The western and quieter of Moorea's two great bays, Opunohu lacks the village at its head and the cruise-ship traffic of Cook's Bay but makes up for it in scenery: the bay narrows toward a vertical green amphitheatre dominated by the spike of Mouaroa, and the still surface of the water reflects the peaks on calm mornings. This is the bay Captain Cook actually anchored in during his second visit to Moorea in 1777. The road around its head leads up through the Opunohu Valley — past pineapple fields and the marae sites — to the Belvedere. A small jetty at the head of the bay is a good spot for kayaking, paddleboarding and snorkelling on the inner reef.