FAKARAVA to MOOREA

Wednesday June 24th 2015

I’m trying to remember all that’s gone on since I last wrote. I believe I left you off as we were in Makemo in the Tuamotus. Ok, so, after leaving Makemo, we headed off to FakaRava, where we’d heard there were more people, and, possibly, even a restaurant!!

Faka Rava

FAKARAVA : 

Like the other atolls we had to time our entry in through the reef and estimate the tides (there are no actual tide tables available, and so you have to guestimate the tides and currents, which means that when we get to the pass, we stop and watch, and then we communicate with any boat that is near us to share any information we may have, then we have another look at the pass, turn the engine on, bite our lower lips and head in, all hands on deck, it’s a bit unnerving , but lots of fun too , and what a relief once we are through! 

Matthew enjoying a quiet beach in Fakarava

Fakarava was a real treat and so worth the visit!  We did not know until we got there that the pass was a protected UNESCO HERITAGE site. The snorkeling and diving is spectacular, no wonder it is rated as one of the top in the world!  So we spent everyday in the water, looking around. While Meghan and Mark are the divers in the family, Matthew and I like to stay at the surface, me wearing a mask and snorkel and he, preferring the more natural “ Take A Deep Breath-Stick Your Head Under Water-Open Your Eyes Wide” approach, he really IS part fish!  Anyways, the highlights from my view point at the surface was : seeing a SCHOOL of sharks (dozens of sharks swimming, slowly, just below me), the variety of the reef fish whose colours dazzle in the crystal clear water, the giant emperor fish AND finally: swimming under the restaurant’s (yes there WAS a restaurant after all!) deck while negotiating with a shark on who should have the right of way in the narrow pass between the pillars!  I let him go first.  I thought it was the polite thing to do, after all it IS his ocean, but as he brushed right past me as he swam by it gave me such a THRILL!  Meg and Mark went diving everyday and they would see the same sharks as we would, except that instead of dozens, they were swimming with HUNDREDS of them, an experience they will never forget!

One of the many sharks we swam with

It's no wonder Disney is currently filming a nature film here, and we heard that BBC was just here a few month ago doing the same.  Maybe one day we will get to see Fakarava again, on the big screen.

The restaurant in Fakarava

We could of easily stayed much longer in the Tuamotus, but, we are only allowed to stay a total of 90 days in French Polynesia, and there are still Tahiti, Moorea, Riatea and Bora Bora waiting for us with only 30 days left, and, our friends are scheduled to arrive in Tahiti soon, so, we raised the anchor on June 16th and set sail for Moorea. We wanted to arrive in  time to partake in the Tahiti Rendez-Vous celebrations which were happening on the weekend. Morea, (like Tahiti), is a beautiful mountainous island surrounded by reefs. We arrived at the entry to Cooks Bay at about midnight on the morning of the 18th. We had never come into an anchorage so late at night before, let alone gone through a reef in the dark! (Moonless night!)  But Mark had done his homework checking the accuracy of the charts we have and he knew that the pass was well marked with navigation lights including range lights to get you in and down the bay (you have to love the French for that too!) So, after heaving to outside the entrance for a bit to let a small squall blow past, with Mark at the helm armed with our charts, radar and Google Earth image overlays (on the chartplotter and computer), and with me on deck keeping watch and calling out depth , we made it through without any issue. We then had to find a place to anchor (I had to stand on the bow and use a flashlight to make sure we didn’t hit any other boats, as it was pretty dark!). We had a good night sleep and woke up to the breathtaking scenery of Moorea, tall mountains all around, reminiscent of Fatu Hiva’s Bay of Virgins, but with fancy resorts ! 

"RENDEZ VOUS" FUN !

The “Moorea-Tahiti Rendez-Vous” is an annual event held  for sailors who have crossed the Pacific.The events took place at one of the resorts called the Bali Hai. The weekend was packed full of activities such as Polynesian Dancing, Traditional Outrigger Canoe Races, Good Food and Music, Demonstrations such as Coconut Husking, Weaving (with banana leaves) Rock Lifting, Sarong ('Pareo') Wrapping and even how to make beautiful head dresses and lays with flowers.

Coconut Grating Demonstration

The Amelie Team after the race ! 

The timing was perfect, as it was Father’s Day weekend, and my birthday, how lucky for us to have so many fun activities happening on that weekend!  In short; we had a blast !  Team Amelie got in third place (out of 5) in our heat of the canoe race, mostly because of our two local team mates (there were 6 seats in the narrow (and beautifully decorated) canoe, the front and back seats were occupied by the true professionals and the 4Ms sat in the middle seats, one behind the other. With the guidance of our experienced team mates we used our wooden paddles, digging deep into the water, switching sides when we were called to do so and paddled our hearts out!  (Matthew got to just sit and enjoy the ride). The whole things lasted maybe 15 minutes, but it was exhilarating to go so fast thorough the water and to cross the finish line! 

Birthday girl gets a lift

The starting line

The dance shows on Saturday night and Sunday afternoon were just FANTASTIC!  The dancers were so darn good  ( I had no idea a woman’s hips could move like that!) There was so much energy!  My favourite were the men, when they did their warrior dance (like the New Zealand ‘Haka”), they really put their heart and soul (and muscles!) into it!  I could easily see how this would intimidate any rival, especially at the end of the dance when the men threw themselves into the audience with a loud war cry (and flying sweat) they would land mere inches away from a spectator’s face, freezing into a cold, angry stare, for 10,20 seconds of silence. It’s really intense! I should know because I was the recipient of one of those stares. I shall  never forget those angry dark brown eyes looking into mine for what seemed like an eternity,  Of course after the spell is broken,  the same men relax and break into their signature friendly smiles, the act is done, and you can breath again but just, wa-a-wow! I wish I could have captured THAT on film!

Meg (3rd from front) in the Kids Canoe race

 

Team Amelie ready for the Race !

Meg had a great time with the demonstrations and even took part in a relay race where she had to run carrying two stocks of bananas (one stock on each end of a bamboo pole) around a course. Matthew loved the music (loud drums!) and swimming in the Bali Hai Pool!  Mark had a great time catching up with all the cruisers we had met from Panama to Moorea, so many familiar faces and names, so many stories to swap!

After the party wrapped up, we sailed to Tahiti (Monday) and have been enjoying the hussle and bustle of the “Big City”. The last two days have been spent shopping, crossing items off of our boat list, and of course we had to stop in to McDonalds, to have  ice cream sundaes!  

Coming up : 

We have a few projects to work on before our guests arrive, tomorrow is the last day of school and so we will have more time to get all those things done ! Well, we hope you are enjoying your summer, here in the Southern Hemisphere, we are entering winter, but happily no winter boots or toques will be needed ! Loads of love, 4Ms at sea, in the Society Islands.

Super strength monkey girl 

A "Sea Biscuit", like a "Fat" sand dollar, found intact !

This is one of the beauties that got away a  5-6 foot sailfish we hooked between Tuamotus and the Society islands

Faka Rava

Trumpet fish and friends under the Faka Rava Dock

Napoleon Wrasse

Faka Rava boardwalk
Opposite page; Meg plays with Tristan from Kazaio