We are on the move again and the last of the Tuamotu Archipelago has just slipped below the horizon behind us. It is a clear starry evening and we are ghosting along with the lightest of breezes towards the Society Islands, about 220 miles ahead. Our destination is probably the best known of all the South Pacific islands, Tahiti, and more specifically Papeete, the capital of French Polynesia.

 

The last few weeks amongst the atolls have been outstanding.  After a few days anchored off the village on Kauehi we sailed 7 miles across the lagoon to the uninhabited southern shore of the atoll. We had arranged to link up here with a couple of other boats for a mid-summers night party (yes, I do realise it is actually mid winter as we are in the southern hemisphere) organised by two Norwegian boats. We built a coconut husk BBQ and a huge fire of driftwood and spent a wonderful evening under the stars. There is nothing on the reef here except coral, coconut palms and white sand so we all ended up staying for a couple of days of swimming, walking, beachcombing and snorkelling.

 

From here we sailed across to the next atoll west, called Fakarava, which has one of the largest lagoons in the group and has a big wide pass that keeps the fresh ocean water sluicing in and out twice a day. The result is the most incredible marine life and the reason for our visit was mainly to dive and snorkel in and around this pass. The coral and the fish were vibrant and vivid just about anywhere you chose to stick your head in the water but the high point was a drift dive using the rapidly incoming tide to wash us in through the pass. We dropped into the deep ocean water just outside the lagoon entrance and were sucked in towards the pass at a rate of about 4 to 5 knots. At the front wall, the reef comes up like a cliff  from over 1000m deep to about 30m and we positioned ourselves to catch this lip as it shot by. Once you had a firm grip on an old lump of coral you could hang, strung out like a flag, and start to appreciate the surroundings. Because all the islands in the group are only made up of elevated coral there is no soil or runoff to murky the water. The result is almost total water clarity and visibility even at this depth was probably 50m plus. The only thing that blocked our view of the scenery were the sharks!  This spot is known by the locals as the "wall of sharks" and for good reason......I counted 30 to 40 around us at any one time just milling about and looking sharky. This pass is home to grey, blacktip, whitetip. lemon, hammerhead and tiger sharks and all are seemingly totally un-interested in the occasional human floating by with a tank strapped to his or her back. Awesome is an over-used word but this truly was (in bold, with capital letters, underlined, and several exclamation marks). After 10 minutes or so we let go and shot on in through the pass skimming over canyons of exquisitely coloured coral and teeming with fish of every description (the whole cast of Finding Nemo were there!).  Once inside the entrance, we found a sandy patch between the heads to drop in to and to take a closer look at the reef's many other inhabitants before surfacing and being collected by the dive boat while still travelling at 2 to 3 knots across the lagoon. I have been lucky enough to dive in quite a few interesting spots around the world but nothing has come close to this 45 minutes. It was so good we went back and did it again the next day!

 

From Fakarava we sailed 40 miles north to Toau where we had arranged to meet some other friends on their yacht, Orinoco Flow.  We moored in Anse Amyot, tucked into small slot in the reef which provides shelter from the wind and swell. The Polynesian family who live on the Motu are extremely hospitable to visiting yachts and with a day's warning will organise a special dinner of local specialities caught on and around the reef. Gaston and Valentine spent a whole day preparing and we all sat down with them in the evening to a veritable feast as they heaped piles of Lobster, Poisson-cru, Mahi-mahi, and Parrotfish onto the table.  All this was rounded off with Valentine's famous (at least around here) coconut pie and we sat late into the night talking and laughing. Special people and a very special place. 

 

It is very hard for them to come by fresh vegetables and fruit so we raided our depleted stores to give them what we could before we left.  A supply ship visits a neighbouring reef every couple of weeks but they can't exactly pop down to the local Tesco to pick up a crispy lettuce.  We on the other hand should have the opportunity in the next few days to visit the Carrefour Supermarket in Papeete which we hope will have it's aisles stacked with fresh vegetables and French goodies. The last time we saw anything bigger than a basic village store was back in Panama City, 3 months and 4500 miles ago so for once, even I am excited about the prospect of a shopping trip!    

 

We will also get the opportunity when we get to Tahiti to find a decent internet connection, so we will put together a page of photos and send them onto the site next week.