Tahiti
The last group of islands in French Polynesia that we would be visiting were the Society Islands, with the main islands in the chain being Tahiti, Moorea, Huhahine, Raiatea & Taha'a, and Bora Bora. The passage from Fakarava to Tahiti was 257 nautical miles and took us just over 48 hours.
Tahiti is made up of two circles of land, Tahiti Nui (Big Tahiti) and Tahiti Iti (Little Tahiti), connected by an isthmus. The whole island is surrounded by a fringing reef. Tahiti Nui is where all the marinas and main anchorages are which can be accessed via various passes in the reef. Our destination was the anchorage outside Marina Taina, so we entered through the Passe de Pape'ete (Papeete Pass).
Before entering the pass, you are required to contact Papeete Port Control for clearance to enter. This is because this pass is used by the many high-speed ferries going between Tahiti and the neighbouring island of Moorea, approximately 20nm away. Once inside, if you are heading in the direction of Marina Taina, you pass the airport runway and need clearance from the control tower. This was a first for us. We were instructed by the tower to hold station about a mile from the south end of the runway whilst 3 planes took off and one landed. We were then told to motor quickly along the side of the runway and past the north end before any more planes made a move. It certainly seems a very busy airport, with lots of small aircraft flying between the atolls and islands in French Polynesia.
Before entering the pass, you are required to contact Papeete Port Control for clearance to enter. This is because this pass is used by the many high-speed ferries going between Tahiti and the neighbouring island of Moorea, approximately 20nm away. Once inside, if you are heading in the direction of Marina Taina, you pass the airport runway and need clearance from the control tower. This was a first for us. We were instructed by the tower to hold station about a mile from the south end of the runway whilst 3 planes took off and one landed. We were then told to motor quickly along the side of the runway and past the north end before any more planes made a move. It certainly seems a very busy airport, with lots of small aircraft flying between the atolls and islands in French Polynesia.
On rounding the corner to the anchorage, there were boats as far as the eye could see. There were literally hundreds of boats packed tightly together on a combination of mooring balls and at anchor. We did a drive through the anchorage looking for a suitable space to anchor with enough swinging room so as not to hit another boat. At first this seemed an impossible task due to the sheer amount of boats, but we eventually found a spot about half a mile from the marina.
Anchorage with a view of Moorea in the distance
There was hardly a breath of wind as we anchored. As usual, we dived on the anchor to ensure it was set properly and then we made our way to the marina in the rib. Our intention was to get a bus into the capital, Papeete, and clear in with the relevant authorities. However, we bumped into friends Tony and Heather on yacht Kwanza, who were docked in the marina. They advised us to wait until the following day as it was by this time 2pm and the buses were reported to stop running after 3.30pm, and taxis are expensive on Tahiti. This suited us fine as we were both pretty shattered after our long passage, so after a quick drink with Heather and Tony, we made use of the marina WIFI to catch up on some admin, and then we walked to the large Carrefour supermarket close by. It was quite a shock to see a fully stocked, full-sized supermarket again. The last one we had seen was in Panama nearly 3 months ago. After stocking up on a few provisions, we headed back to Azzy for an early dinner and an early night.
We had to pass the superyachts on the way to the dinghy dock.
The following day we caught the bus to Papeete and made the longish walk to find the Port Autonome Papeete to clear in and get our Duty Free fuel certificate. The port in Papeete has got various industrial plants, and on our walk we noticed the sweet smell of coconut. Our guess is that all the copra that is delivered here from other islands and atolls is processed right at the port, and that was where the smell was coming from. One of the buildings was covered in greenery to look like a small hill.
We had a quick wander around Papeete and made an appointment for me (Lynne) to have a tattoo the following day. More about that in a later blog entry!
Pape'ete (Papeete) is the capital of Tahiti, but in western terms it is no bigger than a medium-sized town. James Cook arrived in 1769 and this was later followed by Captain Bligh's fateful trip on the HMS Bounty in 1789. You probably already know the story. When Captain Bligh and his crew made landfall in Tahiti, they arrived too early for the sapling breadfuit plants they were sent to collect, to withstand a hardy sea voyage to the Caribbean. Instead, they had an enforced sojourn of some 5 months. Long enough for some of the men to dream about a more permanent life in paradise. And the rest, as they say, is history! Had they landed today in Papeete Harbour, they would be greeted by the kind of commerce that thrives on the cruise ship passengers with deep pockets. Not every shop sells the infamous Tahiti Black Pearl, it just seems that way.
A few days later we returned to Papeete armed with a guide book to see some of the sights. One thing we did notice is that it isn't very pedestrian friendly. Cars are parked on the pavements all over the place meaning you were constantly having to walk in the road to pass the parked cars, and the traffic was quite heavy. This was already a shock to our system after having spent the last two months cruising the relatively sparcely populated Marquesas and Tuamotus. You certainly have to have your wits about you when wandering around, to avoid getting run over!
According to the Lonely Planet guidebook, one of the must-see places in Papeete is a Chinese Temple, known as 'Kanti de Mamao.'
According to the Lonely Planet guidebook, one of the must-see places in Papeete is a Chinese Temple, known as 'Kanti de Mamao.'
Cathedrale Notre-Dame
Papeete Mairie (Town Hall)
Interesting street art.
Interesting street art.
We visited the Marche de Papeete (Market). Here you can buy anything from beautiful floral arrangements, food, clothing and jewellery to wood carvings and homemade Monoi. Monoi is an infused perfume oil made from soaking Tahitian gardenias in coconut oil. Monoi is widely used amongst French Polynesians as a skin and hair softener.
