Having spent a few hours hove to South of the islands we were in no rush to go in through the pass, preferring to wait until the sun was high so it would be easy to spot the reefs coming through the pass and when we were inside the lagoon. We headed for the Western pass, we’d drifted West whilst hove to, so it made sense to go in that way.

 

The inner islands are pretty steep and densely forested. This little fishing expedition came out whilst we were threading our way through the lagoon to Luf. 

The village is at the top of a bay, nestled between two high headlands, on a sandy isthmus.

As you can see the chart is badly out, showing our track going over the reef and up onto the land instead of into the bay. The marking of reefs is also very sketchy, with a few put in then just the words “Numerous reefs”. Good job we had the satellite image and good high sunshine to show us the way!

Motoring our way in, feeling our way around the reefs and watching as the atoll revealed itself before us was one of those mornings we’ll remember all our lives. Unspoilt forest, small white beaches and all the shades of the lagoon revealing the shallows were spectacular, with a perfect sunny day and crystal clear water redefining the word ‘blue’.

PS