Bora Bora

Nickanddenisesailing
Thu 24 Aug 2017 05:50
16.30.67 S 151.46.16 W

Hello from beautiful Bora Bora!

We are at an anchorage on the western side of the island behind a big motu. Whats really nice is there isn't a big fancy hotel in sight! Its a lovely little anchorage with great protection and turquoise water all around.

We had a good easy sail over from Raiatea and arrived into the anchorage to find a number of boats which we knew. Always a great feeling. We swam straight over to Sarayu (a Kiwi/Polish couple who became great friends in Panama and onwards), who we haven't seen for a while. We were welcomed on board and it wasn't before the beers were flowing and stories were being shared.

The next morning we headed off in search of rays and adventures. We have been feeling pretty sceptical about Bora Bora to be honest, and the idea of the big hotels and rich American tourists had been warning us off a bit. So we left that morning feeling a bit apprehensive. After turning the corner around the anchorage (to go to the manta ray spot) the wind blasted us in the face and we decided to go and see what some of the tourist boats were up to near by instead. After lots of discussion we decided to anchor up and just slowly snorkel over to check it out. They were there feeing the rays and sharks! It was amazing to watch and the rays come so close that it almost feels like they are trying to give you a hug. The guy feeding drew us in closer (I imagine he thought we were from one of the boats) and at one point I had rays all around me and feeling a bit unsure stepped back - only to stand on another one. Poor thing. The reef sharks were also entertaining as many of them had
the
most ginormous ramoras on them - some nearly as big as the sharks! I think its safe to say everyone was being fed well - this sparked a healthy discussion amongst us about the practice of feeding wild animals for tourists.......

Around this anchorage we have also been able to do some exploring around a sunken yacht which is just about 200m from us. Its always a bit spooky looking around something that is so close to home. After asking Nick to dive down with me to have a look inside I built up the courage to poke my head into the gloomy companion way just as Nick decided to let out a shrieking scream, of course I jumped out of my skin! Looking over at him I saw him full of bubbles bent over laughing his head off. He was in trouble for a good few hours after that :)

Yesterday we did some good jobs on the boat, including cleaning off the green beard on the bottom of the boat. I also managed to find a crown of thorns star fish, which by using the kitchen tongs transported to the beach to die. It was sad seeing the white, bleached, destroyed path through the coral which it had taken. After lunch we headed off into the outer lagoon for me to do some windsurfing. It was great fun in the turquoise water with all the rays underneath. Nick was a great rescue boat/camera man and he earnt some good boyfriend points back by staying out there with me the whole session.

We had a big day today. An early start saw us getting ready to hike up to the top of the mountain. Its about 600m but very very steep. We decided reasonably confidently that we didn't need a guide and teamed up with a dutch boat, Lawrence, Sophie and Sophie (Lawrences sister) - (who we have become great friends with - Ewan they are on a racing class 40 I think - looks a lot like your boat). We googled where to go and after heading up the back behind the town we were on a steep tricky track up the mountain. After about an hour and a half we could go no further and realised that somewhere along the line we must have made a wrong turn. The terrain and 'track' was pretty interesting and our decent back down involved some serious slipping. We found the trail again and headed back up where we found the path. A series of ropes and roots help you to climb ever higher. The terrain is loose rock and dry soil which made the going pretty tough. We passed one tour group all wearing climb
ing
gear and they told us you needed ropes to make it to the top..... we carried on in earnest and passed another group with no ropes - but who told us we were 'hardcore' as we had come with out a guide..... Getting to the top was tricky and we had to be pretty reliant on the ropes that were in place. But wow - the view from the top! What a sight to be able to see the whole lagoon! Such incredible colours and contrasts of blue. We could even see some of the other islands in the distance. After a good lunch stop we gradually slipped our way back down the mountain. After the 6 hours of steepness it was great to be on flat ground again.

So I am on the boat recovering and Nick is over with the Dutchies having some beers and doing a movie swap. We think we will move around to the SE anchorage tomorrow. There are some strong winds forecast for the weekend so unfortunately our Saturday departure for the Cook islands will have to wait until Wednesday. I guess there are worse places to be haha :)



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