01/08/11 - 24/08/11 Raiatea to Bora Bora, 208nm, 18,518nm Total

Raiatea, apparently formerly known as Havaiki, is thought to be where the NZ Maoris departed Polynesia in their canoes bound for lands unknown. As an island it is fairly unremarkable compared with Moorea but what it did have was a reasonable supermarket and some repair facilities for yachts. Bora Bora on the other hand was stunning, anchoring in miles of light blue water inside the reef while also having some good restaurants and bars ashore. Maybe the difference was the weather – it was pretty miserable while in Raiatea but generally good while in Bora Bora….

Highlights included the anchorage on the west side of BoraBora, swimming with rays and black tip sharks for free (tourist boats charged USD100/person), Bloody Mary’s Restaurant….
Lowlights included having to motor all the way to Raiatea as there was no wind (so much for trade winds!), too much wind in Raiatea and the neigbouring island of Tahaa to enjoy some of the more precarious anchorages near the coral reefs…

The "Gummy Bear" sharks enjoyed the scraps of bread..

 And did a dance around the boat..

 The river at the head of Faaroa Bay where the NZ maoris departed from..

 Very peaceful and surprisingly few bugs biting!

 A view of Bora Bora

 At the anchorage for sundowners....

 Daylight view of BoraBora and yes the water was that good!

 

 It was almost like swimming in fresh air the water was that clear

 Couldn't get enough..

 We went paddling with the rays - don't think they were stingers...

 A friendly character outside the Bloody Mary's restaurant

 The restaurant itself wth a board listing all the famous people to have visited - our names should be up there byu now I should think :) !

 The view from Bloody Marys' anchorage

 And more messing with rays

 They tried to hide in the sand when the tourist boats weren't around to feed them

 Whereas their mates the black tips just kept circling

 And other fish got in on the act

 But the rays and the sharks were the main attraction

 And friendly too....at least untiul they figure you haven't got any food!

 And the sharks came alot closer at feeding time..

Great fun!

11/07/11 - 01/08/11 Rangiroa to Moorea,232nm, 18,310nm Total

Eventually we moved from Rangiroa in the Tuamotus down towards the Society Islands, first to Tahiti and then to Moorea - not huge distances but very different islands. Apparently the Marquesas are the newest islands having only "recently" been trown up from the seabed, the Society islands are the "middle aged" islands that are fringed with reefs and slowly sinking back into the sea, and the Tuamotus are the oldest where the island has pretty much sunk back leaving the coral fringe to form the atolls.

Highlights being, having dinner on deck at sea without wearing our food, the clarity of the water even in busy anchorages, seeing the local canoe races in Moorea and seeing a Stone fish without stepping on it (not a good move!)

Lowlights, the poverty in Papeete as the French start to withdraw their money from the islands - they've created a high cost of living but left little or no industry to support it - it was the first time we've seen beggars and heard about crime since Panama

 

A very calm start to the trip to Tahiti - we even managed to eat at the cockpit table and enjoy a glass of wine with dinner without everything being thrown in our laps! 

 After a rough second night the winds calmed down again as we approached Tahiti and waited outside for 3 hours before we could enter the lagoon - the airport is nearby and they don't allow you to cross the end of the runways in the dark.

 A trip around the island with our frinds Christer and Ulla took us to one of the ancient Maraes..

 Which are a bit different from the ones you see in New Zealand

 With some very scary ( and sometimes rude) looking tiki's guarding it!

 Dawn does an impression of a local island girl!

Looking in to one of many caves on the island which have springs bubbling up from within

 Another tiki guarding the Gauguin museum (it's normally another way up but couldn't find how to change it on the blog!!!)

 A real waterfall with warnings not to get too close because of falling rocks - 'elf and safety has reached the islands!

 The waves breaking on the reef behind us made it hard to believe how flat the anchorage could be.

 While in the absence of beaches the hotels tow out their floating beach huts towards the reef everyday

 Dawn's favourite picture - a Sea Cucumber pooing!

Part of the coral gardens near to where we were moored..

 The water was incredibly clear most days - here's a little White Spotted Puffer fish floating in mid air!

 And one of Richard's favourite fish the Lemonpeel Angel Fish

 The clams seated in the corals had fantastic colours

 As did the Chromis that live in the reef

 On leaving the Tahiti lagoon some locals came to wave us off

 And others rode the stern wave in their outrigger canoes..

 Another calm day saw us heading to Moorea just a few miles away

 Where the locals were having a day of races round the bay

 We had a grand stand view of the proceedings

 as they came back through the anchored boats

 with the fantastic backdrop of the mountains

 And into the late afternoon - we were tired just watching!

 Life on board and the solution to cutting onions without crying!

 While the stingrays swim below the boat 10 mtrs down

 So who can spot the Reef Stone Fish? Answer at the bottom....

 A huge shoal of Sergeant Majors swum past us..

While an unidentified floating object hovered above the reef...

v

v

v

v

v

v

v

v

v

v

v

v

v

v
The Stone Fish has vivid coloured stripe on the underside of it's fins - other than that you would be lucky to see it