Position: 19:57.98S  174:29.59W   - Uonukuhihifo
Tuesday October 1st

After a night at O’ua we had another great day sail of a few hours. We anchored in about 15 feet of clear water above a sandy bottom close to a sand spit that connected the uninhabited islands of Uonukuhihifo and Uonukuhahake – perfect!

We spent the next few days in this sheltered little anchorage. Yet again we were the only people there. We filled our time mostly with snorkeling and walking around exploring the little islands. There were lots of low coconut palms nearby us here so no climbing was required, just hacking into the coconuts through their tough husk which is surprisingly hard work as we do not have a machete on board. Connolly timed himself and took almost 5 minutes between picking the coconut and drinking it!

One day the waves on the outer reef had calmed some and I decided this was our opportunity to snorkel out there. We swam in from Sea Monkey, crossed the sand spit, then swam out across the shallow lagoon and through a few small waves over the outer reef to the edge of the ocean beyond. It was a great snorkel all along the outside of the reef where it dropped off to the deep blue of the ocean. There was lots of healthy coral, endless reef fish, some interesting holes and tunnels through the coral for me to dive through and a couple of turtles slowly cruising past. We circled the entire island coming back in through the pass at the end.

Maybe another day or so here and we will sail on to Ha’afeva.


Phil