, the stools you’re seated on are made from the cut up trunks of coconut palms. Bloody Mary’s has appropriately themed décor (white sand floors like the Bora Kaina Hut) and all throughout the restaurant is a tropical flair. I found the restroom to be especially interesting and actually felt compelled enough to video the flushing mechanism (for further details, refer to the YouTube link below). My dish was a tasty Mahi Mahi fillet and Danielle had to try the Mako Shark. I would consider it unfortunate if Bloody Mary’s commissioned a fisherman to find a Mako Shark for its paying guests, but we had never heard of the fare ever being offered… and no, it wasn’t all that. I liked the Bloody Mary’s experience and definitely recommend the restaurant to anyone visiting Bora Bora.

Other than lounging and scuba, Danielle and I spent a day riding around Bora Bora’s entire coast road (about twenty miles) on some rickety rental bikes. Riding in a clockwise loop from the TopDive Resort, we used our Lonely Planet guide “Tahiti & French Polynesia” for reference. Click here for more info and to see the pictures of that adventure. As was the case on our previous islands, there were other things we wish we could have done from climbing Mt Pahia (Bora Bora’s second highest peak after Mt. Otemanu) to horseback riding and fishing. But like the other islands, we felt like we made the most of our stay and were ready to move on to the next location; Raiatea & Tahaa.