Fakarava is a UNESCO Biosphere Reserve site famous for its coral and diving on the North(Garuae) and South(Tetamanu) Passes. There was a warning on the charts and information to be careful as the dive boats operate in the pass. As we arrived in the morning at the north pass ( Garuae) to enter on slack tide we saw 5 dive boats at the entrance and not one of these were near the surfacing divers.

The north pass is wide and deep and larger ships and superyachts regular visitors. Currents of 5 or 6 knots however keep you on your toes with back eddies and little whirlpools.

We moved inside round to an anchorage right on the corner. Beautiful sand bottom and 5 other yachts there in the flat calm.

Information

The atoll is in the Pacific Ocean, part of the Tuamotu Archipelago, and holds UNESCO Biosphere Reserve status, alongside the atolls of Aratika, Kauehi, Niau, Raraka, Taiaro, and Toau. It spans 21km in width and 60km in length, making it the second-largest atoll in French Polynesia after Rangiroa.

Fakarava has a fascinating past. The Pōmare Dynasty originated here before ruling Tahiti.

European explorers first mentioned the atoll in the 19th century. Fakarava became a French territory, known for coconut oil production and mother-of-pearl trade.

Christianity arrived with a Catholic priest Honoré Laval leading to the construction of churches.The Rotoava church (blessed in 1850) and Tetamanu church (dating from 1874) stand as historical landmarks.

Anchoring

You are supposed to anchor in set areas so you do not destroy the coral but we found that the anchorages were not big enough for the number of yachts, and the buoy’s that should have been there in most cases weren’t.  When you anchor on the sand you are supposed to float your anchor so you do not get entangled in the bombies(coral heads) and do not damage them.

In order to achieve this you need suitable floats and of course these were available locally in the form of disused floats from the pearl farms which seemed wash up everywhere. However with our heavy anchor and 12mm chain the logistics of trying to float the chain as recommended was not so easy and we are still refining our technique and the quantity of floats required.

Rotoava

The next day we went to the anchorage outside Rotava, the largest and the northern town. We did not anchor in the designated area as there were to many boats already there so we anchored in the NE corner which is apparently for super yachts. There we found our Swiss friends Gerald and Bridget on Jetlag anchored alongside us. Having last seen them in Colombia nearly two years ago it was a great joy to see them. Lunch and a serious catchup was planned for the next day at Havaiki Lodge

The Town of Rotoava

We needed to go ashore to pay our tourist tax and garbage charge and had a short look around town. We found a small shop but discovered that fresh fruit and vegetables come in only once a week on Wednesday with the island trader. These are swiftly snapped up by the locals and cruising yachts. Tomorrow is Wednesday!

Fakarava Church Rotoava

The Fakarava Church is built from coral rock and cement and many of the internal fixtures are made locally.

As well as protestant services the Fakarava Church actively promotes environmental protection on Fakarava Island and in all of French Polynesia. Reverend Tekurio Temanu, the pastor of the church, is a fervent supporter of environmental preservation. He has advocated against overfishing, pollution, and other environmental problems that endanger the delicate ecosystem of the island. Reverend Temanu has also collaborated with local organizations to set up marine protected areas all around the island.

He received the Goldman Environmental Award, also known as the “Nobel Prize for the environment,” in 2010 for his diligent efforts to encourage environmental preservation on Fakarava Island and throughout French Polynesia. See more at https://farandawayadventures.com/fakarava-church/

Mururoa

Largely forgotten by the rest of the world the nuclear testing program at Mururoa and the environmental consequences still loom large in French Polynesian. With 193 tests, including 41 atmospheric tests, between 1966 and 1996. Most local Tahitians were exposed to high levels of radiation and have been affected with high incidences of cancers and birth defects linked to this. France still denies there is a problem and compensation has not been possible. There are multiple reports confirming the levels of exposure but the French government has continued to brush the problems under the carpet.

