Fakarava, Tuamotu's
Quartermoon
Mike Share & Sammy Byron
Sat 12 Jun 2010 02:41
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Having spent 5 days in Kauehi we headed for
Fakarava. Fakarava is the 2nd largest Atoll (population 700) in the Tuamotu's
and the diving has been described as 'super super spectacular' so we couldn't
wait to get there. It has recently been made a UNESCO-protected area so it must
be good.....
Unfortunately there was no wind so we had to motor
the 40 miles to the north entrance. Not an unpleasant day as it decided to tip
it down which meant we collected a load of rain water and we could each have a
full freshwater shower...Happy days...(We do wash by the way....
just usually with salt water and very limited fresh water, so it was nice
not to have to stress about how much fresh water we were using).
 Unfortunately this time our calculations were not
so perfect, so we probably hit the pass at exactly the worst time. The sea state
looked ok at first but by the time we got there it was going a bit crazy. Lots
of breaking waves and very messed up water.We motored through with the main
sail up just in case we had to abort our mission. We were making 7 knots+
through the water but struggling to make 2 knots over the
ground.
 I freaked out at one point as the depth gauge
decided to read 0.2 metres under the keel and it felt like we were motoring
through the surf break onto Freshie beach! All I could think was that
I had chosen the wrong pass and we were about to be grounded in this crazy
mess of water. Mike had great delight pointing out that it was probably due to
the aeration of all the water as we were really in 15 metres.... ok ok
ok..... but I did see a split second of panic in his eyes!
So as soon as we entered the lagoon the current
abated and before long it was tranquil. We are currently anchored just off
the main town on Rotoava which is really quaint. I love it and could spend a lot
of time here. There's a bit more to the village than Kuahei: there are
3 stores, a church, a few boutique black pearl shops and a bakery. Of course we
were too late for the fresh baguettes (again) as every N American cruiser we
meet seem to take great delight in telling us they have bought the last 6 in the
bakery! (Mike thinks this is bloody inconsiderate as the bread is only
fresh for 1 day and 2 people do NOT need that many carbs, just look at them for
christ's sake!!!)
There isn't that much to do here except dive,
snorkel and ride our bikes along the 20 km tarmac road that was built down the
middle of the island specifically for a visit from then French president Jacques
Chirac (Who then never showed up!)
 Anchoring was a nightmare again, the bottom
is a mixture of sand and coral. Mike has had to dive a number
of times and I think the last free dive was to 17.5 metres to release
the chain that had wrapped itself well and truly around a (mostly
dead ;-)) bommie and threatened to tear the bow-roller off the
boat! Sometimes I wonder if he will ever resurface and now he's excited to
pass 20m......
We did 2 dives today, the first a drift dive
on the Garuae Pass which was truly awesome and definitely is up there in
our top 5 dives ever. Back roll off the rib into 30m of gin clear water and
the visibility is so great that you can see the bottom from the
surface. Honestly think it was about 80m once you were down. There
were of loads - and I mean loads - of black-tip, silver-tip, grey and
white-tip reef sharks, hundreds of schooling reef fish of every type imaginable
but the most amazing site was the hundred or so of black-tip sharks silhouetted
above us swimming in the current. Imagine the sort of thing you see on
documentaries and you wonder "where the hell are they filming
that?...."
    The second dive was a wall dive which was just as
great but lacking the fun of flying along with the current. Loads of sharks
again but also some HUGE Tuna and Napoleon wrasse. Pretty awesome and the
best bit is.. we are going back for more tomorrow......
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