Pacific Ocean – Part 4: Tahiti and the Society Islands

Pacific Part 4 includes our time in the beautiful islands of Tahiti, Moorea, Huahine, Raiatea, Tahaa and Bora Bora!

As mentioned in the previous blog, Papeete, Tahiti, is the hub of the south Pacific islands. It is a city. We took a bus into town and explored. We found a huge market downtown where local fruits, vegetables and fish were available. There were also many crafts for sale. Elsewhere in the core, there were numerous shops, restaurants, bars and chandleries. There was also a Carfourre store nearby so we were able to stock up at relatively reasonable prices.

Produce department in the Carrefour store close to Marina Taina

Part of the Papeete Market

 

Sunset over Moorea, seen from the Marina Taina on Tahiti

The jagged peaks of the mountains lining Cooks Bay

From Papeete, we took the short sail to Moorea, which is a very mountainous island to the west, and can be seen from most of the west coast of Tahiti.  Moorea is a beautiful island with numerous jagged mountain peaks formed by extinct volcanoes.  We entered the lagoon surrounding the island at the northeast side, and entered Cooks Bay.  Several boats were anchored at the head of the bay, close to town, and we found a spot among them.  The next morning, we went into town and found a large supermarket, but we didn’t need anything other than fresh baguettes.

Several of the large yachts anchored in outer Cooks Bay.

We raised the anchor, and moved to the next bay, Baie d’Opunohu, where we anchored near the entrance among a large fleet of sailboats.  Close-by was a beach and park, which we dinghied to.  The bay was striking with the surrounding peaks!

The Hilton Moreea Lagoon, east of the anchorage in Baie d'Opunohu

Beautiful Scenery in Moorea! This is the road around the entire island.

 

The start of a outrigger canoe race in Baie d'Opunohu.

We left the next afternoon, for an overnight sail to Huahine, 14 hours to the northwest. We anchored the following morning near Fare, the main village in Huahine, and visited the village. Each island has its own uniqueness, and Huahine was not different. Reportedly the most untouched (by tourism and development) this island is changing nevertheless.  We feel blessed to see these special places before they lose their quaintness.

"Downtown" Fare, the main village in Hauhine.

We have grown to love baguettes, which are readily available all over French Polynesia

We left Huahine for Raiatea, the long-time cultural and religious centre for Polynesians.  Near the southeast side of the island is a UNESCO site Marae Taputaputea, which we wanted to visit. It is in the center of the Polynesian triangle and was the political, ceremonial, and funerary centre, and the marae were paved rectangles of stone where the living world intersected with the world of their ancestors and the gods. Lots of “mana” here!

Sailing to Raiatea

The next day we had a beautiful sail up the east side of Raiatea inside the lagoon (no waves) where we were close enough to the shoreline to take in the scenery for several hours.  Eventually, we rounded the north end and found an anchorage on the east side of Tahaa, tucked into the mountains.

Coconut palms line the shoreline of Raiatea

Dinghy back on deck, we left in the morning for Bora Bora, allegedly the most beautiful island in the world.  After 5 hours of sailing, we entered the lagoon and anchored near Vaitape, the main village. 

While the island is incredibly picturesque, it is heavily commercialized with pricey resorts and pearl shops, and overall very expensive.  Due to its remoteness and cost, it has become a place for the rich and famous, not us.  In Bora Bora, we wanted to see a traditional drum and dance show, but dinner and the show at one of the area luxury resorts would have cost hundreds of dollars so we were quite disappointed.  But by talking with the locals, we found one in a nearby soccer field one night where the Vaitape community members had assembled to practice for the upcoming July competition between all the villages of Polynesia. Dozens of drummers, ukulele and guitar players, singers, and nearly 100 dancers were practising their art – and it was fantastic, and free!

The extinct volcaninc peaks and surrounding lagoon make Bora Bora the most beautiful island.

Tim and Karen seeing the sights in Vaitape

Entertainment by local men outside the Chin Lee grocery store in Vaitape, Bora Bora

Karen enjoying the crystal clear water in Bora Bora Lagoon

 

The drummers of Bora Bora, practising their art!

French Polynesia is a beautiful country covering a gigantic expanse of the South Pacific Ocean, peppered with beautiful little islands.  The best part of the country were here people: mostly Polynesian, with their culture of kindness to travellers, humility, generosity and laughter.

  

Maururu (merci)and parahi oe (au revoir) to all the wonderful people of French Polynesia!

The Gardenia is French Polynesia's flower, and is worn in the hair, or in leis.

Mass and 2 baptisms at the Vaitape Catholic church on Father's Day

We cleared out of French Polynesia at the Bora Bora Gendarmerie, with plans to make a five-day sail to Rarotonga, the capital of the Cook Islands.

Pacific Ocean – Part 3: Fatu Hiva to Tahiti

Pacific Part 3 includes a visit to the breathtaking island of Fatu Hiva, the sail through the Tuamotus, and our arrival in Tahiti!

When we finally repaired our rudder, we felt relieved, but behind schedule. We wished we had so much more time to see more of the beautiful, rugged Marquesas Islands.  But one Marquesan island cannot be missed: Fatu Hiva. I have dreamed of going there for many years, and 40 nautical miles to the south was too close to let it go by. We left Hiva Oa, and set sail via the nearby island of Tahuata for Fatu Hiva. As we approached Hanavave, a village on the island’s northeast coast, we could not believe our eyes! The pictures we have seen previously did it no justice – it was absolutely beautiful! Unfortunately, our pictures below fail to document some of that beauty, but it will be in our minds in 3D forever.