Whilst in Tahiti. we wanted to do a tour of the island, so along with the crews from Making Memories, Gemini Sunset and Greyhound, we booked to do an off-road trip into the volcanic interior. Our guide, Sebastien from Ciao Tahiti picked us up at the agreed time but explained that due to the low cloud cover, the visibility as we climbed up to the crater could be zero. He was happy for us to cancel the tour and get a full refund but we all decided as we were prepared for a day out that we would go ahead anyway. He agreed with us that if the visibility was too poor to continue, we would return to the coast and drive around the coastline instead, taking in other places of interest.
We set off for the town of Papenoo, where we turned inland to Mont Aorai. Sadly, as feared, the cloud cover was so low it became obvious that we weren't going to see a thing. So, we turned to Plan B and headed back to the coast.
You can see the low level cloud. Soon our view disappeared and it began to rain.
Our first stop along the coastline was the Arahoho Blow Holes. Sadly the swell wasn't big enough for us to see the blow holes in all their glory. Only a fine mist appeared.
Next we stopped at the Vaimahutu waterfall and then the 3 cascades waterfalls.
Whilst in Tahiti. we wanted to do a tour of the island, so along with the crews from Making Memories, Gemini Sunset and Greyhound, we booked to do an off-road trip into the volcanic interior. Our guide, Sebastien from Ciao Tahiti picked us up at the agreed time but explained that due to the low cloud cover, the visibility as we climbed up to the crater could be zero. He was happy for us to cancel the tour and get a full refund but we all decided as we were prepared for a day out that we would go ahead anyway. He agreed with us that if the visibility was too poor to continue, we would return to the coast and drive around the coastline instead, taking in other places of interest.
We set off for the town of Papenoo, where we turned inland to Mont Aorai. Sadly, as feared, the cloud cover was so low it became obvious that we weren't going to see a thing. So, we turned to Plan B and headed back to the coast.
You can see the low level cloud. Soon our view disappeared and it began to rain.
Our first stop along the coastline was the Arahoho Blow Holes. Sadly the swell wasn't big enough for us to see the blow holes in all their glory. Only a fine mist appeared.
Next we stopped at the Vaimahutu waterfall and then the 3 cascades waterfalls.
Left - Right, the crews of Greyhound, Making Memories, Gemini Sunset and Aztec Dream
We made a stop for lunch at the Restaurant du Musee Gauguin. The restaurant is neither a museum, nor has it got anything to do with Paul Gauguin, but is actually owned by an Englishman named Roger Gowen. Like us, Roger arrived in Tahiti via his own sail boat, Pambili. A member of the South African Police, he and four friends got together in Bulawayo, started a savings fund, took postal courses in navigation and studied first-aid and wireless. They then hitch-hiked to Capetown, worked their passage to England, obtained Pambili and set out to go sailing around the world. They passed Africa, the Atlantic Ocean, Cape Horn and Pitcairn Island without incident but their boat ran aground on a reef close to Tahiti. Like many others before him, Roger fell in love with Tahiti and never left. In 1963, he published a book about his adventures, called Voyage to Paradise. Roger and his wife have owned the restaurant for many years and he is now in his 80's. He joined us at our table and kept us all enthralled with his interesting tale.
We made a stop for lunch at the Restaurant du Musee Gauguin. The restaurant is neither a museum, nor has it got anything to do with Paul Gauguin, but is actually owned by an Englishman named Roger Gowen. Like us, Roger arrived in Tahiti via his own sail boat, Pambili. A member of the South African Police, he and four friends got together in Bulawayo, started a savings fund, took postal courses in navigation and studied first-aid and wireless. They then hitch-hiked to Capetown, worked their passage to England, obtained Pambili and set out to go sailing around the world. They passed Africa, the Atlantic Ocean, Cape Horn and Pitcairn Island without incident but their boat ran aground on a reef close to Tahiti. Like many others before him, Roger fell in love with Tahiti and never left. In 1963, he published a book about his adventures, called Voyage to Paradise. Roger and his wife have owned the restaurant for many years and he is now in his 80's. He joined us at our table and kept us all enthralled with his interesting tale.
Photo stop on the way to the restaurant showing Tahiti Iti in the distance.
Grounds of the restaurant
Restaurant owner and author, Roger Gowen.
After lunch we visited the Vaipahi Spring Gardens where there are a number of hiking trails. The first viewpoint afforded us fantastic views of the reef surrounding the west coast and Tahiti Iti in the distance.
In the pretty gardens at ground level there was another waterfall and some ponds, one of which had some eels.
Our penultimate stop was at the Grotte de Maraa. This was a series of caves surrounded by lush gardens. There were overhanging caverns, crystal clear ponds and ferny grottoes.
If you look closely you can see some small fish in the cave pool.
Our final stop of the day was at Marae Arahurahu. This beautifully maintained Marae (traditional temple) was impressive in its size and location. It was so peaceful and there were gardenia bushes everywhere, emitting their lovely bouquet. The decorative flags you see in the photos were left over from the annual Heiva festival.
The wonderfully scented gardenia
Two tiki at the entrance to the site
In our next blog entry, we visit Moorea, the second island in The Society Islands chain. We could quite clearly see Moorea from the anchorage at Marina Taina.
Moorea which was sometimes completely shrouded in cloud.
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