Read the excellent article in the Guardian in the link below which follows the history of fallout from the testing.

https://www.theguardian.com/world/2021/mar/09/france-has-underestimated-impact-of-nuclear-tests-in-french-polynesia-research-finds?CMP=share_btn_url

On the plus side France has poured huge amounts of money and infrastructure into French Polynesia since the 1960’s and continues to subsidise most of the activities. Consequently the islands enjoy good roads, wharf’s, airports and regular shipping and transport as well as electricity and water supplies. There is also a good healthcare system and education to tertiary level is available to everyone. This infrastructure is way beyond most of their neighbouring pacific countries.

As with most French territories fresh baguettes and croissants are available daily on larger islands. Additionally daily flights from Paris ensure the supermarkets are well stocked cheeses and other fresh food from France.

Lunch

Havaiki Lodge is a glorious spot for lunch with tables on the sand surrounded by beautiful blue water. Good food, cold drinks, good company and friendly staff, perfect. https://www.tahiti.com/hotels/havaiki-lodge-fakarava-6543

It was great to see Gerald and Brigette again and we enjoyed a leisurely lunch catching up on each others adventures over the past couple of years. Gerald, a fellow retired pilot, and Brigette have fallen in love with French Polynesia and have decided to stay here so are in the process of importing their boat (paying the taxes). As French speaking Swiss they have fitted right into the local community and have been able to give us some good information on how the place works.

We discovered they had a friend arriving on the same flight as our friends the next day so we organised a ride on the same bus and lovely leis for all of them. A very helpful local the others knew organised all this for us

Children and Sharks

Walking back from lunch we came across a local family who had been picnicing on the edge of the lagoon. Stopping for a chat we saw there were a number of sharks in the shallows which they happily ignored as they cleaned their BBQ gear and a 2 or 3 year old child played in the shallows right next to them.

The black tip sharks and sleeping(nurse) sharks are all around the Fakarava Lagoon and the children feed them, play with them and swim with them. It occured to us that sharks in the shallows in NZ would see everybody out of the water!

Diving the North Pass

The following day we decided to dive with Top Dive in the northern pass. Mark had blocked sinuses and did not come so Hew and I set off with a local dive company. Our adventures began half way across the lagoon when one of the outboard motors lost drive to the propellor so we continued on one engine only.

The first dive started in shallow water outside the entrance and we swam back through the pass slowly getting deeper as we crossed into the main channel. The current was running strongly by now and at one stage we had to crab across the current holding on to the bottom before letting go and flying downstream with the scenery rushing past.

After a break in on the beach inside the atoll we ventured out for our second dive starting outside again but initially deeper as were to make our way up into the shallower pass. The instruction was to descend to 28-30m where we would find the wall to start coming up to around 15-18m in the pass. However with the currents and a choppy sea state the boat had dropped us further out than planned and at 30m we could neither see the bottom or the wall with several of the group going to nearly 40m before realising the depth they were at. In the end we did all manage to swim to the wall but we were unimpressed with the dive operator both on the drop off and also diving deeper on our second dive which is not good practice – we would not reommend them as an operator.

Unfortunately no photos as teh gopro was not working and I had problems with the older camera as well. However there are many more photos and video links in this blog, and on the Kiwiflyingfish Youtube channelhttps://www.youtube.com/channel/UCfFESL5kPhUAsarowPnnLXg

Supply Ship arrives

The supply ship comes once a week on Wednesdays (weather permitting) and takes about two hours to unload. Everyone waits for its arrival and the fresh food it brings. Apart from coconuts and fish everything is imported so there are all sorts of things coming off the ship from building materials, gas bottles, furniture and vehicles.

As the main event of the week there are lots of people waiting for the ship with their orders and also outside the grocery shops for the fresh fruit and vegetables. The fruit and vegetables are gone as soon as they hit the shelves, likewise imported cheeses and anything else perishable. Outside the shop are some enterprising locals who also sell locally grown melon on the same day. Interestingly frozen meat is always available – mainly because it is so expensive.

