Aquatic Adventures In Paradise: The Bora Bora Liquid Festival

Escape winter this December and come play in paradise instead at the inaugural Bora Bora Liquid Festival!

Bora Bora has long been renowned as the ultimate romantic hideaway. Its soaring green peaks and azure waters seduce lovers who escape here to live out their tropical hideaway fantasies. But what few people recognize is Bora Bora is more than just a romantic retreat – it’s also an ultimate escape for adventure lovers. The main island and its outlying islets, or motus hold multiple adventures, including Jeep excursions through lush mountain passes, discovering ancient temples or maraes, and visits to small local villages such as Farepiti. To truly go deep in Bora, however, you have to dive in to its calm, crystalline lagoon, which attracts visitors from around the world with world-class diving, surfing, kite surfing or just swimming in the bath-tub warm, gin-clear waters. It’s also one of the best places in the world to learn or hone your skills in SUP, or Stand Up Paddle, the fast-growing watersport ideally suited to Bora’s idyllic conditions.

Introducing The Bora Bora Liquid Festival

To bring you the best of Bora, the editors at wandermelon have joined with Tahiti’s most accomplished watersports training outfit, KainaluXT, to create an event that puts all of Bora Bora’s top attractions together in one festive, exciting event: the Bora Bora Liquid Festival.  Scheduled to take place this December 12-18, the First Annual Bora Bora Liquid Festival is designed to celebrate authentic Tahitian culture with an abundance of activities designed to transport you into the heart of French Polynesia. Part competition and part ultimate beach party, the Liquid Festival is a chance to experience French Polynesia and Bora Bora in a completely unique way. Whether you come to compete in aquatic sports such as SUP, surfskis, swimming or the Va’a, the Polynesian one-man outrigger, or just want to enjoy the ambiance and cheer on the world-class athletes, you’ll find your own slice of paradise in the multiple events, parties, activities and adventures planned throughout the Festival.

In addition to the adrenalin-pumping competitive events featuring top aquatic athletes battling it out in the lagoon, the Festival will feature DJ’s spinning at beach parties, festive barbecues, traditional Tahitian dancing expositions, and tours and activities open to everyone. Adventure choices range from hiking the green spires of the main island to an unforgettable shark and ray feeding adventure. Imbuing every activity, however, is a deep connection with the local Polynesian culture. This stems from the roots of the Bora Bora Liquid Festival, which was originally known as the IronMana. This highly-respected competition began in 2000 as the only Va’a-1 (one-man traditional Polynesian outrigger) endurance paddling event in the world covering over 56km, or 34 miles.

The brainchild of world-class aquatic athlete Stephan Lambert, the event has grown over the past decade into today’s Liquid Festival, which celebrates and shares Tahitian culture as well as sporting excellence. Continually growing and expanding, 2010 marked the introduction of the Bora Bora 5km swim, a 55km surfski division, a waterman triathlon and relay events. The event also now includes the world’s fastest growing watersport, Stand up Paddle or SUP, as well as two other disciplines with great historical significance for Polynesia: lay-down paddleboards and the sailing canoe, which will be used to symbolically open the festival.

Priced and designed to be as inclusive as possible (Packages range from $1,650 – $2,750 for the week-long event), the Bora Bora Liquid Festival is all about the authentic spirit of welcome for which Polynesia is famous, and created so that athletes and non-competitors alike share an amazing and memorable time.  Come celebrate with us and participate as a competitor, fan, guest, and of course, new friend…

Full details, including schedule of events, accommodations and other information on the 2011 Bora Bora Liquid Festival here.

Check out Video from last year’s event here:
Bora Bora Liquid Festival

Photos courtesy of Wim Lippens and Tim McKenna.

*Full disclosure: Bora Bora Liquid Festival is co-sponsored by wandermelon media LLC