Society Islands

Sunset over Moorea - the tall 'palm tree' is a mobile phone mast!

We motor-sailed across to Moorea, all glad to be leaving Tahiti at last - which sounds unfair to the island as it is a lovely place.  We enjoyed the groups of old men & women, in flowery shirts & palm hats, singing and playing their ukuleles on street corners, the ladies with fresh flowers tucked behind an ear and the friendly people, but when I was punched in the head by a psychotic drug addict at 10 o’clock one morning it rather put me off the place!

As we sailed through the pass into the lagoon a whale surfaced ahead looking like a large rock before it flipped up its tail & dived.  

A couple of days later we set off to the north-west, leaving the Windward Islands for the Leeward Islands and did an overnight sail to Huahine;  just like Tahiti and Moorea it is a mountainous volcanic island surrounded by miles of coral reef (actually it’s 2 islands joined by a short bridge!).  We left in the afternoon after a big lunch and once through the pass were hit by a nasty short, steep swell on the quarter.  The wind got up but the swell didn’t diminish so we had a horrible & overcast night rolling and pitching with massive breakers roaring alongside, threatening to break over the stern but never quite succeeding.   Lightning storms danced around the horizon and every now & again the moon would peep out from the scudding clouds making the seas look even more intimidating. 

A canoe race was starting in Huahine as we motored past & they soon overtook us

By dawn we were in sight of Huahine but still had a long sail up the west coast to the pass through the reef – then we motored all the way back down inside the reef for a couple of hours to the southern end of the island & anchored in a beautiful, sandy bay. 

Blue-lipped clams embedded in the coral are an extraordinary sight

It was a treat to have a great beach, good snorkelling and a pretty café for lunch over the water. 

Anchored in the shadow of Tautara

 We left soon after sunrise for the long motor past the forested hills to the pass and we had a beautiful sail across to Raiatea, the island that legend says is the one that the incredible Polynesian seafarers left from to populate Hawaii, Easter Island and New Zealand in the 17^th century.  We decided to enter via the southern pass but it was a bit tricky as the reef is solid for miles & miles with breaking surf all the way to the little island of Naonao.  Once nearing the island you look for a gap, line up the western edge of Haio Island with the mountain peak that is just to the right of Mount Tautara, and then just go for it.  Just as we cleared the reef the heavens broke and everything disappeared in the tropical downpour making us slow right down as we couldn’t see where the coral heads were.

Many waterfalls cascade down the slopes in Raiatea

These islands have deep inlets, like fjords, so you need to head as far in as you can before it begins to get shallow enough to anchor between the coral & in the shadow of the mountains.  Raiatea was Captain Cook’s favourite island in the South Seas & he anchored here several times between 1769 and 1777.

Marae Taputapuatea

Later we anchored in Fa Aroa bay, near the Marae Taputapuatea – one of the largest & best preserved Polynesian temples in Polynesia.

It wasn't all dancing girls and rum for Captain Cook - here he is at a human sacrifice at a Marae in Tahiti

The platform, an ahu, was a sacred area reserved for the gods, many of whom were deified ancestors.  Human sacrifices and firewalking once took place on the marae and it was also used for beacons to help ancient navigators.   The marae is in a lovely, wooded area right by the shallow turquoise waters of a reef and surprisingly has a gentle, peaceful atmosphere.  The little village down the road has a travelling shop that visits a couple of times a day and the road meanders around the edge of the island.

Sara Jane anchored in Fa Aroa bay

When we got ready to leave the engine would not start and after 2 hours work John could not fix it which was so depressing after our generator problems.  What to do?   We might have to get a new engine, a huge undertaking but first we needed an engineer.  We set off early the next morning under sail (of course!) and had a 6 hour sail between the reefs around to the NW of the island and a boatyard, it wasn't as stressful as we'd anticipated but was still a tense time.  We ran out of wind and had a current against us for the last bit so tied the dinghy alongside & Harry drove the 4hp engine to move us along so we could pick up a mooring buoy.  By this time we had decided that if the engine could not be repaired we would sail to New Zealand and get a new one installed there – but we would rather go with an engine as it is useful, especially in an emergency.   

Harry is the cook every Monday & is very good

Terry, the French engineer spent a couple of days with John and they got the engine almost fixed, we just needed a new part from Tahiti which would come in a week.  This gave us a few days to explore the northern island of Tahaa which shares the same enclosing reef as Raiatea.

Church on Tahaa

These islands are really beautiful with crystal clear lagoons, miles of reef and many low-lying coral islands encircling the green mountains of the main islands.  

Bora Bora from the north end of Tahaa

We tied up at the town quay in Raiatea to get fuel and some supplies

We returned to the boatyard and the engine part was there, ready to be fitted, thank goodness, before we headed off all relieved to have a fully working engine again.

We sailed across to Bora Bora which has wall to wall hotels on the coral islands - those cute thatched huts on stilts over the water - and enjoyed a couple of days there anchored with quite a few charter boats.  A good place to charter a yacht as there are lots of safe anchorages and islands to explore.

Sailing through the reefs around Bora Bora

You cannot sail round the southern end of Bora Bora so after exploring the far SE we headed back up to the pass and sailed another 25 miles west to the small island of Maupiti which has a very narrow & rough entrance through the reef which is too dangerous to tackle in heavy swells. 

Coming into Maupiti with Bora Bora on the horizon - the surf felt far more scary than this looks!

Once through the pass the lagoon opens up with a breathtaking view – even Harry exclaimed at how beautiful it is!  We are anchored here with only one other boat, enjoying the snorkelling and swimming.

The ladies in the market sell produce from their gardens - we bought sweet potatoes, mangoes, tomatoes, bananas and watermelons

We will head out this afternoon to anchor near the pass then leave tomorrow to head westwards to the Cook Islands.  Let’s hope it is not as rough a passage as the one from Moorea.

Towing the dinghy round the lagoon while the passengers trek across