Photo

Visitors Arrive

Two days later Simon and Liz turned up and Hew was excited to see them with a collection of spare parts from New Zealand. As our first NZ visitors since Panama they had to bring an extra bag just for boat bits, such is the cost of coming to visit us in remote locations!

Unfortunately the day they arrived all the restaurants were closed so we decided that we would go back to the anchorage that we had first been at the northern entrance. It was late in the day and not much time to explore but lovely for a swim and a walk ashore on the beach.

Baguettes

The weather forecast was not looking great for the next week and with southerly winds forecast we needed to move to the southern end of the atoll and shelter from the sea state if not the wind. The atoll is so big that the forecast 25-30 knots winds would build up to 2.5m waves at the anchorage at the northern end.

A foraging expedition went ashore in search of essential supplies to get us through next few days. Returning with croissants, baguettes,wine and tonic water we were ready to head south.

Hirifa

Next day off to Hirifa in the southeast corner. The trip down takes 4 hours and since it was the first time we had to be on watch to keep an eye out for bombies even in the marked channel. The charts are better than Raroia but we felt we could not entirely trust them. Sailing down on a pleasant breeze we were joined by several other boats heading to the same destination.

We anchored in good holding amongst a fleet of boats seeking the same shelter. The wind was still out of the west so the anchorage remained a bit bumpy as we waited for it to go round to the south and increase. It was very windy and ideal for kite surfers, wing foilers etc but not great for peaceful cruising. We went ashore for a look around but neither the restaurant nor the kite surfing facility seemed open. A walk along the beach for some exercise and we chatted to various fellow cruisers also exploring what was on offer.

Gerald, Bridget and Vereana on Jetlag had said they were coming down but had branched off to Tetamanu. The photos looked great but unfortunately if you were not a kite surfer then it really was windy. By now it was blowing 20-30kts and the kite surfers were loving it.

Tetamanu

After talking to Bridget and Gerald we decided to go to Tetamanu and explore the South Pass. It was still just as windy but they said it was Ok sheltered behind the little islands. We found shelter behind the reef and decided to explore the famed South Pass.

Snorkelling Tetamana South Pass

The plan was to snorkel on the incoming tide so we got in the dingy and Hew said he would be boatman. Since this was Liz and Simons’s first experience with drift diving in a current and we hadn’t snorkelled here yet either we were excited about what we would find. Everyone snorkels on the incoming tide as it is clear with fresh incoming water from the open sea, on the slack tide it can be murky and an outgoing tide is just not a good idea! As the tidal changes are not very accurately forecast the cruisers all wait for the local operators to go out then leap in their dinghys and follow.

Starting out in shallow water out of the current we were surrounded by little black tip sharks and remora doing their thing. It was then off downstream in the current which increased as we swam downstream until we reached the shallows a few hundred meters. Lots of excitement with the swimmers so it was back upstream for a repeat performance.

Video:Tetamanu drift snorkelling https://youtu.be/vHN52l63g-k

The local dive operator was located in the South Pass with a 5 minute boat ride to the dive sites in the pass. Noting they seemed to have a bar and restaurant we enquired about a booking but as the pensions here were full of divers and could not serve any food to non-guests. Such are the issues of operating tourism ventures with irregular supply deliveries.

Tetamanu Village

The next day we dicided to have a look around the town while we were waiting for the tide and more snorkelling. The village is quite small but was once the capital of the Tuamotos.

There is a very pretty old church made from coral dating from 1874

Central Channel

As the weather had improved we decided to head north again this time up the central channel which is relatively well marked on the charts. This time we sailed on a genoa up the centre channel just behind Jetlag. This was a good ride with not many bombies until the last quarter when suddenly Jetlag veered at right angles in front of us as they had almost run into some pearl farm buoys. For the next 30 mins we saw many buoys in that section of the channel.

Back in Rotoava

Back up north we discovered that the restaurants were only open on Thursday to Sunday so no dinner out.