 

Vata in Fatu Hiva's Bay of Virgins, the most beautiful anchorage in the world!

Hanavave is a tiny Marquesan village of wood carvers and makers of tapa cloth, situated on the Baie des Verges (Bay of Virgins in English).  The first Europeans to visit here in the 1500’s called it the Baie des Vierges (Bay of Penises), but the priests objected, despite the numerous phallic symbols surrounding the bay, and removed a letter to make it more appealing.

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We went into town and were immediately greeted by friendly Marquesans, offering to show us around, but we declined.  Our goal that morning was to visit a nearby waterfall, that is highlighted in many of the cruising guides for the island. “Nous cherchons la cascade”, I would say, and smiling locals would point and give instructions to go up the mountain, but keep to the left. Half an hour later, we had climbed several hundred feet past pampelmousse, orange and lime trees and banana palms, and were feeling the “burn” in our legs. Half-way there…. The road split, and we took the gravel road to the left, which soon turned into a tractor trail through coconut groves. Another left, and the trail started with stepping stones across a creek and narrowed to a foot path, then started to climb more through densely forested areas with remains of ancient house foundations built of rounded volcanic boulders.  We crawled under fallen trees and huge boulders along a steep leaf-covered rocky trail, worried we would lose our footing and sprain an ankle. Just when we were about to give up, we found the waterfall. A long trickle down a sheer rock face with a deep pool at its base – not exactly what we envisioned. Now for the walk back… at least it’s down hill this time.

A beautiful walk on the trail to the falls...

The path narrows and gets rugged.

The 200' waterfall was a mere trickle during our visit.

Tim on the tractor trail coming back from the falls.

Coconut meat being dried in the sun, or copra, is a source of income for residents of Fatu Hiva

Back in the village, we looked for the renowned wood carvings of a Tiki, and perhaps some tapa with Marquesan art on it, and we encountered a joyful “Simon the Carver”, who parted with one of his carvings, along with his wife’s offerings of 10 pampelmousse, 20 limes, a whole bunch of bananas and a breadfruit. A very productive day!

Simon the carver, working on one of his large stone Tikis.

That night, while barbequing dinner, we ran out of propane. They don’t sell propane around here, and not even butane.  We would have to return to Hiva Oa to refill our tanks with butane.

In Hiva Oa, we purchase a 30kg bottle of butane at the Mobile gas station, borrowed an adapter hose to connect the bottle to our North American-threaded tanks, and got back to the boat.  We hung the butane up-side down from the mast, and secured it with ropes so it wouldn’t swing around in the swell. Connected the adapter hose to our cylinder, which we shaded, Bled the line from the butane then opened our tank and waited for gravity to do its work.  Several hours later we were satisfied that each of our tanks were half full of butane.  Now we can continue our trip!

We set sail for the Tuamotus, an archipelago of coral atolls between the Marquesas and the Society Islands of French Polynesia. Unfortunately, the length of time we spent in Hiva Oa did not permit much time exploring the sparsely populated islands, so we picked Rangiroa, on of the more northerly atolls and the second largest in the world, and set our course.  Arrival had to be planned to coincide with slack tide, since the two navigable passes turn into a fury when the tide is running through, so in the end we slowed down, and entered Tiputa Pass at 7 a.m. after a 5-day uneventful sail. Our timing missed the high tide, but we entered the lagoon after struggling against the outflow.

The lagoon was beautiful with clear turquoise water, and we anchored in a bay with approximately 20 other sailboats, seven of which were Canadian!, We launched the dinghy and went into town to report to the Gendarme, the local police. After walking through the village’s few stores, we were offered a ride by a local lady. She explained our surroundings as we drove. She waited for us at the Gendarmarie, then completed the tour with a drive through the next village, pointing out important features. She drove us back into our starting point. Very nice!

The Chez Lilly restaurant in Rangiroa.

Hotel beside the anchorage in Rangiroa's lagoon

The next day we arranged a tour of the Paul Gaugin Pearl Farm, and were picked up by their free shuttle at the dock. Our guide explained how oysters are raised, how the pearls are developed. Now we know why pearls are so expensive.  The beautiful black pearls of Rangiroa are out of our cruising budget.

In the afternoon, we visited a nearby snorkelling hot spot called “the Aquarium”. Clear water protected from winds by a small motu, teaming with fish in a beautiful coral and white sand setting. It’s easy to lose track of time, swimming after this fish, and seeing what may be hiding behind a coral, or in a hole….  But it was time to go. Lift the dinghy and prepare to sail the short one and a half days to Tahiti.

Papeete, the capital of French Polynesia, located on the northwest coast of Tahiti, is the hub of the south Pacific islands. From flights, to ships to shopping, and sailors, everything comes to Papeete, so if you need anything, you can find it here.

I finally caught a tuna, just north of Tahiti!

Karen enjoying a glass of wine after we anchored behind Pointe Venus in Tahiti

The southern swell was breaking on the reef on our approach to Marina Taina.