Photos of Toau and Tahiti

Bamboozle
Jamie and Lucy Telfer
Sat 24 Jul 2010 00:32
17:35.169S 149:36.932W   
 
Our wonderful hosts on the atoll of Toau....Gaston and Valentine visiting us on Bamboozle. 
They have been providing a warm welcome to cruising yachts for many years, and are widely
renowned, not only for sharing their island and safe anchorage, but also for giving a interesting
insight into their lives and the skills needed to survive on a tiny outcrop of reef so far from the 
rest of the world.
 
Out on an early morning fishing trip with Gaston....a hunter gatherer par excellence
 
Dealing with the catch.....a very fresh "tuna blanc" is soon ready for the barbeque 
 
The same morning in under two hours we caught 43 lobsters all by hand picked
from holes on the top of the reef....to be fair Gaston collected the vast majority of this
bumper haul but you can probably tell I was pretty chuffed with the morning's work!
 
Despite all the sea salt and the tens of thosands of ocean miles Lucy hasn't changed much
over the years.  Here she is introducing the locals to "two-handed-drinking" with a traditional
Polynesian G&T!
 
After our final dinner (including a large number of the lobsters we had collected) Gaston presented
me with this shell necklace as a memento of our stay with them at Anse Amyot.
 
Philippe....Valentine's step father. A great character with a face to match! 
 
We arrived in Tahiti just in time for the solar eclipse....here is Lucy struggling to get to grips with some of the
more technical equipment involved in solar observation.
 
The sun's track taking it directly behind the new moon.....considerably more impressive
than this photo would suggest!
 
 
Whilst the northern side of Tahiti is pretty developed and covered with big resort hotels the southern
side remains peaceful and undeveloped. The few yachts that make the effort to come down here are
rewarded a very different image of Tahiti. We discovered some outstanding hiking and here is Bamboozle 
tucked safely inside the lagoon with with yet another spectacular anchorage to herself.
 
The Admiral on the helm navigating up inside the lagoon near Teahupoo.  There are plenty of uncharted
reefs and coral heads to keep us on or toes.  In the background you can see the thunderous ocean
swell breaking on the outer reef whilst we criuse the flat water inside.
 
Wash-day on Bamboozle....looking more like a Chinese laundry than an ocean going yacht.