On Tuesday Liz, Simon, and Mark set off on a bike ride with Bridget and Vereana and then met up at Havaiki Lodge for lunch. The same restaurant we had dined in earlier. Hew was very excited to be able to complete some repairs with the parts Liz and Simon had bought with them

They cycled from town to the end of the northern spit, then back against the wind. Liz was not impressed especially in the exposed area around the airport. They aimed to find the Taputavaka and Topoka lighthouse ruins but only found one. They all made it back for lunch where Hew, Gerald and I caught up with them later.

Pufana Rock

The next day the wind was still blowing but we decided we should do one more snorkel before they went home so we tied up to the buoy at Pufana rock this was spectacular snorkelling as well and a great mooring – solid chain. Here are a few photos of the snorkeling and a video: https://youtu.be/R1rm16cb-YI

We headed back to the town for the night as Liz and Simon were going the next day.

In the morning Liz and I went for walk along the waterfront. We found by accident the other lighthouse that they had not seen the day before because it was not in the right place on the map. We also afound one of the Pearl farm shops but it was all clsoed.

Liz and Simon departed that afternoon. Mark and Hew and I stayed the night to have a meal at the local restauarant Hirinaki Lodge that had happy hour and tapas. https://www.facebook.com/TemoanaRangihei/

The next day we headed back down to Hirifa because we had decided that we had to do the dive in the South Pass at Tetamanu before we left . It is rated as one of the top dive sites in the world.

Raimiti

Enata Diving

The dive shop was based at Raimiti just north of Hirifa. The next morning they collected us from the yacht and we had a great dive. The first dive started on the Eastern side of the channel and then crossed over the deepest area onto the western side. They stopped between dives at the little beach at Tetamanu for snacks and a drink, and an explanation of the next dive drawn in the sand. then straight back into the water the second we went to the “viewing room” which is a small cave to watch the sharks go by, then finishing around the corner where we had also finished our snorkelling previously.

The best diving we have had for a while with lots of fish life and on the second dive more sharks than we have ever seen!! Excellent dive operators who were all alot of fun. Enata diving operation link https://www.enatafakaravadiving.com/en/

Tetamanu Pass Dive Video: https://youtu.be/E8BopO_okyk

Raimiti Lodge

After getting back to the yacht then washing the dive gear and changing our clothes, we decided to go to Raimiti Resort for a drink. What a beautiful resort and what a surprise, it is perfectly placed for the sunsets. https://raimiti-fakarava.com/en/homepage-en/

Once again they were unable to supply food for outsiders as they only catered for guests, perhaps we will go back and stay there sometime. A very beautiful laid back little resort.

After two days it was tiime to head out for Huahine and the Society Islands.

Next blog: Huahine

We motored for the last 12 hours before our arrival to arrive in time to get through the Passe De Tipu, and anchor outside the town for the night. This was our first attempt at entering an atoll through a pass in the reef and while the charts were accurate and the pass well marked being able to see the bottom up close was uncomfortable. A mile offshore we had depths of 1500m coming up to less than 15m in the pass with shallow reefs either side! With strong currents flowing out most of the time we needed to be careful and not drift off course.

Following the marked channel down to the town we anchored just as the light was fading. This was the first time we had no swell or waves for months and we were completely unaccustomed to sitting still in the flat calm water. Time to great to relax and celebrate our first atoll pass crossing.

Raroia(also known as Raro-nuku) is an oval-shaped coral atoll on the eastern side of the Tuamotu Archipelago of French Polynesia.  The atoll measures 43 km by 14 km, with a land area of 41 km² and an impressive central lagoon of 359 km².

Background

Since this is the first blog in the Tuamoto Islands here is a little history

Archaeological evidence suggests that Polynesian settlers arrived in the Tuamotu Archipelago, where Raroia is located, around 800-1000 AD, although some studies indicate an earlier settlement. Ancient Paumotu people referred to Raroia and Takume as “the Twins.”

