The Society Islands - Maupiti

Maupiti

Maupiti lies approximately 30nm to the west of Bora Bora and is known as Bora Bora's little sister. The small island is surrounded by 5 motus (islets) and a lagoon with colours ranging from lapis lazuli to turquoise. The coral gardens are also packed with colourful fish.

To enter Maupiti by boat, you must enter through the very narrow Onoiau Pass on the south of the island between Motu Pitihahei and Motu Tiapaa. It is advisable to only enter in settled weather as there is a strong current that runs through the pass. That and the close proximity of the surrounding reefs can make it treacherous in the wrong conditions. Fortunately, the weather gods were kind to us and we had near perfect conditions for our stay in Maupiti. Our entrance through the pass was exciting but we found it to be very well marked. 

You can see the entrance is narrow but well marked from this chart. 

Looking back at the narrow pass once we were inside the channel.

Once through the pass, Norwegian friends Kaia and Kjell on yacht 2K guided us to a free mooring buoy close to them. Once settled, we went over to their boat for a drink and a catch up. They very kindly gave us lots of information on what to do and see on the island. Whilst looking out from the cockpit at the surrounding reef, we saw several manta rays swim past. Kaia informed us that there was an area close by that was used by the manta rays as a 'cleaning station'. They go there daily so that remora and other types of fish can clean them of parasites. The water in the area is only around 3 metres deep so you can get quite close whilst snorkelling. Lynne was keen to get a better photo of a manta ray and Kaia offered to take some on her underwater camera which had a zoom lens, unlike the GoPro.

Thanks to Kaia for the photos of the Manta Rays.

The following day we took the rib to the main town of Vaiea and took a hike up Mount Teurufaatiu to get some views of the lagoon. We couldn't climb to the top as it was too slippery underfoot after some recent rainfall, but even at the height we climbed to the views were spectacular. According to our guide book, we should have been able to see some petroglpyhs carved into large boulders in a dried-out river bed along the hike. However, try as we might, we just couldn't find them.

Approaching the island from the lagoon. 

On our way back to the rib, Lynne was beckoned over by an elderly gentleman who was pottering in his garden. He handed her a highly scented tiare (gardenia) flower to wear in her hair. She placed it in the cabin once back on the boat and it kept its beautiful scent for several days. 

Both of us loved Maupiti. It has a real slow-down-it's-the-South-Pacific feeling. There is only one road on the island and very few cars. There are no large holiday resorts, just family-run pensions. This was more like it! It may be referred to as Bora Bora's little sister but it couldn't be more different. 

We took a closer look at the fringing reef on the way back to the boat. 

A beautiful end to a fabulous day. 

Before leaving Maupiti, we debated on whether we should make a stop in Niue or make our way directly to Tonga. We have heard many stories about the challenges of getting ashore in Niue so we decided to go straight to Nuku'alofa in Tongatapu, Tonga. However, things didn't quite go to plan...