In 1606, Raroia was discovered by Europeans when Spanish explorer Pedro Fernández de Quirós sailed through the Tuamotu Archipelago and called the island “La Fugitiva.” Later in 1820, Fabian Gottlieb von Bellingshausen a Russian cartographer rediscovered it, naming it Barclay de Tolly. In the 19th century, Christian missionaries arrived, then later traders who offered pearls from the islands for sale in Europe. France claimed the Tuamotus but did not formally annex them. Today, they remain a French overseas collective.

Main Town

Only 150 people are living on Raroia. The languages are Pa’umotu (local) and French (taught in the elementary school), and most speak some English. Primary school is on the island followed by secondary school on nearby Makemo and university in Tahiti (748 km away).

Locals primarily engage in fishing, copra cultivation, pearl farming, and a little tourism.  Raroians are known for their warm welcome, even sharing lodgings with travellers. Their diet is local seafood, imported bread, rice, and canned goods.

We set off to walk around town and find the small shop to buy some dried goods. The shop was well hidden in the back of two houses. Only allowed one person was allowed in at a time but the staff were very friendly. All the power on the island is solar as can be seen with the panels on all the houses. The streets and sections very neat and tidy

The next day we headed out of town, back past the pass, and across to the island with the Thor Hyerdahl monument. This involved dodging bombies on the way. The only accurate information is satellite photos and Mark 1 eyeball. There are channel markers from the pass to the town but none after that. Good light and a sharp lookout are required to navigate the atoll.

Eastern Side of Atoll

Thor Hyerdahl Monument

In 1947, the famous Norwegian explorer and writer Thor Heyerdahl and his crew of fellow Vikings sailed a balsa wood raft named Kon-Tiki from South America to the Polynesian islands. They eventually landed on the eastern side of Raroia after a 101-day journey from South America. This expedition was instrumental in demonstrating the possibility of ancient South American people reaching and settling in Polynesia. Unfortunately, they were later proved wrong. Bengt Danielsson, a Kon-Tiki crew member spent some time there studying Raroia’s economy and society.

The monument to the Kon Tiki Expedition is on a small island at the edge of the atoll. It is a reserve and full of birds. Mark also tried out the hammock under the trees. We walked to the outer edge of the reef with friends from another catamaran called Zipper.

Even on a calm day the swell breaking on the reef was significant so the guys on Kon-Tiki must have been a little nervous when they were about to be washed up. Raroia would have had a very small population in 1947 and they came ashore on the other side of the atoll 20 miles from the village. We are not sure how they made their way across the lagoon but I guess after surviving several thousand miles from South America another 20 miles was neither here nor there.

Hew decided that a lump of coral looked like a Viking mask from Kon Tiki (or earlier Vikings) and suited him, but we decided that NZ may not like coral artifacts!!.

Palm Island Yacht Club and the Northern Anchorage

The northern anchorage is a favourite spot here for cruisers who have given it an official yacht club name. It is well sheltered from the north and NE winds. An idyllic anchorage with snorkelling, islands to explore, and sunset drinks on the beach with some fellow yachties, just perfect (except for the Nonnies, the local tiny sandflies that come out at dusk).

Just across from where we anchored was a little inlet teaming with fish and I spent several hours there watching all the activity in shallow warm water.

However, it didn’t stay like that and at 2 am one morning, the wind switched around to the South and blew up to 30kts – gone were our smooth calm waters and peace and quiet. Luckily we didn’t drag our anchor but friends next door were up trying to reset things in the dark. Scary stuff when you know there are shallow uncharted bombies nearby that you can’t see. By morning things had calmed down, and it was much more peaceful.

While we were in Raroia we snorkelled at each place we stopped but after the high winds, the water was too murky for the next couple of days. We did not snorkel the passage as we were due to pick up friends in Fakarava in a couple of days, and after the bad weather both in the Marquesas and here we had lost time so sadly off we went direct to Fakarava to make up time.

Next Blog Fakarava: https://kiwiflyingfish.com/2024/08/friends-and-more-at-fakarava/